Fever is in the air.

Since the disasters, bitter recriminations, and rampant injustices incurred in Cologne 4 years ago ( http://gaygamescologne.blogspot.com/ ), the Gay Games competitive knitting competition rules have been completely revamped for this year's event.

After a long and unsuccessful fight to change our governing body, Gay Federeration Universelle de Compétitif Tricot (fondly referred to as GAY FUCT) remains firmly in control and is still the "slightly sinister, slowly evolving, rather patriarchal and eminently totalitarian--not unlike the International Skating Union--[organization that] prefers to keep a low profile, cotton up to garment industry big wigs, and severely punish anyone bold enough to mention change."

But they have loosened up the rules somewhat and made judging more transparent. The time wasting compulsories are gone. There will be a panel of 9 judges instead of the former 3, and the highest and lowest 2 scores will be thrown out in an effort to eliminate nationalistic, misogynistic, or fashionista favoritism.

The core of the competition will be a week long project or projects to be done on the premises and in view of the judges and other competitors who will be required to bring all their supplies to Cleveland. There will be 5 separate medal categories--Lace, Fair Isle/Intarsia, Sweater (Not Including Lace, Fair Isle or Intarsia), Socks, and Miscellaneous (the latter will encompass knitted sculpture, accessories, and any other imaginative use of kneedles and yarn).

Scoring will be on the following criteria with numerical scores of 1-20 for each:
     Materials--10%
     Design--20%
     Construction--70%
The score times the percent of each added up will be the final score.

There will also be a Difficulty Quotient assigned to each project that will range from 0-7% that can increase the final score. 

The winners of each category will then be judged for Best All Around Project. So barring a knitting Eric Heiden or Michael Phelps, there can be 5 medal finalists, one of whom will win another gold.

With the worldwide popularity of the sport increasing leaps and bounds, competition is expected to be fierce. The Jones twins are, regretfully, not with us anymore, so that certainly opens up the field again. Sergei ("Sir Gay") Purlovich and many, if not all, of the Russian contingent will be barred from participating due to Putin's anti-gay pogroms. And with economic woes besetting the Balkans and Iberia, our counterparts from those lively countries could be no shows. Still, Cleveland is shaping up to be a Western Europe versus United States finale.

My main competition from former years will also be missing. The Italian Pietro Tuttipollice will be in Milan gearing up for fashion shows. Frenchman Giles Tresmorveux  is going under the knife this summer and finally fulfilling his long desired destiny of becoming Genevieve. Norwiegian  Lars Lykkeliggu and beau Olaf are expecting their first child and will stay back on the fiords.

Likewise, Allison Treehugger from Modesto, CA, finally laid down her needles and took up the chain saw and is cranking out--so inappriately given her surname--monumental log sculptures. Crystal Pistolpacker from Arizona, too, moved on and is happily throwing pots and--given her exquisite sense of color and texture--creating some of the finest ceramics in the Southwest. 

This could be interesting.