The New Orleans team was founded in 1993 in anticipation of the 1994 Gay Games IV in New York City. Starting with a dream, a determined runner, Gilbert Castillo, organized a scattered group of local athletes into TEAM NEW ORLEANS. Among them was a large contingent that had already belonged to the national group of track and field enthusiasts, The Front Runners.

The original Team New Orleans had only 30 registered participants, today we number over 60. The New York Games were held June 20-26 and would become a very memorable event for those that attended. As one team member reported "...we proceeded to the Hotel Pennsylvania, Gay Games IV headquarters, to get our athlete's identification tag. The I. D. procedure, staffed by cheerful, helpful, volunteers took only a few minutes, leaving more time for shopping in the Expo, two huge rooms filled with every T shirt, pin, and souvenir you ever wanted...There were clothes and jewelry and even discounts from AT&T. The New York Transit Authority was there with bus and subway maps for everyone. Registration completed, we headed out to Wein Stadium ( at Columbia University) for the 5 P.M. lineup for the Opening Ceremonies. We were a fine-looking group as Team New Orleans. Dressed in our white shorts and Henley shirts, we proceed into the stadium. The runners, walkers, tennis players, swimmers, weight-lifters, table tennis players and the bowling teams...so we marched into the stadium to much fanfare and waited for the program." Presented to us, were the Mayors of San Francisco and New York and the Gay Games IV organizers. We watched a Billie Jean King video encouraging others to come out and a video by Greg Louganis with a strong positive message dealing with his coming out and trying to be himself. With the opening official, the Games began.

The Sports and Cultural venues were scattered throughout Manhattan and her outskirts. (While the bowling team did not medal that week, they did manage to win the hearts of Jersey City!) Mayor Guiliani had polished up the Big Apple and it shined. With all of the wonderful distractions of the theaters, museums, restaurants and night life, it is astounding that Team New Orleans was able to garner ten medals. The following were the winners:

Gilbert Castillo 800 Meters (Bronze)
Mike Duffy 10,000 Meters (Gold)
Jody Gates 5000 (Silver) & 10,000 Meters (Gold)
Marilyn McConnell 5000 (Gold) & 10,000 Meters(Gold)
Louise McFarland 5000 Meters (Silver)
Beth Ribblett/Arthur Rogers Physique: Mixed Pairs (Gold)
Arthur Rogers Physique: weightlifting (Bronze)
Sharon Grouse Tennis (Gold)

It had been a rumor for months, but it wasn't officially announced until the middle of that week in June: the Closing Ceremonies were going to be held in Yankee Stadium! The inimitable Harvey Fierstein announced, in his gravelly voice, the names of each team as they entered. One team member noted, "It was a thrill walking into Yankee Stadium with thousands of lesbians and gay men. The program was star-studded and included Cyndi Lauper, Roberta Achtenberg, Armistead Maupin, Kathy Najimy and many others. Patti Labelle ended the show singing 'Over the Rainbow.' It was a grand finale for Gay Games IV."

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