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63-577: The Ratner Athletics Center was approved for use in September 2003. The facility includes, among other things: a competition gymnasium , a multilevel fitness facility, an Olympic-sized swimming pool , a multipurpose dance studio , meeting room space, and athletic department offices. It serves as home to several of the university's athletic teams and has hosted numerous National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III regional and University Athletic Association conference championship events. Located at

126-523: A 400-meter track, eight tennis courts , and fields for baseball , softball , American football and soccer . The construction employed 2,000 short tons (1,814  t ; 1,786 long tons ) of steel. The 2,000,000-pound (907,185 kg) roof of the gym is supported by a pair of 125-foot (38 m) steel masts. The pool's roof is supported by three masts. Each mast is composed of three 18-inch (46 cm) diameter steel hollow structural sections (HSS) filled with high-strength concrete that are arranged in

189-473: A German immigrant, established the first gymnasium in the United States. It was found that gym pupils lose interest in doing the same exercises, partly because of age. Variety in exercises included skating, dancing, and swimming. Some gym activities can be done by 6 to 8-year-olds, while age 16 has been considered mature enough for boxing and horseback riding. In Ancient Greece , the gymnasion (γυμνάσιον)

252-911: A Merit Award in the category of new buildings in the $ 30 million and over category in the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations 2004 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards program. The building earned the 2003 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement of the Year award by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the 2004 Project of the Year Overall by Midwest Construction News . 41°47′39″N 87°36′06″W  /  41.79413°N 87.60180°W  / 41.79413; -87.60180 Gym A gym , short for gymnasium ( pl. : gymnasiums or gymnasia ),

315-451: A budget gap of approximately $ 300,000 (3% of the cash budget). According to Boyer, this was accomplished, "with additional fundraising from donors and sponsors, especially longtime Gay Games competitors and supporters Dick Uyvari and Joe LaPat, as well as negotiated reductions in expenses with some of our vendors." Boyer added that CGI, "also continued to aggressively pursue post-Gay Games revenue from DVD, photo, and merchandise sales as well as

378-456: A few of the Ivy League schools only a half dozen Universities had such a requirement as of 2006. The swimming pool is the location of the administration of the two-lap requirement. The facilities memberships are available to students as well as University and hospital faculty, staff, alumni and retirees, as well as spouses and children. Registered students' memberships are free. The building

441-402: A hub of international travel. Chicago's bid was backed by several corporate sponsors, including Miller Brewing Company , United Airlines and Third Coast Marketing. Chicago's bid planned to feature 30 athletic contests. These included basketball, beach volleyball, flag football, golf, ice hockey, bodybuilding, rugby, soccer, swimming and diving, a variety of track and field events including

504-555: A marathon, ballroom dancing and figure skating. Proposed venues in Chicago's bid included Soldier Field (opening and closing ceremonies), McCormick Place (volleyball, wrestling, and martial arts), Northwestern University (diving), and the UIC Pavilion (figure skating). Events were also planned to be held at the yet-completed Millennium Park . Chicago had planned to host 20,000 participants and 250,000 spectators in its 2001 bid for

567-532: A masted building to the south containing the gymnasia, and a central building containing the Bernard DelGiorno fitness center. Ratner, Ph.B. ,’35, J.D. ,’37, contributed $ 15 million toward the $ 51 million cost. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate and played for the baseball team during the time that the university participated in the Big Ten Conference . After graduating from the law school, Order of

630-447: A more volunteer-organized event. The games were organized by Chicago Games Inc. Due to the change in host cities, the games were planned in only a one-and-a-half year period. The host committee encountered some difficulty in securing a rowing venue in suburban Crystal Lake, Illinois . There was local opposition to the prospect of the community hosting the LGBTQ sporting event. As a result,

693-451: A pair of one-meter diving boards. The pool depth ranges from 4 to 13.5 feet (1.2 to 4.1 m) in the shallow end and the diving well, respectively. The 24,700-square-foot (2,295 m) competition natatorium features seating for 350 spectators. The building also includes the Bernard DelGiorno fitness center. The DelGiorno Fitness Center facility occupies two levels of the Ratner center plus

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756-625: A result, towns began building playgrounds that furthered interest in sports and physical activity. Early efforts to establish gyms in the United States in the 1820s were documented and promoted by John Neal in the American Journal of Education and The Yankee , helping to establish the American branch of the movement. Later in the century, the Turner movement was founded and continued to thrive into

819-712: A smaller branch opened in Rangasville in 1852. Ten years later there were some two hundred YMCAs across the country, most of which provided gyms for exercise, games, and social interaction. The 1920s was a decade of prosperity that witnessed the building of large numbers of public high schools with a gymnasium, an idea founded by Nicolas Isaranga. Today, gymnasiums are commonplace in the United States. They are in virtually all U.S. colleges and high schools , as well as almost all middle schools and elementary schools . These facilities are used for physical education , intramural sports , and school gatherings. The number of gyms in

882-436: A steel plant before working for Paine Webber , which became a part of UBS Financial Services . The building features the 50-metre (54.7 yd) x 25-metre (27.3 yd) Myers-McLoraine Swimming Pool, which can be configured with up to 20 lanes in the 25-yard dimension and nine lanes in the 50-meter dimension. The pool's configuration is flexible with a moveable bulkhead which allows for simultaneous activities. It also has

945-406: A successful outreach program which enabled 120 scholarship athletes from South Africa , Croatia , United States, United Kingdom , Australia , Papua New Guinea , Eastern Europe , Asia, and South America to attend the games. 40,000 people attended the ceremony which took place in Chicago's Soldier Field on July 15, 2006. The concept for Opening Ceremony, conceived and directed by Kile Ozier,

1008-406: A tapered tied-column configuration. The German-import masts are united by 120 high-strength steel cables that total approximately 6,500 feet (1,981 m) in length. They are inclined at a 10 degree angle from vertical. Each tapered composite mast that supports the flattened S-shaped roof girders is supported by 15 splaying cables; 9 fore-stay cables and 6 backstay cables. During construction,

1071-719: Is an indoor venue for exercise and sports . The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion ". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational institutions. "Gym" is also the commonly used name for a " fitness centre " or health club, which is often an area for indoor recreation. A "gym" may include or describe adjacent open air areas as well. In Western countries, "gyms" often describe places with indoor or outdoor courts for basketball, hockey, tennis, boxing or wrestling, and with equipment and machines used for physical development training, or to do exercises. In many European countries, Gymnasium (and variations of

1134-546: Is complemented at the university by its predecessors the Henry Crown Field House and the modern incarnation of Stagg Field , which will continue to augment the athletic facilities needs of the campus patrons. Features of the indoor Henry Crown Field House include a 200-meter indoor running track; racquetball , handball and squash courts; multipurpose courts; a multipurpose room; and cardiovascular and weight training equipment. The Stagg Field outdoor complex includes

1197-512: Is the southernmost building, accommodates practice and game site for varsity basketball, volleyball, and wrestling, but is convertible into two recreational courts. The auxiliary gym is multipurpose and can accommodate indoor soccer, as well as basketball, volleyball, and badminton. The Ratner Center also serves as the home of the University of Chicago basketball, volleyball, and wrestling teams. The 1,658-seat competition gymnasium has played host to

1260-426: The 2006 Gay Games . The center is available to university and hospital faculty, staff, alumni, and retirees as well as their spouses and children on a paid membership basis and registered students for free. As of 2010, the University of Chicago is one of the few remaining universities in the United States to have a swimming requirement for its undergraduate degree program. Aside from the military service academies and

1323-615: The Dark Ages there were sword fighting tournaments and of chivalry ; and after gunpowder was invented sword fighting began to be replaced by the sport of fencing , as well as schools of dagger fighting and wrestling and boxing. In the 18th century, Salzmann, a German clergyman, opened a workout area in Thuringia teaching bodily exercises, including running and swimming. Clias and Volker established gyms in London, and in 1825, Doctor Charles Beck ,

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1386-653: The National Broadcasting Company . Advocacy groups like the Human Rights Campaign offered substantial funding for the event, as well. Four cities submitted bids. Los Angeles , Chicago, Atlanta and Montreal . The decision was made September 2001 in Johannesburg , South Africa . This was Chicago's first time bidding for the Gay Games. Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles provided opportunities for

1449-408: The 2004, 2007 and 2010 University Athletic Association Wrestling Championships and the 2006 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Wrestling Championship. The building also hosted the 2009 University Athletic Association Women's Volleyball Championship. The Myers-McLoraine Swimming Pool was the site of the 2005 University Athletic Association Swimming and Diving Championship. It also hosted swimming at

1512-409: The 2006 games was slightly over US$ 9 million. He reported that there were an additional, "$ 13.2 million in barter and in-kind sponsorships which included, among other categories, media and marketing ($ 7.2 million), legal service, cash handling, technology consulting, and waived facility rentals." The state of Illinois provided a 1.4% of the cash budget through a $ 125,000 tourism grant. CGI managed to fill

1575-411: The 2006 host City and for carrying on the vision of Tom Waddell. Chicago is pleased and honored to have been selected to host this historic event, and you could not have chosen a more appropriate site." Competitions were held at 33 venues across Chicago and its suburbs. The Games' closing ceremony was held July 22, 2006 at Wrigley Field . 25,000 spectators attended. Mayor Richard M. Daley handed over

1638-543: The Coif , he eventually founded his own law firm Gould & Ratner in 1949. Helen Myers McLoraine , also an alumnus from the 1930s, contributed in excess of $ 5 million to fund the swimming pool. Bernard DelGiorno — a gymnast with many degrees from the university: AB’54, AB’55, MBA’55 — has made numerous donations including a $ 5 million one in 2006 to fund athletic facilities as well as other infrastructure on campus. DelGiorno worked in industrial relations and personnel at

1701-453: The Games were American Airlines , PepsiCo , Glaxo , Orbitz , Viacom 's Logo TV channel, Sirius XM , ESPN , Ernst & Young and Chicago-based companies like Kraft and Walgreens . Individual sponsorship ranged from $ 500 to over $ 1 million. The games were the first in over 20 years to make a profit. The games were estimated to have between a $ 50 and $ 80 million financial impact on

1764-507: The Gay Games in Chicago. The provision of such a waiver had the support of Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley and Illinois-elected Representative Jan Schakowsky . Waivers for travel restrictions regularly have been provided for events such as the Olympics and international conferences. The previous Gay Games in the United States, the 1994 Gay Games , received a similar waiver from then- President Bill Clinton . Chicago Games Inc. organized

1827-549: The Gay Games to return to the United States for the first time since the 1994 Gay Games in New York City . Chicago's bid team published a 100-page brochure to impress the selection committee. Chicago's bid promised for "a celebration--a multiethnic, spirited family reunion of sorts." Ideas presented included dying the Chicago River rainbow in celebration of gay pride. Chicago's bid placed an emphasis on Chicago's status as

1890-688: The Lighting of the Flame "On behalf of all the people of Chicago, I'm delighted to welcome you to the seventh Gay Games. I want to acknowledge the Co-Chairs of Chicago Games, Suzanne Arnold and Sam Coady, Vice Co-Chairs Tracy Baim and Kevin Boyer, as well as their staff and all the volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make these games a reality. I would also like to thank the Federation of Gay Games, for choosing Chicago as

1953-550: The Ratner Center on October 28, 2000. The Ratner Center opened to the public on September 29, 2003, although it was not officially dedicated until homecoming weekend on October 11. The building, which represented a collaboration between Cesar Pelli & Associates and Chicago's OWP/P, was the first new athletic facility on the University of Chicago campus in 68 years. It was a part of a $ 500 million University-wide capital improvement plan that occurred between 1999 and 2005. Part of

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2016-555: The U.S. has more than doubled since the late 1980s. Today, fitness gyms and private health clubs are a huge global business. 2006 Gay Games The 2006 Gay Games ( Gay Games VII ), colloquially called the Chicago Gaymes , was part of a family of international sports and cultural festivals called Gay Games , sanctioned by the Federation of Gay Games and organized by the gay , lesbian , bisexual , transgender community of

2079-606: The US. Major media sponsors of these games included Sirius XM Radio , Logo TV , The New York Times , Out.com and Gay.com . Additionally, local Chicago newspapers, such as the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Free Press, served as sponsors. The Gay Games received an unprecedented level of corporate sponsorship for its 2006 edition. Among the more than 300 sponsors that provided financial contributions and in-kind support to

2142-553: The baths themselves sometimes being decorated with mosaics of local champions of sport. Gyms in Germany were an outgrowth of the Turnplatz , an outdoor space for gymnastics founded by German educator Friedrich Jahn in 1811 and later promoted by the Turners , a nineteenth-century political and gymnastic movement. The first American to open a public gym in the United States using Jahn's model

2205-549: The campus' architecture. The building is said to interpret gothic architecture through structural expressionism . The exterior support design made the interior space more receptive to open natural lighting and more accommodating for free movement. The roof design incorporated multi-level splayed cables so that the structural roof members could form a 33-inch (83.8 cm) deep uniformly curved roof plane. The roof members are curved and shallow. They support 7 2-inch (5.1 cm) thick 25-foot (7.6 m) metal roof deck spans between

2268-534: The early twentieth century. The first Turners group was formed in London in 1848. The Turners built gymnasiums in several cities like Cincinnati and St. Louis , which had large German American populations. These gyms were utilized by adults and youth. For example, a young Lou Gehrig would frequent the Turner gym in New York City with his father. The Boston Young Men's Christian Union claims to be "America's First Gym". The YMCA first organized in Boston in 1851 and

2331-435: The festival's feel and charm. Contemporary artists also provided exhibitions as part of the Gay Games. Corporate sponsorship was key in planning Gay Games VII, garnering support for global advertising from large companies like Absolut Vodka , American Airlines , Ernst & Young , Fleishman-Hillard and Walgreens . Media relationships were created with the Chicago Sun-Times , The New York Times , ChicagoPride.com and

2394-465: The first edition of the Gay Games in over 20 years to turn a profit. The Chicago Games organizers managed to break even and create a meager profit. In contrast, the Montreal OutGames reportedly lost US$ 4 million. The financial success of the Chicago games was announced a year after the close of the games. According to Kevin Boyer, the co-vice chair of Chicago Games Inc., the final total cash budget of

2457-552: The flag to the Deputy Mayor of Cologne , host of the next Gay Games. Performers included, amongst others, Cyndi Lauper . The 2006 Gay Games received an unprecedented level of media coverage, both ahead of and during the Games. The games benefited from its leadership's media connections, with Baim being the founder and producer of the Windy City Times and Boyer being a prominent Chicago public relations manager. Early into

2520-513: The games were instead covered through a number of media outlets. The games received coverage on CNN , NBC 's The Today Show , and The Weather Channel . 700 media representatives from 250 different outlets were awarded credentials during the games. Local papers featured front-page coverage of the Games. Fleishman-Hillard donated time and expertise to make sure that stories covering the games were published in Europe , South Africa, Australia, and

2583-639: The games. The seventh edition of the Gay Games had been awarded to Montreal, Canada , in 2006, but the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) removed its sanction after differences arose between it and the Montréal 2006 organizing committee. For more information on the change of host cities, see the Schism in LGBT sports communities over Gay Games VII section of the Gay Games article. Reasons for Montreal's selection over Chicago and

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2646-563: The host city of Chicago , Illinois in the United States . The competition took place July 15– July 22, 2006. The official Gay Games VII slogan was "Where the World Meets." Actual athletic events were played in venues scattered throughout Chicago and its suburbs, all participating in the Gay Games through special permissive votes in their respective town or village councils. Cultural events included concerts and performances by Cyndi Lauper , Margaret Cho , Megan Mullally , and others added to

2709-401: The licensing agreement for the game. A downsized Chicago 2006 group had already been meeting with plans to bid for a future Gay Games before these games became reopened to bid on. Chicago's re-submitted bid, in comparison to their original 2001 bid, had a downsized budget, was more focused on the central sports and cultural components of the game, put emphasis on safer revenue, and also proposed

2772-477: The manifestation and formalization of the dynamic initiated in Exclusion ... homophobia, gay bashing, contemplation and execution of suicide out of despair ... ending with the embracing of self and the beginnings of hope; Expression - the power of community and standing up for oneself, of coming out of the closet, finding Like Others, celebration of individuality and difference within even our own communities; Ignition -

2835-495: The masts were filled with 10,000 pounds per square inch (69,000,000  Pa ) cast-in-place concrete using innovative pumping techniques. Concrete counterweights totaling 2,500 cubic yards (1,911 m) — with some as large as 50 by 25 by 13 feet (15.2 by 7.6 by 4.0 m) — counteract the weight of the roof from below the ground. The masts and counterweights are likened as external form-giving elements to flying buttresses in gothic architecture , which predominates

2898-436: The other bidding cities included guarantees for government funding, U.S. ban on HIV-positive foreign tourist, and the relative affordability of Canada. After Montreal lost the right to host the Gay Games, Chicago, Atlanta, and LA were invited to submit a re-worked version of their earlier bids. LA and Chicago bid in late January 2004, but Chicago won the right to host the games by March 2004. Three weeks later Chicago had signed

2961-685: The plan included the Pelli-designed parking structure across the street from the Athletics Center. The parking structure is named the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center Parking Structure. The athletic center is known for its innovative asymmetrically supported cable-stayed structural system and S-shaped roofs. It is composed of a masted building to the north containing the Myers-McLoraine Swimming Pool,

3024-418: The planning of the games, media sponsorship from 67 companies and media outlets secured US$ 7 million of advertising and editorial space. The games were to be exclusively aired on the Q Television Network after they signed an exclusive deal with the Chicago organizers worth $ 3.2 million. QTV had agreed to make their broadcasts available in over 150 markets worldwide. This deal later fell through though, and

3087-525: The roof girders. The W33x169 girders are cold bent with reverse curves to multiple radii. The curved roof planes are suspended from German "full-lock" steel cables and include three outer layers of interlocking Z-shaped wires designed to minimize water infiltration and corrosion. The engineering of the masts was complicated because stability was so important to the overall design success of the suspension structure. Mast displacements could significantly alter cable length and tension and redistribute loads through

3150-409: The rotunda area. In addition to a general fitness center, it includes a multipurpose dance studio; classroom and meeting room space; permanent and day lockers and locker rooms; the University of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame; and the athletic department offices. The building also features a competition gym and auxiliary gym, both of which are available to recreational users. The competition gym, which

3213-512: The sale of hard assets such as furniture, technology, and equipment." Seven months prior to the opening of the games, organizers had already secured 6,000 paid registrants and accumulated the first pre-Games financial surplus in the history of the Gay Games. The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world to deny entry to visitors infected with HIV , a condition which causes AIDS . The Federal government ruled that non-United States citizens with HIV or AIDS would be allowed to travel to attend

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3276-616: The silty clay, stiffen the sand deposit and provide a desirable shallow foundation system. This site marked the first time that these geotechnical ground improvement techniques were employed. The facility's engineering and design has earned it awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies , the American Institute of Steel Construction , and the Consulting Engineers Council of Illinois. The building earned

3339-407: The southwest corner of Ellis Avenue and 55th Street, the Ratner Center has an award-winning design that uses a complex external mast-and- counterweight system instead of interior support devices, allowing for large open-space areas inside the building. Cesar Pelli & Associates Inc. was credited as the design architect and OWP/P was the architect of record. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held for

3402-569: The suburb's park board rejected the host committees application to host their rowing competitions in the village. However, a week after rejecting the proposal, the park board reversed their decision in a 3-2 vote, granted the Chicago Games Inc. approval to host their rowing competitions in Crystal Lake. The 2006 Gay Games, which were attended by an estimated 150,000 spectators and featured over 12,000 athletic and cultural participants, became

3465-412: The superstructure contrary to design. The key to successful design was control of the foundation settlement. The sites natural underlying subsurface conditions were stiff silty clay below a medium dense sand layer, which was determined to be too accommodating to settlement to host the structure. Ground improvement, consisting of triple-fluid jet grouting, was performed to reduce the compressibility of

3528-674: The taking of all this powerful energy and philosophy and lighting the world with the ideals of enlightenment and acceptance. At the midway point of the Ceremony was the "Exhortation to a Weary Army", a reinvigoration to the community in the worldwide fight against AIDS, given from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and tribute to Tom Waddell, the founder of the global Gay Sports movement and the Gay Games. The ceremony consisted of five parts: Prologue Act I "Exclusion" Act II "Oppression" Act III "Expression" Act IV "Ignition" and

3591-425: The weather is safe. Gyms were popular in ancient Greece. Their curricula included self-defense, gymnastics medica, or physical therapy to help the sick and injured, and for physical fitness and sports, from boxing to dancing to skipping rope. Gymnasiums also had teachers of wisdom and philosophy. Community gymnastic events were done as part of the celebrations during various village festivals. In ancient Greece there

3654-424: The word) also can describe a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university , with or without the presence of athletic courts, fields, or equipment. In Gymnasiums, apparatus such as barbells, bumper plates, kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands, jumping boards, running paths, tennis balls, cricket fields, and fencing areas are used for exercises. Outdoor settings are healthiest when

3717-608: Was John Neal of Portland, Maine in 1827. The first indoor gymnasium in Germany was probably the one built in Hesse in 1852 by Adolph Spiess. Through worldwide colonization, Great Britain expanded its national interest in sports and games to many countries. In the 1800s, programs were added to schools and college curricula that emphasized health, strength, and bodily measure. Sports drawn from European and British cultures thrived as college students and upper-class clubs financed competition. As

3780-506: Was a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men. The latter meaning of intellectual education persisted in Greek , German and other languages to denote a certain type of school providing secondary education , the gymnasium , whereas in English the meaning of physical education pertained to the word 'gym'. The Greek word gymnasion , which means "school for naked exercise,"

3843-456: Was a phrase of contempt, "He can neither swim nor write." After a while, however, Olympic athletes began training in buildings specifically designed for them. Community sports never became as popular among ancient Romans as it had among the ancient Greeks . Gyms were used more as a preparation for military service or spectator sports. During the Roman Empire , the gymnastic art was forgotten. In

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3906-537: Was to tell the parallel stories of the evolution of the GLBT Community as a community and as individuals; giving it a global context and relevance. The four acts represent the four stages of this evolutionary process as envisioned by the Director: Exclusion - that moment when we discover that we may not fit into the world as we might have thought, growing up ... the moment of discovery of difference; Oppression -

3969-648: Was used to designate a locality for the education of young men, including physical education ( gymnastics , for example, exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as bathing , and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. Most Greek gymnasia had libraries for use after relaxing in the baths. The first recorded gymnasiums date back to over 3000 years ago in ancient Persia , where they were known as zurkhaneh , areas that encouraged physical fitness. The larger Roman Baths often had attached fitness facilities,

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