Sports
Bump, set, spike!
Baltimore-based gay volleyball league celebrating 30th year
Volleyball action at the Charm City Invitational 27 (Photo by John Kardys Photography)
Charm City Volleyball is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year as a local LGBT sports team. The team was founded in 1982 by John Kardys who still plays on a weekly basis.
The group offers two options for men and women who are interested in playing volleyball. On Wednesdays, players meet for social play at the Mount Royal Recreation Center in Baltimore from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The court fees are $3 per person.
“We have about 20-30 people who come on a regular basis for social play,” says Chris Wulin, club director. “It usually evolves into a social gathering after we finish playing.”
On Sundays, the group reserves courts at the Volleyball House in Elkridge, Md., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for competitive play. The court fees are $7 per person.
On those days, North American Gay Volleyball Association (NAGVA)-sanctioned teams meet up to hone their skills for future tournaments.
Charm City Volleyball has four sanctioned teams that practice on Sundays. Sometimes they are joined by teams from D.C. and Harrisburg, Pa.
NAGVA sanctions about 30 tournaments a year and the Charm City teams can often be found on the road competing in cities such as Boston, New York, Atlanta and New Orleans.
Coming up on May 25, three teams from Charm City will be heading to the NAGVA Championships XXX in Las Vegas.
There are 169 teams registered for the Championships from all over North America and Puerto Rico. To compete in the tournament, a team has to have played in at least one NAGVA sanctioned event.
Under NAGVA rules, and to promote fair play, players are rated and separated into divisions according to ability. A request is made to the regional commissioner for a rating to be assigned to a player. The commissioner then enlists three-to-five other players for information to assign the rating.
Wulin, who is also a NAGVA regional commissioner says, “The rating process can be a little political. If it is policed properly, it is still a good system for matching players with similar skills.”
Two weeks ago, the group hosted the 27th annual Charm City Invitational in Elkridge, Md. Forty teams from North America, including teams from Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York, D.C., Puerto Rico and Baltimore competed in three divisions.
On Saturday, the teams competed in eight games of pool play which was followed on Sunday with double elimination play.
Tournament Results for Charm City Invitational 27:
A Division:
First — NY Spafinder.com
Second — NY Hazzoo
Third — Baltimore B-more Boys
BB Division:
First — Baltimore Kiraly Babies
Second — NY Fat Girls
Third — Baltimore Hawaii 5.3
B Division:
First — NY Whitney
Second — Harrisburg Swallows
Third — Baltimore Wack Attack
More information on Charm City Volleyball is at volleybaltimore.org.
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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