About Team SF
Team San Francisco (Team SF) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit that works to promote, support, and encourage LGBTQ+ and allied individuals to participate in sports and cultural activities at the individual, team, and club level within the San Francisco Bay Area and worldwide, with special emphasis on supporting the quadrennial Gay Games.
Our overall goal is to promote healthy and positive attitudes toward sports and cultural participation for everyone. Sport is for life, and culture makes life more fulfilling. We champion both by supporting LGBTQ+ and allied clubs and teams in whatever way we can.
Where the Gay Games Were Born!
What We Do
Community Building
With more than 900 individual members throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Team SF connects you with LGBTQ+ and allied sporting activities, clubs, and teams ranging from basketball to wrestling, and cultural activities ranging from choirs to marching bands. Whether you are looking for a fun pastime or want to continue a passion for sports or culture, our Sports & Cultural Directory can help you find your community.
Gay Games & International Representation
Team SF organizes and supports San Francisco's official participation at each quadrennial Federation of Gay Games event. We coordinate athlete registration, facilitate the creation of the official Team SF uniform for each member to purchase, and help our athletes prepare to represent San Francisco on the global stage. The next Gay Games (GG-XII) will be held in Valencia, Spain in 2026.
We offer scholarships to assist individual members to attend the Gay Games. Our scholarship program reflects our belief that every athlete deserves the chance to compete, and that financial barriers should never prevent anyone from representing their community.
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Scholarships
Advocacy & Visibility
We work to dispel discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in sports and advocate for inclusive policies at every level of athletics. All board members who lead and run Team SF are unpaid volunteers who devote many hours and energy to help LGBTQ+ athletes and culture participants across the Bay Area.
Our History
Team SF was established in 1982, the same year the first Gay Games were held right here in San Francisco. Built upon the principles of Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best, the Gay Games have empowered tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ artists and athletes through fellowship and friendly competition since that inaugural event.
San Francisco hosted the first two Gay Games (1982 and 1986), and Team SF has represented the city at every edition since, including events in Vancouver, New York, Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago, Cologne, Cleveland & Akron, Paris, and most recently Guadalajara and Hong Kong in 2022/2023. The next Gay Games (GG-XII) take place in Valencia, Spain in 2026.
Today, Team SF is proud to represent one of the largest and most active LGBTQ+ sports and cultural communities in the world.
Contact us
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