The D.C. Sentinels represented the region well last month in Florida. This photo of its Red Squad was taken in Fort Lauderdale just after players won the Upper B-Division at the Hurricane Classic. (Photo courtesy the Sentinels)

This week’s LGBT sports news features the launch of a new league, the end of a winning season, some national recognition and a chance to hike off that turkey dinner.

The D.C. Sentinels basketball team traveled to Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 12 to compete in the Hurricane Classic basketball tournament. About 225 players competed in the first gay basketball tournament ever held in South Florida organized by the National Gay Basketball Association.

The Sentinels sent two squads with the Washington D.C. Reds winning the Upper B-Division and the Washington D.C. Blues placing second in the Lower B-Division.

This Saturday the D.C. Sentinels will open registration for the inaugural season of the Washington D.C. Gay Basketball League. For the first time in D.C., they have organized a league for local LGBT and ally athletes of all skill levels to play basketball.

The league will be contested on Thursday nights from Jan. 24 through March 14. The group is expecting to have teams with eight-10 players and a cap of 120 athletes. They have secured the George Washington University Charles E. Smith Colonials Center for league play.

Recently, the Sentinels put out feelers on Facebook looking for a response on the formation of the league. They received replies from about 100 potential players. Registration in the league will be on a first-come-first-serve basis and the draft will occur Dec. 8.

Those interested may register for the league on its Facebook page under D.C. Sentinels. The group can be found on the web at teamdcbasketball.org.

The Washington Renegades Rugby Football Club has wrapped up its fall season with both squads having winning records. The Renegades compete in Division III of the Potomac Rugby Union and their Blues squad finished the season with an 8-2 record. The Reds squad finished with a 9-1-1 record and won Hellfest in Dallas for the second year in a row. More info is at dcrugby.com.

Congratulations to Team D.C. for receiving national recognition from Compete Media for being named Best Team, League or Association. The award is a result of Team D.C.’s accomplishments with its College Scholarship Program, the Night OUT Series and its ongoing support of the region’s 26 LGBT sports clubs.

Executive Director Brent Minor traveled to Atlanta last weekend to accept the award and to attend the launch of the new quarterly sports magazine, Stand Up. The magazine is an offshoot of the Stand Up Foundation created by Ben Cohen. More info on Team D.C.’s activities is at teamdc.org.

For those of you looking to walk off some turkey this weekend, the Adventuring Outdoors Group holds its annual Shenandoah National Park hike Saturday. This year’s hike will be on Compton Peak with two outstanding attractions. One is an excellent overlook where the group will lunch facing a northwestward vista. The other is one of Shenandoah’s spectacular examples of a geological feature known as columnar jointing.

Few have ever seen this basalt formation as the trail to its base has long been poorly maintained. Vast improvements have been made this year by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club which should afford some great views. The group will start its approach to Compton Peak from outside the Park via Chester Gap and the Appalachian Trail.

Total length of the round trip hike will be 4.5 miles with 1000 feet of elevation gain.  Bring beverages, lunch and $8 for transportation and trip fees. Meet up is at 9 a.m. at the East Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride lot. More details are at adventuring.org.