Games people play

Shawn Stingel, winner of the Team DC model search, in a publicity photo for the group's holiday party. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Majoros)

Team DC, the information clearinghouse for 28 LGBT sports clubs in the D.C. metro area, has a full calendar of events coming up for the early months of 2011. Save the following dates as full details of the events will be posted soon.

They will be hosting a casino night on Jan. 29 which will include billiards, poker and blackjack. The second Team DC “Jock-a-thon” will take place on March 2. All 28 LGBT sports clubs will be in attendance to recruit new members and mingle with sports enthusiasts.

The hugely popular Team DC Fashion Show and Model Search is slated for March 12 and is the group’s main fundraising event for its LGBT student/athlete scholarship fund. And finally, Team DC will be hosting a dodge ball tournament on March 26. Start organizing your team now and remember, “If you can dodge traffic, you can dodge a ball.” Visit www.teamdc.org for details.

Lambda DanceSport DC is promoting its annual Yuletide Ball Championships from Dec. 31 to Jan. 2 at the JW Marriott Hotel. Join them to witness some great amateur, pro/am and pro/pro competition performers plus ballroom and Latin workshops by some of America’s finest instructors. An itinerary can be found at pleasedancewithme.com/yuletideball.htm.

MYOB Adventures is offering a snow tubing day trip at Whitetail Ski Resort on Jan. 29. The package will include luxury bus transportation, two hours of snow tubing and lunch. Contact kevinmnorris@aol.com to sign up for this fun-filled day.

Congratulations to the Washington Renegades rugby team for defeating the Winchester Cannons in their last game of the season at home by a score of 55-7.  The win secured a spot in next spring’s Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) playoffs which will mark the first time the Renegades have secured a berth in the tournament. The team is online at dcrugby.com.

Adventuring Outdoors Group is celebrating the passing of the seasons and the return of the sun on the 13th annual Sugarloaf Solstice/Poetry Hike on Sunday. This moderate circuit hike of about 7 miles and 1,700 feet of elevation gain will lead to a series of peaks on top of Sugarloaf mountain near Frederick, Md. Along the way, they will stop at the White Rocks overlook and have lunch while sharing favorite poems in honor of the passing of another year. The group will meet at Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station at 10 a.m. Contact Chris at ccraig@laurellodge.com for more information.

The Adventurers will also be hosting the Boxing Day Hike on the Capital Crescent Trail on Dec. 26. This will be an easy one-way stroll of about 7 miles, level or downhill, between Bethesda and Georgetown on what used to be a railroad spur line, now converted to a popular hiking-biking trail. The hikers will meet at 11 a.m. at street level atop the escalators of the Bethesda Metro Station at Wisconsin Avenue and Old Georgetown Road. Contact Craig at craighowell1@verizon.net for more information.