International Gay Rugby Association and Board
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International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB) is the umbrella organization for the world's gay rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
clubs. It is dedicated to encouraging lesbians and gay men everywhere to play rugby. IGRAB is based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The Goals of IGRAB are to:
- Lobby for the inclusion of rugby in the Gay GamesGay GamesThe Gay Games is the world's largest sporting and cultural event organized by and specifically for LGBT athletes, artists, musicians, and others. It welcomes participants of every sexual orientation and every skill level...
, and work with the Federation of Gay Games to foster rugby within the Games. - Supervise a gay rugby world cup, known as the Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial TournamentMark Kendall Bingham Memorial TournamentThe Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament or the Bingham Cup is a biennial international, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament, first held in 2002...
or Bingham Cup for short. - Encourage the creation of more lesbian and gay friendly teams
IGRAB seeks to ensure its activities and rugby generally are inclusive in nature. IGRAB will strive to ensure that no individual shall be excluded from participating in IGRAB or rugby on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political beliefs, athletic ability, age, physical challenge, mental challenge, or health status.
IGRAB constitutionally covers rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, rugby sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
, quad (wheelchair) rugby
Wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby, , is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is currently practiced in over twenty countries around the world and is a Paralympic sport....
, and touch rugby
Touch rugby
Touch rugby, Refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle in the traditional, highly physical way, but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball....
. Rugby union is by far the largest part of the IGRAB's focus.
The 2008-2012 IGRAB officers are Alex Fallis, Chairman (New York Gotham Knights); Andrew "Fuzz" Purchas, Vice-Chairman (Sydney Convicts); Jeff Wilson, Secretary (Seattle Quake) and Jonathan Fish, Treasurer (Manchester Village Spartans).
History
In 2002 a coordinating group of gay & bisexual rugby teams based around the globe got together to create IGRAB as the body to promote rugby as an all-inclusive non-discriminatory sport which everyone can play, regardless of sexuality. The formation of this body led to the inauguration of a new international rugby competition—a gay rugby world's cup—which in a unanimous decision by all the members of IGRAB became known as the Bingham Cup. Since then the Bingham Cup has been won by:2002 - San Francisco Fog (tournament hosts)
2004 - San Francisco Fog (tournament hosted by London Kings Cross Steelers)
2006 - Sydney Convicts (tournament hosted by New York Gotham Knights)
2008 - Sydney Convicts (tournament hosted by Dublin Emerald Warriors)
2010 - Gotham Knights (tournament hosted by Minneapolis Mayhem RFC)
The 2012 Bingham Cup will be hosted by the Manchester Village Spartans RFC
Member Clubs
Australasia- Brisbane Hustlers RFC, (currently inactive) Brisbane, Australia
- Melbourne Chargers RFC, Melbourne, Australia
- Ponsonby Heroes RFC, (currently inactive) Auckland, New Zealand
- Sydney Convicts RFC, Sydney, Australia
Europe
- NOP Amsterdam RFC,(currently inactive) Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Lowlanders RFC, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Bristol Bisons RFCBristol Bisons RFCBristol Bisons RFC is an English rugby union club and claims to be an inclusive gay friendly team.- Club History :The Bristol Bisons RFC were established in 2005....
, Bristol, England, UK - Caledonian Thebans RFCCaledonian Thebans RFCCaledonian Thebans Rugby Football Club, formerly Edinburgh Thebans Rugby Football Club, is an Edinburgh-based rugby union club. They are Scotland's first gay-friendly rugby club, and currently the only one in the country....
, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - Cardiff Lions RFCCardiff LionsThe Cardiff Lions RFC is a gay and gay friendly rugby union football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club was founded in 2004 and remains the only gay rugby club in Wales...
, Cardiff, Wales, UK - Copenhagen Scrum RFC, (currently inactive) Copenhagen, Denmark
- Copenhagen Wolves RFC, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Emerald Warriors RFC, Dublin, Ireland
- Kings Cross Steelers RFCKings Cross SteelersThe Kings Cross Steelers are an English rugby union team, the first open membership gay and bisexual rugby club in the world.The Kings Cross Steelers are currently playing in the .-History:...
, London, England, UK - La Melee Alpine RFC, Grenoble, France
- Les Gaillards Parisiens RFC, Paris, France
- Lisbon Dark Horses, Lisbon, Portugal
- Los Valents de Montpellier RFC, Montpellier, France
- Malmö Devilants RFCMalmö DevilantsMalmö Devilants RFC is a Swedish gay rugby union and volleyball club in Malmö. Malmö Devilants was founded 2004 and was the first gay rugby team in Scandinavia. Malmö Devilants are a member of International Gay Rugby Association and Board. Devilants have been playing in Union Cup in 2005 and 2007...
, Malmö, Sweden - Manchester Village Spartans RFC, Manchester, England, UK
- Newcastle Ravens RFCNewcastle RavensNewcastle Ravens Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The team was organised to help encourage gay people to take part in the sport. Dave Burke, who is the current chairman, founded the team in 2006 and it is run by a board of four elected members...
, Newcastle upon Tyne, England - Oporto Spartans RFC, Porto, Portugal
- Panthers RFC, Derby, DE1 Derby, United Kingdom
- Stockholm Berserkers, Stockholm, Sweden
- Straffe Ketten RFC, Brussels, Belgium
- Ulster Titans RFCUlster TitansThe Ulster Titans are a Northern Irish rugby team based in Belfast. They play East 2 of the Ulster Magners Minor League and are members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board. The club colours are black, yellow and white.-History:...
, Belfast, Northern Ireland
North America
- Atlanta Bucks RFC, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- Austin Lonestars RFC, (currently inactive) Austin, Texas, United States
- Boston Ironsides RFCBoston Ironsides RFCBoston Ironsides Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Boston, MA. The Ironsides play in its local union as a division 3 social team; usually retaining around 22 members each season.-Members:...
, Boston, Massachusetts, United States - Charlotte Royals RFC, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
- Chicago Dragons RFC, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Chillicothe Cobras RFC, (currently inactive), Chillicothe, Ohio, United States
- Cleveland Rovers RFC, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
- Colorado RUSH RFC http://www.ColoradoRushRFC.org, Denver, Colorado, United States
- Columbus Coyotes RFC, Columbus, Ohio, United States
- Dallas Diablos RFC, Dallas, Texas, United States
- Denver Wildfire RFC, (currently inactive) Denver, Colorado, United States
- Gotham Knights RFCGotham KnightsThe Gotham Knights Rugby Football Club is a division III men's club in the Metropolitan New York Rugby Union. Their home pitch is on Randall's Island, between the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx...
, New York City, United States - Houston Heat RFC, (currently inactive) Houston, Texas, United States
- Houston Roughnecks RFC, (currently inactive) Houston, Texas, United States
- Kansas City Carnivores RFC, Kansas City, Missouri, United States
- Los Angeles Rebellion RFCLos Angeles RebellionSince 2001, the Los Angeles Rebellion Rugby union Football Club is the first rugby union club in Southern California that deliberately welcomes players, coaches and supporters of all ages, races, genders and sexual orientations....
, Los Angeles, California, United States - Madison Minotaurs RFC http://www.MinotaursRugby.org, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
- Minneapolis Mayhem RFCMinneapolis MayhemThe Minneapolis Mayhem Rugby Football Club is one of the nation’s few male rugby clubs that makes the sport accessible to traditionally underrepresented groups, including people of color and gay men....
, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States - Muddy York RFC, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Nashville Grizzlies RFCNashville Grizzlies RFCNashville Grizzlies RFC is a men's rugby union football club in Nashville, Tennessee. The club was formed in 2006 to bring the sport to typically under-represented populations although it welcomes anyone interested in the sport...
http://www.grizzliesrugby.org, Nashville, Tennessee, United States - North Carolina Kodiaks RFC, (currently inactive) Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, United States
- Ottawa Wolves RFCOttawa Wolves RFC- History :The Ottawa Wolves RFC was founded in 2008 by Carl Pilon and Jay Smidt, both Hero award recipients, with the mission to promote and encourage participation in rugby among those who have traditionally been under-represented in the game, with an emphasis on gay men...
, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - Philadelphia Gryphons RFC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Phoenix Storm RFC, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
- Portland Avalanche RFC, (currently inactive) Portland, Oregon, United States
- San Diego Armada RFC, San Diego, California, United States
- Scotian Storms RFC, (currently inactive) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- San Francisco Fog RFC, San Francisco, California, United States
- Seattle Quake RFC, Seattle, Washington, United States
- St. Louis Crusaders RFC, St. Louis, Missouri, United States
- Vancouver Rogues RFC, (currently inactive) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Washington Renegades RFCWashington RenegadesThe Washington Renegades is a Division III rugby union club based in Washington D.C.. Established on October 24, 1998 by Mark Hertzog, the Washington Renegades was the first men's rugby club in the United States to actively recruit gay men and men of color....
, Washington, DC, United States
South America
- Buenos Aires Rugby, (currently inactive) Buenos Aires, Argentina
See also
- 2008 Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament
- Union CupUnion CupThe Union Cup is a biennial European, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament, bringing together teams and joint teams from all over Europe.-Montpellier 2005:The first edition was held in May 2005 in Montpellier, France...
- LGBT community
External links
- International Gay Rugby Association and Board — official website