The Gay Softball World Series is underway!
This year’s Gay Softball World Series is being hosted in Kansas City and is running through till September 8. The North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, an international sports organization comprised of men and women promoting sportsmanship in the LGBTQ community, set up the event. This year’s Gay Softball World Series, the 42nd of its kind, attracted around 225 teams, 5,000 participants, and 46 member associations across the United States and Canada. All of whom brought a projected $10 million to Kansas City.
To Scott Switzer, the Executive Director of the Gay Softball World Series, the event is important because it gives LGBTQ people a space to enjoy sport and athleticism like nowhere else.
Welcome @nagaaasoftball to Jackson County for the Kansas City 2019 Gay Softball World Series! Some of the games will be played Jackson County Parks + Rec Frank White, Jr. Softball Complex Sept. 3-8. #ComeToPlay pic.twitter.com/caPjodJghN
— Jackson County MO (@JacksonCountyMO) September 1, 2019
“I think if you’re playing sports and you can’t be exactly who you are,” Switzer told KBIA, “you’re not going to perform at 100%; you’re always worried about what other people might think about you, or about how you throw the ball or something like that.”
“It’s okay to be who you are,” he added. “The suicide rate of LGBTQ plus youth needs to be much lower than it is. Having this support from everybody else gives those kids support to be who they are.”
If you’re in Kansas City and want to see some of the remaining games or participate in the non-athletic events, click this link to check out the entire weekend’s schedule.
Sources: KBIA, Flatland KC, 98.1 fm KMBZ
