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The Sin City Erg Origins

The Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation (GLRF) had been aware of the Sin City Classic for many years and had considered it to be mostly a big softball tournament.  In early January 2019, a last minute press release about the introduction of e-gaming to the 2019 Sin City Classic caught our eye. We revisited the Sin City Classic website and it was one of those epiphany moments: the Sin City Classic would be a perfect setting to add an indoor rowing event.  It has all the classic elements for rowing: held in the same place at the same time, and every year, and Las Vegas is very centralized for so many travelers.  We jumped on a plane and dove into the 2019 Sin City Classic to see what it was all about. Every sport was run on their own and yet fell under the umbrella of the Sin City Classic.  A perfect way for GLRF to run an event without the constraints of a gazillion rules. We requested to add indoor rowing to the event for 2020 and were accepted.

The Sin City Erg is an indoor rowing event (ergatta) hosted by the Gay + Lesbian Rowing Federation (GLRF).  This is the third year (2024) for the ergatta.  Covid-19 forced the cancellation of 2021 and 2020.  Mirroring the GLRF online community, the event is open to anyone 13 years and older, male, female, gender fluid and non binary, and of course inclusive to all sexual orientations and sexual identities.

The event features both individual erg competitions as well as team erg competitions. GLRF felt the addition of team events would be appealing to LGBTQ+ friendly rowing clubs who could send a team to compete against other clubs.  The team events also promotes inclusion in the broader rowing community.  For most LGBTQ+ indoor and outdoor rowers, they are always competing in a straight-centric competition, where they are the minority.  The Sin City Erg is an opportunity for straight (allies) to compete with their LGBTQ+ teammates.  We especially hope to grow the Under 18 participation because demonstrating inclusion and support is critical for the LGBTQ+ youth. 

The Sin City Classic

The Sin City Classic is a multi-day LGBTQ+ sports festival hosted annually by The Greater Los Angeles Softball Association (GLASA) in Las Vegas during the four days prior to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Started in 2008, the event has grown to become the largest annual LGBTQ+ sporting event in the world.

Each year nearly 8,000 LGBTQ+ athletes and another 2,000 fans and allies supporting 27 sports (as of October 2023) make the Sin City Classic one of their must-attend events each year. The festival provides an open atmosphere for LGBTQ+ athletes to connect and compete through various sports over the course of four days of competition and social activities.