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For three years, gay men wearing their country's sash have battled on a California stage for the title of Mr. Gay International.

It's the gay male equivalent of the Miss Universe pageant, complete with Speedos, evening wear and earnest speeches. But for an event that is supposed to be about improving gay rights, the competition has sure gotten ugly.

In a coup that has put the future of the International Mr. Gay competition in jeopardy, a splinter group including Canadian organizers has created another contest - Mr. Gay World. It will debut in Whistler this February, hosted by former Olympian swimmer Mark Tewksbury, two weeks before the 4th annual International Mr. Gay contest.

The split has left the event founder, Don Spradlin, wondering who will show up in San Francisco this year.

"If they want to start their own contest, the more power to them," he said of his former collaborators, adding: "I don't know how much longevity they'll have. It's not that easy."

But Mr. Gay World organizers, who say the original event was too light on content, aren't offering any apologies.

"In the past, the experience for the delegates wasn't necessarily always a positive experience, which was a concern for us," said Dean Nelson, co-producer of the Mr. Gay Canada contest and a board member for Mr. Gay World.

Of Mr. Spradlin, he added: "This has been his baby for a number of years, so of course he's going to be hurt and disappointed in the way the events unfolded."

International Mr. Gay began when Mr. Spradlin realized that while drag queens and leather daddies held contests to select ambassadors, there wasn't an equivalent contest for the "regular gay guy."

So, in 2005, he launched International Mr. Gay. Initially he struggled to attract contestants because, he said, "it was very difficult to get a regular guy to stand up and say, 'I'm Mr. Gay.'

"He would invariably say, 'That's not my thing.' Because everybody had this idea that ... you had to be some sort of drag queen or exhibitionist."

But that first year, in front of an audience of about 400, eight toned, good-looking delegates competed for the title (there is no crown).

Since then, the event's popularity has grown, along with the number of participating countries, and last year the event drew 20 contestants from places as far away as India, Israel and the Philippines.

The event's website says the aim is to "advocate International Equal Rights by confirming the essential nature and contributions of gay men to a healthy society where 'gay' is not a stereotype."

But at least one former contestant says it's more about looks.

"Basically all we did was dance," said James Coburn, Mr. Gay Canada 2007 who competed in Los Angeles last February.

Mr. Coburn, a server in a Vancouver hotel, said he was excited to promote his platform of raising awareness about body dimorphic disorder.

But while he enjoyed meeting other delegates, he said, "the whole four days leading up to the finale was, 'We've gotta rehearse.' I'm thinking, 'Oh my Lord, why are we doing so much dance stuff?' "

Contestants were only given the chance to tell judges about their platforms during five-minute interviews conducted after a poolside photo shoot, he said.

He added that the questions - such as, if you had to invite two people, dead or alive, to a dinner party, who would they be? - weren't serious enough.

The digs were also underwhelming, Mr. Coburn said. "We checked into a Ramada."

This year's winner was Carlos Melia, an Argentinean former model who says his reign has allowed him to travel the world and promote his business, Pride Travel.

But it was all his initiative, he says; he hasn't heard from event organizers since winning the title.

Still, he believes having two similar events is a bad idea. "We should start concentrating on one thing," he said. "We should work together."

Mr. Nelson, who, like several of the Mr. Gay World organizers, was involved in selecting delegates for the International Mr. Gay competition, said the idea for Mr. Gay World came after September, when he impressed other organizers with the Mr. Gay Canada contest in Whistler (the winner was North Vancouver engineer Darren Bruce).

He and several other producers of national contests flew to Dublin to discuss making changes to the event.

Mr. Spradlin was invited, but elected not to come, he said.

At Mr. Gay World, delegates will be coached in public relations so they can be more effective advocates for gay rights when they go home.

A search-and-rescue contest will allow delegates to showcase their leadership.

There will also be a fashion show and evening wear competition.

And "we would have a complete riot if we didn't have a swimsuit appearance," Mr. Nelson said.

Mr. Spradlin said his event has never been only about looks, noting that 85 per cent of the points are based on such things as character, maturity and leadership.

This year, in another effort to get away from beauty pageant comparisons, they'll be using medallions instead of sashes, he said.

Still, he prefers to put a positive spin on the whole thing.

"At some point there may be no reason to have a Mr. Gay contest," he said. "When, in general, there's no longer this misrepresentation of the gay stereotype, then we no longer have a mission. ...

"I think that these competing events are evidence that we are achieving our mission."