Sports
Staying in the game
Triangles, Scandals, Renegades and more among active local sports groups
D.C. Gay Flag Football. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The LGBT sports community of Washington continues to impress with a full lineup of offerings in the coming months.
The Capital Tennis Association will host the Capital Classic XXI from Sept. 13-15. Registration is now open for the event, which will include matches in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
Open and B draws will be played on clay and A, C and D draws will be played on hard courts (indoor and/or outdoor). The tournament will be contested at the Rock Creek Tennis Center and the East Potomac Tennis Center at Hains Point. Registration can be found at capital-tennis.org.
The Federal Triangles Soccer Club will host the Rehoboth Beach Soccer Classic XV from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 in Rehoboth Beach. Registration for the event is individual and is now open at federaltriangles.org.
The Washington Scandals Rugby Football Club will travel to Beaver Bowl VI in Ottawa, Canada from Aug. 24-25. The event will be their first full contact tournament and will coincide with Ottawa Pride. The Club can be found at dcscandals.org.
The District of Columbia Aquatics Club will be traveling to Seattle for the International Gay and Lesbian World Championships from Aug. 13-18 where they will attempt to take back their world title.
The swimmers will host the Fall Ball swim meet at Woodrow Wilson High School from Oct. 12-13. The meet will be held in conjunction with the Washington Wetskins water polo tournament and registration will be available at swimdcac.org.
Stonewall Kickball will open registration for their fall league on Aug. 13. The League will begin Sept. 8 and run for 11 weeks on Sundays at Stead Park. This League fills up fast and free agents are welcome. Registration will be available at stonewallsports.org.
Stonewall Bocce will open registration for their fall league on Aug. 19. The League will begin Sept. 12 and run for eight weeks on Thursdays at the Logan Circle Bocce Field. This League also fills up fast and free agents are welcome. Registration will be available at stonewallsports.org.
The Washington Renegades Rugby Football Club will begin its fall season practices on Aug. 6 at Cardozo High School at 7 p.m. Information on the club is at dcrugby.com.
The Lambda Links Golf Club will host its Fun Tournament on Aug. 24. Information is forthcoming on the event and will be available at lambdalinks.org.
The D.C. Gay Flag Football League will open registration for its fall league on Aug. 6. New player tryouts and evaluations will begin Aug. 7 and the League will begin on Sept. 8.
The League will be sending at least two of its travel teams to Gay Bowl XIII in Phoenix from Oct. 10-14. Information on the League is at dcgffl.org.
The Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League will be hosting the NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series from Aug. 26-31 at three separate complexes in the area. The tournament, the largest annual LGBT sporting event in the world, will welcome 170 teams participating in more than 600 softball games.
Organizers are expecting more than 4,000 athletes and fans visiting Washington for the weeklong tournament. More information on the event is at dcseries2013.com. The League can be found at capssoftball.org.
Team D.C. and the Federal Triangles Soccer Club and D.C United will co-host United Night Out on Sept. 15 as the D.C. United take on the L.A. Galaxy at RFK Stadium.
The event is part of the Team D.C. Night Out Series and is a great opportunity for the LGBT community to experience a professional soccer match in a safe and welcoming environment. Tickets will be available at unitednightout.com.
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.
Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth
PHOTOS: Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade
Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade draws hundreds of thousands
Should I divorce my catty gay friend group?
Poland’s top court rejects recognition of same-sex marriages from other EU countries
Officials raise troubling concerns about Rehoboth mayoral candidate Suzanne Goode
US official protested at 2026 International AIDS Conference
Trump ends direct HIV prevention funding to community groups
Advocates for trans students urge Md. to fight White House threats
‘Heated Rivalry’ star takes it off in new ads for Under Armour
-
Rehoboth Beach4 days agoOfficials raise troubling concerns about Rehoboth mayoral candidate Suzanne Goode
-
Brazil5 days ago
US official protested at 2026 International AIDS Conference
-
National5 days ago
Trump ends direct HIV prevention funding to community groups
-
Maryland5 days ago
Advocates for trans students urge Md. to fight White House threats
