Linked From Jon Wertheim/SI.com!

Well how did this happen?

My little blog about trying to help you get ready for the Bluegrass Open and the great city of Louisville was linked through Jon Wertheim's column on si.com.  Imagine my surprise!  I read Jon's column every week.  I didn't know Todd Bird, co-tournament director for the Bluegrass Open, sent my blog along to John.  I found out when I clicked on the link when I was reading his column this week.  Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

So I figured I would make a quick post to catch all of you up who are just checking this out because Jon linked it.

• The Bluegrass Open is a tournament stop on the GLTA World Tour.  The GLTA World Tour sanctions nearly 40 tournaments all over the world where nearly 5500 GLBT people will compete on various levels from beginner to intermediate to open play.
• I'm writing about this because I didn't really know what to expect when I started playing tournaments back about six years.  I hope to give new people and those attending the Louisville tournament for the firs time some idea of what they can expect when they get there.
• Another reason I'm writing this is because I am a graduate student in the Knight School of Communication at Queens University of Charlotte.  As part of a class I'm taking this summer-Creativity and Innovation with Dr. Kim Gregory-we had to write about something we are passionate about.  I am passionate about how we can use sports to connect with others.  I love the community and friends I've made on the GLTA tour and I hope others will have a similar experience.  I think a lot of GLBT people, particularly gay men, shy away from sport thinking they don't fit into that world.  I love that the GLTA and other sports organizations aimed towards the GLBT community offer a forum to get involved.

So there ya have it.  Please read through the posts and get a feel for what to expect if you want to compete in the Louisville tournament or any other stops on the GLTA tour or just learn about something you might not have known existed.  I've even managed to include posts about how I'm getting old and how Lil' Mama gets my pumped up before a match, and no, I don't wear lip gloss.  You can even still register for the tournament if you want to play.  The deadline to enter is this Saturday, June 18th.

And stop back later this week;  It's time to shed a little light on the banquet in Louisville and everyone's best friend, Lola!  Lola's kind of like Maude (you know, that show from the 70's Maude with Bea Arthur) only Maude was prettier and way more butch than Lola.