With five months to go before the OutGames begin in Montreal, there is no shortage of enthusiasm for the games in the Bay Area.

"It's so much fun. I've always wanted to do a team sport," said dragon boat racer Anita Bowen, one of the many participants of the Equipe San Francisco team traveling to the OutGames who packed the Lime restaurant in the Castro last week for a uniform try-on party.

The feeling of camaraderie and family was not lost on Bowen's teammate Drew Stephens.

"For some of us, we spend more time with each other than our families," he said.

Equipe San Francisco member Dani Behonick said the games for her are "all about inclusion." Her family and friends will be flying in to Montreal to cheer her on as she races as part of a dragon boat team.

OutGames will run from Saturday, July 29 to Saturday, August 5 and will feature 35 sports. According to spokesman Pascal Dessureault, more than 10,500 registrants had signed up for the games as of January 31. From the Bay Area, 125 athletes are signed up so far for the games.

Organizers recently announced that world-renowned athlete Martina Navratilova will help officiate the Opening Ceremonies. The games will be preceded by a three-day international conference on LGBT human rights. The conference will result in a declaration that will be formally presented to the United Nations and other international organizations.

OutGames also will include a musical competition. San Francisco-based "Colla Voce" will be among those attendees. The group's president, David Trutanich, told the Bay Area Reporter that it plans on getting ready for the competition by hosting concerts for charity in June and July.

OutGames was formed as a result of a dispute with the Gay Games organizers over the scope of the games. Gay Games was originally going to be held in Montreal but instead will be held in Chicago earlier in July. Some OutGames participants plan to attend both competitions.

Steven Danielson plans to participate in the track and field competitions at the OutGames and the Gay Games. He will also take part in dragon boat racing with the Equipe San Francisco team at the OutGames. Danielson said that the games are important to him, in part, because he always felt "marginalized" when he played sports growing up.

"It's a real difference when someone's cheering for you and they know who you are," Danielson said.

Dane Lang said he became hooked on the games four years ago when he attended the Sydney Gay Games with his partner. He will be part of the cycling competition for OutGames.

"It's given me the sense of belonging to the athletic world, a community," Lang said. "You will see more gay people there than you will see anywhere."

Squash player Wayne Bender first attended the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver. Bender plans to fly directly from the Gay Games in Chicago to the OutGames in Montreal and use the week between the two venues to relax and vacation in Montreal.

"I go to have fun as much as to play," he said.

Nodded badminton player Gina Gomez in agreement, "It's all about having fun."

Equipe San Francisco leader Brian Jung said participants have until March 1 to order uniforms for the games. Jung said that although athletes will be able to sign up after March 1, those who do will not be able to participate in the opening ceremony without a uniform. Jung noted that supporters who aren't participating as athletes are also welcome to purchase uniforms at its next try-on party or through the organization's Web site.

Equipe San Francisco will hold a final try-on party and beer bust fundraiser this Saturday, February 25 at the Metro Bar & Restaurant from 2 to 7 p.m.

More information on Equipe San Francisco can be found at www.equipesf.org. The OutGames site is www.montreal2006.org.