With the aim of reclaiming athletic spaces historically shaped by rigid gender norms, Queerlympics 2025 gathered queer athletes and allies for a day of inclusive play as part of the month-long PrideFest celebration.
Unlike conventional sports tournaments, the event featured non-traditional, team-based activities such as no-rule basketball, Chinese garter, and luksong beki, with teams composed of individuals across different gender identities.
PrideFest 2025 Executive Director Mc Glamark Datuin said the event was designed to create safer and more affirming spaces in sports for queer individuals.
“Queerlympics reclaims these spaces by centering inclusion, joy, and authenticity over competition. It creates a safe environment where queer individuals can move, play, and express themselves freely without fear of judgment or erasure,” he said.
He added that forming teams outside of binary categories allowed participants to challenge conventional notions of strength and gender.
“That is the essential reason we conducted Queerlympics in the first place, we want to show that strength, identity, and expression aren’t confined by traditional norms,” Datuin said.
Datuin noted that the event aimed to build more than just visibility but also a sense of belonging and healing.
“It opens a conversation on inclusions in spaces like sports, like gender stereotypes in sports that often remain, as I said, exclusive. So it reminds us that pride lives not only in parades, in speeches, but also it can be a form of how we move and show up for each other, like today.”
The Social Sciences and Computer Studies team emerged as the overall champion after securing top placements across multiple events, namely the No Rule Basketball Game, Luksong Beki, and Mother’s Dragon Tail, while securing first runner up in Chinese Garter.
Queerlympics 2025 was held on June 27 at the Ateneo de Davao University Senior High School Gymnasium, as part of the month-long PrideFest celebration.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on June 29.