Following months of correspondence and discussion between Grand Master Ken Craig, President of TMAA and the organizers of the next world out games in Copenhagen, 2009, it appears as though the efforts have paid off and the martial arts event will be conducted using rules similar to those promoted by IAGLMA.

"Initially the event was promoted as a TaeKwon-Do tournament when information was first presented over a year ago" said Grand Master Craig. "As an international LGBT focused sporting event, limiting the martial arts participation to only one discipline seemed restrictive and exclusionary as it would not encourage martial artists from other disciplines to participate. TMAA is at the forefront of promoting and encouraging the active engagement of diverse and inclusive martial arts events, so it was natural that we would make an appeal to Out Games to adjust their martial arts model accordingly."

While the TMAA tournament model differs to some degree from the IAGLMA tournament model, both retain core principals that are very similar. Both organizations promote multi-disciplinary events which encourage martial artists from every discipline to participate and engage in competition. Both organizations have a principal focus on safety of the competitor and creating a fun and educational experience through friendship and competition. Both organizations support the participation of physically challenged martial artists in full competitive divisions.

"To their credit, the organizers of Out Games were immediately interested in our suggestion that the martial arts event should be multi-disciplinary" continues Grand Master Craig. "They sent us numerous e-mails and representatives to discuss the idea and get more background on how to achieve this goal, and to their credit it appears as though they have moved forward in a positive way." Unfortunately the same may not be true of IAGLMA (International Association of Gay and Lesbian Martial Artists) whose tournament rules the Out Games organizers have adopted in part. "There was some bad blood between the IAGLMA senior board members and the Montreal GLISA organizers going back to 2005 as Gay Games VII was being prepared. Montreal was supposed to be the venue for GG-VII, but the organizers pulled out a year before the games were due to begin, leaving the Federation of Gay Games scrambling to come up with a new venue. To add insult to injury, Montreal then hosted their own competing event called Out Games. The Copenhagen games are organized under the same international group, GLISA, so IAGLMA still appears to bear a grudge toward them and they largely refused to engage in any communications or discussions with the Copenhagen organizers."

"It's not clear at this time whether the Out Games in Copenhagen will fully adopt the IAGLMA tournament rules, as they have only noted on their website that their tournament will follow closely the IAGLMA rules. We are hopeful however that they will adopt the major principals and ideals that both IAGLMA and TMAA believe in and strive to promote" continued Grand Master Craig. It is unclear also, at this time, whether or not TMAA had a direct result in influencing the decision of the Out Games organizers to adopt the IAGLMA tournament rules or not, but the evidence would seem to support this theory. IAGLMA certainly were not in any discussions that we know of with the Copenhagen organizers, and to our knowledge, TMAA was the only American entity discussing such considerations.

"I'm quite happy to see Out Games adopt the IAGLMA rules over our own TMAA rules" answered Grand Master Craig when questioned on whether he would have preferred it if the TMAA rules had been adopted instead of the IAGLMA rules. "Both organizations have slightly different models, but our core principal is the same, to allow as many different martial artists from as many different disciplines as possible to come together, meet, play, and learn in a spirit of fun and enjoyment. I don't think it matters greatly whether TMAA rules or IAGLMA rules are applied, provided the principals of participation are met."

TMAA has not promoted or supported Out Games events in the past as this multi-disciplinary approach to the marital arts event was not present. The first Out Games in Montreal featured a Karate tournament, and subsequent games have not included martial arts in the line up. Copenhagen is the second time martial arts will be included in the line up. "We are fully supportive of the Gay Games and their quadrennial games events" said Grand Master Craig, "but we also believe there is room for more opportunities for our community to meet nationally or internationally at events such as Out Games in the intervening years.  It would be unfortunate if both organizations obstinately disregard the other and become antagonistic as that would not serve the best interests of either of the organizations or the LGBT community. If both could work for the common good, the FGG Gay Games every four years and LGISA Out Games nationally every year when Gay Games is not scheduled would be optimal in my opinion. Those who have the desire and money can then travel to every event, while those who do not can select those events that best meet their own needs."

TMAA has asked for clarification of the martial arts tournament rules and will make a decision on support and promotion of World Out Games, Copenhagen once the Tournament Operations and Procedures (TOP) group have reviewed these and submitted a recommendation to the Instructors Council.