The producers of Whistler’s annual WinterPRIDE festival are teaming up with the Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre hotel to create a first-of-its-kind place during next year’s 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Designed as a safe, supportive environment for gay, lesbian and transgender athletes, fans and their friends during the Games, PRIDE House at the Pan Pacific will be a “hip lounge where guests can chill and watch the Games, trade pins or just hang out and meet other ‘kewl’ open-minded individuals,” organizers said in a statement issued on Friday (May 8).

The concept, which has been about three years in the making, is all about promoting what organizers called “authenticity” in sport, allowing people to be who they are. Dean Nelson, CEO of GayWhistler, on Monday (May 11) told The Question that while the barriers to full participation in society have been falling in many parts of the world, the sports world and Olympic movement — and especially the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — hasn’t exactly welcomed “out” athletes and their supporters with open arms in the past.

“I believe it was in 1992 where the Gay Games were created,” he said. “The original name was the Gay Olympics and the IOC was very aggressive in disallowing the use of the term ‘Olympics.’ It went to court and it got really messy.

“Even knowing that there are the Special Olympics and the Paralympics, the Gay Olympics wasn’t to be allowed. There have been some really hard feelings about that over the years.”

Attempts to reach IOC officials for comment were unsuccessful. However, Maureen Douglas, director of operations and communications (Sea to Sky) for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, on Tuesday (May 12) said 2010 Games organizers support the initiative.

“This is a community in Whistler that has always embraced diversity. I think Pride House just adds to the overall experience,” Douglas said.

“It’s going to be fun and professional and provide another great outlet for people to enjoy the fun and spirit of the Olympic Games.”

Mark Tewksbury, the Canadian Olympic swimmer who came “out” in 1998 — who MCed the Mr. Gay World pageant here last fall — has “given his full support” to the PRIDE House idea, Nelson said. However, Nelson also noted that the number of active gay and lesbian amateur athletes who have come “out” has been surprisingly low — perhaps demonstrating the culture of fear that still exists within their sports or in the larger sporting world.

Asked whether he expected that a few athletes might come “out” during the Games, Nelson said yes and went one better: The organizers of PRIDE House are preparing for the possibility that athletes might seek political asylum in Canada because of persecution over their sexual orientation back home.

He said organizers are working with Egale Canada and Vancouver-based Rainbow Refugee Committee to ensure that athletes who wish to seek asylum have the resources they need to apply.

Egale Canada is “a national organization that advances equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-identified people and their families across Canada,” the group’s website says.

The Rainbow Refugee Committee supports the applications of those “who are seeking refugee status because of fear of persecution due to sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or HIV positive status.”

Said Nelson, “We know that in over 70 countries in the world it’s still illegal to be homosexual, and in some countries it’s punishable by death. So we expect that there might be one or two athletes who request asylum in Canada, and we’re making legal arrangements to be able to accommodate that.”

PRIDE House will operate at the Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre from Feb. 8 to March 24 — a period that encompasses both the Olympics and Paralympics. WinterPRIDE, which in the past has taken place in early February, will instead take place March 1 to 8, between the Games.

“We’ve been working with the (Resort Municipality of Whistler) and VANOC on putting WinterPRIDE in proper placement and March 1 to 8 worked better for them,” Nelson said. “Just logistically, and in terms of hotel space, it wouldn’t have worked as well to have it in early February. So I think this will be much better.”

In the statement, Nelson said GayWhistler officials are pleased to partner with a company that shares their values of openness and inclusiveness.

“We are proud to be chosen as the host venue for this historical PRIDE House,” said Jim Douglas, Pan Pacific general manager. “We have always welcomed everyone to our properties with open arms and our team has always enjoyed the week of WinterPRIDE, so this was a natural and easy decision for us to embrace.”