Four commissioners of Stonewall Kickball in North Carolina (l-r), Frank Wolfgram, Jason Boone, Will Fisher and Jonathan Melton. (Photo courtesy of Boone)

With an estimated metropolitan area population of six million, D.C. is home to a large and thriving LGBT sports community. There are roughly 35 teams and clubs competing, playing and socializing together, usually outside of the traditional bar scene. It seems that every time a new league is formed, it is immediately filled to capacity. In 2015, Capital Pride Volleyball and Stonewall Billiards completed their first seasons and will have to consider expanding for their second seasons.

The success in D.C. of these leagues can be attributed in part to the sheer number of people here, the transient nature of the area and the progressive thinking of many residents. Many of the LGBT players are having their own sports renaissance, finding their way back to the sports they were bullied out of playing in their youth and trying new sports.

But what about the rural areas around the country where homophobia remains prevalent and where there are still no safe spaces for members of the LGBT community to play sports?

Is it possible for LGBT sports leagues to be formed that offer that safe space when the numbers aren’t there and the local community may not be ready for it?

In the smaller communities, it all begins at the grassroots level.

D.C.-based Stonewall Sports has created a prototype for LGBT sports leagues that has worked well for the five sports that it offers locally. The structure that Stonewall mandates includes organizational guidelines for the proposed sport, financial support to local charities and community outreach.

North Carolina became the target of the first Stonewall expansion effort and leagues are now in place in Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro and Wilmington.

Even with the Stonewall prototype, getting started and maintaining the momentum to keep the leagues running requires establishing a strong connection to the community. Raleigh and Charlotte were the first expansion cities in 2013 and the two smaller cities followed.

Stonewall Kickball-Greensboro started in the fall of 2014 with 70 players on five teams. There were some issues at the beginning with teams being too small and having to forfeit, but they expanded to 107 players in the second season this year.

With the Greensboro population at just over 250,000, to get those extra players, kickball commissioner Will Fisher started networking and going out and just talking to people. They are also competing to recruit players with a straight recreational kickball league in the area.

“There is not really a gay scene here,” says Fisher. “And we don’t have a lot of options recruiting from the colleges as most of them aren’t over 21.”

Greensboro ended up with a diverse group of kickball players — mostly gay, several straight players, some recovering from addictions and a mix of ages.

“This is a lot of people that didn’t hang out together that are playing a sport and getting along fine,” Fisher says.

Sponsorship for the teams in the league has come from varied sources such as an investment firm, a Cross Fit gym, a catering business and a straight bar that caters to gay clientele on Sunday nights. Even a dinnerware replacement company is on board. The players can be found helping out at their sponsor’s events, doing set-up and break-down and the financial benefactor of their efforts is the local LGBT community center, Guilford Green.

The Stonewall prototype is working so well for them, that they are considering taking over volleyball from an old parks and recreation league.

Fisher, who is from Sanford, N.C., didn’t play many sports growing up but was active in eventing, an equestrian sport.

“This is fun and I am really enjoying meeting people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise,” says Fisher. “Actually, I think I might know everyone in Greensboro now.”

The launch of Stonewall Kickball-Wilmington in the spring of 2015 proved to be an even tougher challenge as the population in Wilmington is just over 100,000 people.

“There is no gay community here and most of the LGBT people in town don’t want to go to the only gay bar,” says Frank Wolfgram, Wilmington Kickball commissioner. “It’s a small town and even though no one really knows each other, you still hear about everyone’s business.”

With no Pride events in the area, marketing was a key issue and word began to spread that a kickball league was forming. It was decided that it was necessary to have a few pick-up kickball games to see if everyone meshed. There were enough players to start a league — 60 players on five teams.

“When we were first getting ready to play, I was thinking to myself, ‘please let everyone be nice to each other,'” Wolfgram says. “And they were; it was mind-blowing. Everyone was clapping and being really supportive.”

Wolfgram is from Rochester, N.Y., and has been in Wilmington for five years. He played basketball and baseball growing up and says he has always been a sports fan. With the next season approaching, Wolfgram is already starting to wonder if they will come up with enough players to keep it going.

“I probably shouldn’t worry too much about it,” he says. “People enjoy getting muddy here.”

The lesson from starting these leagues in small cities was that the community plays an extra large part in the success of the venture. The typical game day is filled with kickball, cornhole, kids, dogs and food.

“You have to wonder if the community is ready for 60 gays and their allies to walk into a bar all wearing matching T-shirts,” says Martin Espinoza, co-founder of Stonewall Sports. “One thing to note is that the new leagues in North Carolina all have young leaders who are interested in helping the community.”

Another positive development is that despite the physical distance between the four cities, they are forging a new community together. They are playing games, holding events and offering support to one another. This weekend they will all come together to spend a day at the Wet n’ Wild water park in Greensboro. Ten people from Stonewall-D.C. will be there to join in the fun.

“It has been pretty amazing to watch this tight community form from four cities,” Espinoza says. “They are always trying to one up each other. Greensboro even had the straight female mayor come out for the first pitch.”