Our History

NYC LGBT Sports Network is a new initiative of Team New York & Out of Bounds New York City. The Network was launched in 2019 in the run up to Stonewall50, 30 years after the founding of Team New York. Our mission is to create, sustain and support safe and inviting spaces for the LGBTQ+ community to engage in sports, athletics and recreation.

Team New York was founded in 1989 as an umbrella organization for inclusive organizations for coordination and collaboration in sports, athletics and recreation. Team New York was intended to provide a mechanism for organizations in the New York City Metropolitan Area to coordinate for the Gay Games. After we successfully hosted Gay Games IV for Stonewall25 in New York City in 1994, the network of organizations has continued to provide safe and inviting spaces for the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to engage in sports, athletics and recreation.

Out of Bounds was founded in 2000. Out of Bounds was intended to serve as an umbrella governing body for local athletic organizations. In 2007, Team New York and Out of Bounds merged into a single entity incorporated as Out of Bounds NYC, Inc. Today, Out of Bounds NYC, Inc. is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of New York with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. Our organization is governed by a Board of Directors.

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 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):

For more information about these organizations, and other organizations in our network, visit our Network Directory page.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 2019, Team New York & Out of Bounds launched a new initiative called the NYC LGBT Sports Network. We also rebranded our old Facebook page which is now the NYC LGBT Sports Network on Facebook so you connect with us on social media.

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