Sports
YEAR IN REVIEW 2017: sports
Wetskins, Triangles and more enjoy banner year
Stonewall Climbing was one of the new LGBT sports leagues to debut in the region this year. (Photo courtesy Stonewall Climbing)
The LGBT sports community in the Washington metro area has continued to thrive through the leadership skills of each respective team. In 2017, about 25 LGBT-based teams that represent a diverse cross-section of the LGBT community competed in locally hosted leagues along with tournaments around the world.
The Capital Tennis Association launched a free Beginner’s Basics program for members to learn basic skills and techniques. In September they hosted Capital Classic XXV and in addition, offered four seasons of league play. They picked up their third straight win at the Atlantic Cup in October defeating teams from Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Their players are also competing globally in other tournaments on the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance world tour.
The D.C. Gay Flag Football League completed seasons 14 and 15 in 2017 with close to 300 players on 20 teams. Their travel teams contested in tournaments in Chicago and Rehoboth Beach along with Gay Bowl in Boston.
The Federal Triangles Soccer Club hosted another successful season of the Summer of Freedom Soccer League along with competing in other District leagues and tournament play.
The Washington Wetskins water polo team hosted the Washington Wetskins Fall Invitational in October at the Takoma Aquatic Center and welcomed 12 teams from the Eastern Seaboard. They also traveled to multiple tournaments including the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics World Championships in Miami.
The Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League hosted its biggest MAGIC tournament in July at Watkins Regional Park with 44 teams participating. At the ASANA Softball World Series in Austin, one of their women’s teams notched third place and one of their master’s men’s teams took third place in their division at the Gay Softball World Series in Portland. The CAPS just returned from the Bourbon Street Classic in New Orleans.
The D.C. Sentinels basketball team traveled to tournaments in Minneapolis and Philadelphia. Their weekly pick-up games continue along with the launch of the next season of the Washington D.C. Gay Basketball League.
The Stonewall Sports umbrella organization continues to host play through Stonewall Kickball, Stonewall Dodgeball, Stonewall Bocce, Stonewall Climbing, Stonewall Billiards and Stonewall Yoga. The fourth annual Stonewall Sports National Tournament was held in July at locations throughout D.C. including the National Mall.
The District of Columbia Aquatics Club traveled to Miami in May where they won 171 medals at the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics World Championships. In October they hosted more than 100 swimmers at the Columbus Day Classic at Wilson Aquatic Center.
All three of the local rugby teams, Washington Scandals, Washington Renegades and the Baltimore Flamingos, are playing in USA Rugby’s Mid-Atlantic Senior Men’s Division IV conference. They are also playing in tournaments and will travel to the Bingham Cup in Amsterdam in 2018.
Along with their successes at out-of-town tournaments, many of the teams hosted their own tournaments in D.C. and ran their own leagues. Registrations for new seasons will begin for many of the clubs in January.
The LGBT sports community of D.C. continues to evolve and this year’s new additions included Stonewall Climbing and Rogue Darts.
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.
As Washington shifts right, Democratic Socialists gain ground
Susan Stewart could make history as Rehoboth’s first openly gay mayor
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
Madonna roundup: Reviews, sales, and love for ‘Danceteria’
Three overlooked court rulings limited White House anti-trans policies
‘Transcendent’ a tough but important read
Under-the-radar Delaware beach towns smart buyers are targeting
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
In Trump’s divided America, Michael Weinstein’s AHF responds
