The Baltimore Flamingos (Photo courtesy Arc Riley)

In July, some of the players traveling from outlying areas of D.C. to train with the Washington Scandals rugby team realized there was enough interest to try to form an LGBT-inclusive team in Baltimore.

After just two months of recruitment, skills clinics and social media outreach, the Baltimore Flamingos rugby team has emerged. Three of its new players partnered with the Washington Scandals and traveled to the recent Beaver Bowl in Toronto to gain tournament experience. Members say their name is a tip of the hat to John Waters (“Pink Flamingos”); their tag line is “fierce and filthy.”

Baltimore’s Ken Lentz scored his first try (grounding the ball in the opposition’s in-goal area) and the spark was ignited for the Flamingos to soldier onward. Next week 13 Flamingo players will partner with the newly formed Columbus Kodiaks to play as a team in the Queen City Crown in Charlotte, N.C.

At the end of October, they will play their first full-fledged match as a complete team when they travel north to take on the Philadelphia Gryphons. They currently have 23 players registered with USA Rugby and will increase that by the end of next month.

“This is something that has been missing in Baltimore and the timing was right. There were already LGBT-inclusive teams in Philly and D.C. and the interest was there to get this started,” says Darrell Coffey, president of the Flamingos. “It’s pretty incredible how far we have come in just a few short months. There has been a ton of support from the community.”

Coffey is one of the players that had been traveling down to D.C. to play with the Scandals. Previously living in Richmond, he moved to Baltimore in March to work at Hopkins in HR and recruitment and had no prior experience in rugby until he was introduced to the Scandals.

“When you have no history of athleticism, it can hold a person back,” Coffey says. “Most of our new players have no rugby experience and the camaraderie we have already established is palpable.”

Next month when they take on the Philadelphia Gryphons, they will be sporting new jerseys as a result of their crowdsourcing and support from the Baltimore Eagle and Grand Central Station. Recruitment efforts were assisted by coverage from the Pride Foundation of Maryland and the Third Half Online.

They are currently looking for a permanent coach, but in the meantime are benefitting from the expertise of Scandals founder Arc Riley.

Riley stepped in to lead the skills clinics and provide coaching for the new players along with bringing in members of the Scandals and the Gryphons to create scrimmages. The team is now practicing on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. at Druid Hill Park.

“When someone plays their first rugby match, a small percentage doesn’t show up again. The rest are hooked for life,” says Riley. “After that first match in Toronto, the Baltimore players came back energized and they haven’t missed a practice since.”

The Flamingos will be playing outside of a league and will be organizing games against other cities in the region and playing in tournaments. Riley is currently in talks to get another LGBT-inclusive team started in Pittsburgh.

“It takes a lot of guts to play rugby considering you are running and tackling without wearing protective gear,” Riley says. “The formation and group work leads to a level of brotherhood that is similar to a tribal warrior mentality. It really is like a family.”