Sports
New Rogue Cornhole sports league attracts nearly 100 players
Sports is relaxed, offers ‘a great, interesting mix of people’
Rogue Cornhole has proved surprisingly popular as a new D.C. LGBT sports league. (Photo by John Jack Photography; used with permission)
The LGBT sports community of D.C. welcomed a new league in September when Rogue Cornhole launched its inaugural season at Midland Beer Garden.
The league is an offshoot of Rogue Darts and registration sold out in less than a week. Season one has 96 players on 24 teams who are playing on Wednesday nights through the end of November. Also known as bean-bag toss, players throw bean bags at a raised platform trying to land them in a hole.
Kevin Comerford was volunteering for Rogue Darts at Capital Pride and found himself stepping forward as league commissioner.
He had already been active with the D.C. Gay Flag Football League, Rogue Darts and Stonewall Bocce. Comerford is originally from North Carolina and did his undergrad and grad work at North Carolina State University before moving to D.C. where he now works as a finance manager for a real estate company.
“Cornhole is more of a relaxed sport and we have a great, interesting mix of people,” Comerford says. “These are people you might not meet otherwise and it feels like a nice addition to the LGBT community.”
Comerford adds that the success of the first Rogue Cornhole season was helped by the Rogue Darts base which served as a platform to bring people into the league. The league divisions are named for the Golden Girls and he was surprised by the energy surrounding their kickoff season.
“The enthusiasm was amazing, and the teams were working on their own logos in the buildup to our launch,” Comerford says. “The first season has been a learning experience and we expect the dynamic to change with each season.”
Rogue Cornhole will follow the precedent set by Rogue Darts in donating their league proceeds to nonprofits chosen by the league teams. They are expecting to raise close to $5,000 in their first season and Midland Beer Garden will continue to be their home in future seasons.
“They have a great indoor/outdoor space and there is room for us to grow,” Comerford says. “Players can bring their dogs and it is a perfect spot for us.”
More than a dozen LGBTQ athletes won medals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday.
Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight, and Alex Carpenter are LGBTQ members of the U.S. women’s hockey team that won a gold medal after they defeated Canada in overtime. Knight the day before the Feb. 19 match proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
French ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron, who is gay, and his partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won gold. American alpine skier Breezy Johnson, who is bisexual, won gold in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, was part of the American figure skating team that won gold in the team event.
Swiss freestyle skier Mathilde Gremaud, who is in a relationship with Vali Höll, an Austrian mountain biker, won gold in women’s freeski slopestyle.
Bruce Mouat, who is the captain of the British curling team that won a silver medal, is gay. Six members of the Canadian women’s hockey team — Emily Clark, Erin Ambrose, Emerance Maschmeyer, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, and Marie-Philip Poulin — that won silver are LGBTQ.
Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naeslund, who is a lesbian, won a bronze medal in ski cross.
Belgian speed skater Tineke den Dulk, who is bisexual, was part of her country’s mixed 2000-meter relay that won bronze. Canadian ice dancer Paul Poirier, who is gay, and his partner, Piper Gilles, won bronze.
Laura Zimmermann, who is queer, is a member of the Swiss women’s hockey team that won bronze when they defeated Sweden.
Outsports.com notes all of the LGBTQ Olympians who competed at the games and who medaled.
Sports
US wins Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey
Team captain Hilary Knight proposed to girlfriend on Wednesday
The U.S. women’s hockey team on Thursday won a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime. The game took place a day after Team USA captain Hilary Knight proposed to her girlfriend, Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speed skater.
Cayla Barnes and Alex Carpenter — Knight’s teammates — are also LGBTQ. They are among the more than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes who are competing in the games.
The Olympics will end on Sunday.
Sports
Attitude! French ice dancers nail ‘Vogue’ routine
Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry strike a pose in memorable Olympics performance
Madonna’s presence is being felt at the Olympic Games in Italy.
Guillaume Cizeron and his rhythm ice dancing partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France performed a flawless skate to Madonna’s “Vogue” and “Rescue Me” on Monday.
The duo scored an impressive 90.18 for their effort, the best score of the night.
“We’ve been working hard the whole season to get over 90, so it was nice to see the score on the screen,” Fournier Beaudry told Olympics.com. “But first of all, just coming out off the ice, we were very happy about what we delivered and the pleasure we had out there. With the energy of the crowd, it was really amazing.”
Watch the routine on YouTube here.
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