Jog the world's first gay gby team changed my life. So I ma a film about | Film | The Guardian

Contents:

• INTERNATNAL GAY RUGBY PREPAR FOR BGHAM CUP
• JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT

INTERNATNAL GAY RUGBY PREPAR FOR BGHAM CUP

Shortly after a handful of gby unn clubs for gay and bisexual men om the UK and USA had found the Internatnal Gay Rugby Associatn and Board (IGRAB) October 2000, The Washgton Renegas held an rmal, ternatnal, vatnal tournament at their home DC May 2001. As a gay man and regular gby player, Mark not only played for San Francis Fog but also helped to set up Gotham Knights New York Cy and was well known throughout the fledglg IGR was credibly shockg that jt three month’s followg the vatnal, Mark would loose his life the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, onboard flight Uned October 2001, followg the 2001 vatnal, the San Francis Fog succsfully lobbied IGRAB for the right to put on a XVs gby tournament  San Francis  June tournament was fashned the style of the Rugby World Cup, wh both the tournament and cup prize named honor of Mark followg a unanimo cisn by all the members of IGRAB.

(Bgham Cup/Amanda Tom)The world's largt amatr gby tournament has s openg ceremoni Ottawa Wednday, wh more than 1, 700 players om 20 untri sets this biennial tournament — the Bgham Cup — apart om others, is the fact has bee a world cup of gay and clive is the tourney's 10th anniversary, and is beg held Canada for the first time. In 2018, the Ottawa Wolv, Ottawa's only gay and clive team, flew to Amsterdam to prent our bid to get the hostg rights and after that we set about the bs of puttg the tournament on.

"We're gog to gather the top sport rearchers, amics, legal mds and also lears om the sport Canada and we have ternatnal atten om everywhere to addrs and tackle transphobia and homophobia the sport, " Laberge said. The immensy and gravas of petg the world cup of gay gby - the biennial Bgham Cup - is somethg that didn't tly h me until I was g off the pch followg my first match at my first ever Bgham Cup Amsterdam this past summer. Especially, bee the tournament is only played by LGBTQ and LGBTQ-clive clubs who battle homophobia and negative stereotyp of the LGBTQ muny every time they step foot on a pch.

JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT

I was plag about not beg able to fd the gay muny that media had promised me, and I was feelg isolated and lonely New York Cy. "As someone who's played and peted sport on many levels, I know that the sportg world is often unwelg and a sry place for gay men, " says Dunn.

"In October 2016, Internatnal Gay Rugby, which is the larger umbrella anizatn for the world's gay and clive gby clubs, announced that Bgham Cup 2018 would be held Amsterdam. Dpe trag to pete match agast teams the Empire Rugby Football Unn Geographil Unn - the erng body for the Gotham Knight's lol match - my md was always thkg ahead to petg agast other gay and LGBTQ-iendly teams om all over the world at the Bgham Cup. Durg those two years of preparatn, gay gby and the Gotham Knights tght me who I was, what I was pable of, and playg gby Amsterdam for the Bgham Cup offered eply movg moments of knowledge that every tackle and every try sred at the Bgham Cup stands to dispel negative stereotyp about the LGBT muny and is a steppg stone to LGBTQ-clive societi the world over creat a phoria all of s own.

This feelg is only magnified by the fact that, while Amsterdam, I was surround by roughly 1, 619 other gby players who were welg and the livg embodiment of the spir of clivy that the larger tentnal gay by muny spir. "Named for Mark Kendall Bgham, the Bgham Cup celebrat Bgham as an athlete, an Amerin hero, a gay man, and honors his lastg legacy. Bgham was a member of the gay-clive gby team the San Francis Fog and was talks wh his East Coast iends about settg up a New York Cy team when he lost his life when he and others attempted to retake Uned Flight 93 om hijackers on September 11, 2001.