Our Story

NYC LGBT Sports Network is an initiative brought to you by Team New York & Out of Bounds. The Network was launched in 2019 in the run up to WorldPride/Stonewall50 in New York City, 30 years after the founding of Team New York.

2019 was a important year for our community. The year marked the 30th birthday of Team New York. The year also marked the 35th anniversary of the first pride march organized by Heritage of Pride, Inc., founded in 1984. Most importantly, the year marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots which started on June 28, 1969 (Stonewall50). To commemorate Stonewall50, New York City hosted WorldPride in 2019, and our athletic community hosted competition with athletes from around the world as part of Stonewall50. These competitions included (in chronological order):

Organizational History

Team New York (TeamNY) was founded in 1989 as an umbrella organization for coordination and collaboration between LGBTQ+ sports, athletics and recreation organizations. TeamNY’s first coordinated effort was the bid for New York City to host Gay Games IV for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1994. TeamNY was awarded the bid by the Federation of the Gay Games. After we successfully hosted the 1994 Gay Games (see archived picture gallery), the network of organizations has continued to provide safe, affirming and welcoming spaces for the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to engage in sports, athletics and recreation.

Out of Bounds New York City (OOBNYC) was founded in 2000 by Jeff Kagan and Will Smathers. OOBNYC was intended to serve as a resource for supporting new LGBTQ+ sports and recreation organizations. Jeff Kagan also co-founded the New York City Gay Hockey Association in 1999 and the Pride Basketball League in 2006. In 2007, TeamNY and OOBNYC merged into a single entity incorporated as Out of Bounds NYC, Inc. Today, Out of Bounds NYC, Inc. is a charitable non-profit organization incorporated in the State of New York with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors established in by its bylaws.

For more information about the organizations producing community-based programming in our network, visit see our Network Directory.

Copyright © 2024 Out of Bounds NYC, Inc. d/b/a "NYC LGBT Sports Network". All rights reserved.
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