User:Yupik/Queer Sport Split

Queer Sport Split or QSS is a Croatian non-governmental, non-profit organization that organizes sport recreation, cultural, and leisure activities for the LGBTIQ+ community in Split and the surrounding Dalmatian region. QSS is the first openly and publicly registered LGBTIQ+ organization in Split and Dalmatia.

History
Queer Sport Split started as an informal initiative in 2006. Since 2008, it has formally organized regular activities. It was the first such initiative and one of only two organizations in Croatia to do so, the other being qSPORT in Zagreb. It was setup with the intention of empowering and strengthening the LGBTIQ+ community by promoting sports and recreational activities in Croatia's second largest city of Split and the region surrounding it.

QSS was officially registered as an organization in 2011, just before the first Split Pride, which was attacked by approximately 10,000 anti-gay protesters bombarding the participants with rocks, bricks, and bottles, injuring dozens. Due to this violence and fears of being a target of homophobic and trans-phobic attacks, the initiative and organization was not public in its early years.

In recent years it has been involved in and even leading research projects both locally and internationally.

Local activities and relevance
QSS is organizing: excursions and hiking, bocce, swimming and socializing in programs like 'Sport i pivo', 'PlesnjaQ' and 'Domaćinstvo', as well as counseling, screenings and presentations - with the goal of informing and inspiring, both recreation and socializing of LGBTIQ+ community. QSS helps in organizing Split Pride, takes part in platform of LGBT Center Split.

In the last few years, it has been prominent in organizing activities in popularizing ballroom culture and vogue dance in cooperation with CLUBTURE.

International activities and networks
It is internationally active since 2012 as co-organiser of international conference ' Contesting/Contexting SPORT 2012', together with EPAS (sport body of Council of Europe), EGLSF (European Gay and Lesbian Federation) and qSPORT - Zagreb.

In 2018, it was leading an European Erasmus+ research project  'Beyond Binaries' with four other LGBTIQ+ sport and recreation organizations, in collaboration with institutions, networks and initiatives active in the field of research and sport organizing:

 'The project aims to create understanding for the highly limiting societal effects that the gender segregation unfolds, especially for and by examining the experiences of members of the LGBTQI+ community.'

As of 2019, it is part of the  'Rainbow Youth for Sporting Equity'  research and education project led by LEAP Sports Scotland and European University Sport Assotiation and ' CEEyouSPORT' led by the European Gay and Lesbian Federation.

[[File:2018_GayGames_BeyondBinaries_project_pose_SubversiveSirens.jpg|thumb|Beyond Binaries field work with synchro team Subversive Sirens at GayGames in Paris, 2018

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