Gay Games VII Scholarship Program Calendar

• Application review begins 1 January 2006; and will be ongoing
• First Scholarship announcements - 1 February 2006
• Additional Scholarship announcements will be made weekly
• Gay Games VII, Chicago 15-22 July 2006

How to apply for a scholarship

Dear applicant,

Welcome to the Gay Games VII Scholarship Program. Your desire to participate in the Gay Games is important to both host Chicago Games, Inc., and the international Federation of Gay Games. The application process is designed for you to tell us about you and your sports and cultural community. If you have questions about or need assistance in the process, please contact us. Thank you for applying.

• Applying for a scholarship
• What happens after I apply?
• Taking the Gay Games home: LGBT Sports and Cultural Leadership Workshop

Applying for a scholarship
Applications must be received by 1 January 2006. * DATE EXTENDED *
Announcement of awards will be 1 February 2006.

Like the registration process for Gay Games VII, the application process for the Scholarship Program can be conducted online. Attachments, such as copies of income documents, will need to be delivered by postal mail or fax to of Chicago Games Inc. (CGI), the host of Gay Games VII.

Checklist for Applying
1—Choose your Gay Games event
2—Identify your financial need
3—Submit an application
4—Receive assistance with your application
5— If English is not your primary language
6 —Obtain your national passport and US visa

All information contained on the application form and any other supporting materials will be used solely for the review and awarding of Gay Games VII Scholarships. Chicago Games, Inc. and the Federation of Gay Games are using the same application for, selection criteria and administrative processes. All information in the applications will be treated as confidential and will only be shared with these two organizations. It will not be shared with any other organization without the expressed written consent of the applicant.

1—Choose your event
Begin the process for receiving a Gay Games VII Scholarship by choosing a participatory event, either one of the 30 athletic or 3 cultural activities. Review the event standards, divisions for competition, and other aspects to participation. Make sure the event is still open to new participants. Understanding the requirements of your activity will help you better prepare and make your experience at the Gay Games more enjoyable.

2—Identify your financial need
Next, review the possible awards that you can receive. To assist us in awarding scholarships to as many people as possible, choose only the scholarship type(s) that you must have to attend the Games:

A. Basic event registration fees for participatory athletic and cultural events
• Scholarships are available for all core participatory events—athletic and cultural. (A participatory event is one for which a full Gay Games registration fee is required.)
• An applicant can receive only one registration scholarship. If an applicant registers for more than one core participatory event (either sport or culture) at Gay Games VII, the registrant will pay for additional participatory events on their own.
• There may be other athletic and cultural events that are held in conjunction with the Gay Games but are sponsored by another organization. Any fees associated with such an event will not qualify for Gay Games VII Scholarship.

B. Travel costs to and from Chicago
• Scholarship administrators will attempt to provide travel arrangements of equal comfort and convenience to all scholarship recipients.
• A scholarship recipient can suggest a preferred mode of travel, but the scholarship administrators can determine—with the assistance of registered travel agents—alternate modes of travel, taking into consideration in-kind travel resources and economies that do not cause undue burden on a recipient.
• There will be restrictions on the use of airline tickets, particularly those donated to the Scholarship Program.

C. Accommodations
To the extent possible, private hosted housing or fully subsidized dorm rooms will be used to provide housing to a scholarship recipient during the Games.

D. Daily allowance for the Games period (15–22 July 2006)
A small daily allowance for meals and other expenses will be provided.

The maximum Scholarship Program award to any one applicant will not exceed US$2,500.

3—Submit an application
Once you know your event, complete an application form—online or printed. There are sections that ask for personal information, work experience, financial declaration, community involvement, and your reasons for participating in the Gay Games. If you apply online there are a couple of sections that ask you to send in additional information. In order for the application to be considered, information for all sections must be received by the Scholarship Program.

NOTE: Acknowledgement of application receipt will be sent to applicants within 2 weeks. If there are missing elements to the application, those elements will be noted on the acknowledgement.

4—Assistance with your application
If you need assistance with completing the application, you can seek assistance from a person local to you or contact the Scholarship Program administrators at
Email: scholarships@gaygameschicago.org
Phone: +1.773.433.8006
Postal mail: Chicago Games Inc, ATTN: Scholarships, 4753 North Broadway, Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60640, USA

5— If English is not your primary language
Your first language may not be English and we encourage you to complete essay questions in you first language. If there is someone in your area who can translate your answers into English, have that person translate your words; if necessary, we will attempt to provide translation.

6—Obtain your national passport and US visa
If you have not already done so, we recommend that you begin the application process for a passport and US Visa at the same time you apply for a scholarship.

All applicants who receive awards announcements must provide proof that they have valid passports and US visas, before a scholarship is official. If you require a letter from the Gay Games VII Scholarship Program as part of applying for a US visa, you will receive one.

What happens after I apply?

Confirmation of eligibility and application completeness
Scholarship administrators will review each application for accuracy, eligibility, and completeness before considering whether or not the applicant qualifies for a scholarship.

If there are missing elements to the application, the applicant will be notified. If the application remains incomplete after 4 weeks from the original date of receipt by the CGI, an applicant will receive a reminder that her/his application is incomplete and will not be processed until complete.

Only when the application is complete will a Scholarship Need Score (SNC) be calculated.

Award amount assigned to each recipient
The available funds will be assigned to applicants based on the extent of their needs, as measured by the Scholarship Need Score.

Announcement of Scholarships
Announcements will be made on 1 February 2006.
Recipients will receive an announcement of their award via email; if necessary, a recipient will receive faxed or mailed announcement. Along with the notice will be a request for the recipient to provide written confirmation of her/his intention to participate in Gay Games VII and acceptance or refusal of the scholarship award. The written reply must be received at CGI’s office within 4 weeks or the scholarship will be forfeited.

If no response has been received after 2 weeks of the notice being sent by scholarship administrators another notice will be sent. If no response has been received after 4 weeks of the original notice being sent by scholarship administrators, phone calls will be placed to the recipient.

Protecting an applicant’s privacy
The Scholarship Program administration is ready to handle the special needs of participants who for political reasons cannot register directly for Gay Games VII, but who wish to participate in the Games. Applicants will be asked to use an official application but the form of the announcement will to be altered. The Scholarship Program will respond to these individuals on a case-by-case basis.

Wait List
If additional funds become available, scholarships will be given. This will be done as soon as possible so that a recipient can make appropriate plans.

Confirmation of travel plans and Visa
Recipients must show proof of having a visa to travel to the host organization’s country before any funds will be disbursed.

Distribution of Scholarships
After working directly with a scholarship recipient to plan travel and housing logistics, funds will be disbursed.

• No money will be sent directly to a recipient; daily allowances will be provided when a recipient arrives in Chicago, US.
• Electronic tickets will be arranged for travel.
• Registration fees already paid by the applicant will be refunded if the recipient requests help paying these fees
• Prepaid housing (or hosted housing through the host organization) will be arranged

Taking the Gay Games home: LGBT Sports and Cultural Leadership Workshop
Friday, 14 July 2006

• Meet participants from around the world
• Tell your story
• Become part of a global community

One of the goals of the Scholarship Program is to assist in the expansion of the Gay Games movement. To meet this goal it will be important to nurture information and support networks between the FGG (and its member organizations) and scholarship recipients, especially those from less developed parts of the world, areas where there is little or no established LGBT sports and cultural communities, or from areas where homophobia exists.

As part of the Gay Games VII Scholarship Program, we want to also establish relationships with scholarship recipients and give them the tools so that they become the catalysts for growing the movement in their local communities.

To attain that goal, we will be holding a forum for all scholarship recipients, CGI representatives, FGG director organizations and individual directors, and community leaders. Included in the program will be sessions that:

• Welcome recipients to the Gay Games
• Allow recipients to introduce themselves and present the issues and impediments to organizing that each recipient faces
• Offer recipient workshops that address these issues and suggest culturally sensitive best practices for establishing LGBT sports and cultural activities and sustain viable infrastructures and ways to be a part of international organizations.
• Encourage peer-to-peer exchanges
• The forum will be held at the beginning of the Gay Games.

Though the Gay Games VII Scholarship Program will attempt to accommodate as many people as possible, it is not possible to accommodate everyone with regard to special needs, variation in demographic traits, and financial need. This is particularly the case with assisting Gay Games VII Scholarship Program applicants with the application process for a US Visa