Many LGBT/queer people have traditionally shied away from sports due to negative experiences they had during adolescence. It’s no secret that sports are often a source of bullying for those of us within that community, especially gay men. International Gay Rugby, an organization that helps to coordinate rugby teams that are inclusive of all sexualities and ability levels, aims to change that. The IGR started with just a few teams roughly 20 years ago, and has now expanded to include over 100 teams across the globe, and hosts the largest rugby tournament in the world. That’s right, the largest rugby tournament on the planet is…queer.
When I joined the Baltimore Flamingos Rugby team, I had no previous experience in rugby and, frankly, not a whole lot of experience making friends within the LGBT community, despite being a part of it. When I joined, I expected that I’d learn a new sport (I played several during my school years) and maybe get into a bit better shape. What I didn’t anticipate was how the rugby community would profoundly change my social life and add dozens, if not hundreds, of new friends to my life as a whole. It changed my life and it could change yours. Here’s a few good reasons to consider joining a team if you’re considering it, or even if you have never heard of “gay rugby” ever before:
Body Positivity
There’s a phrase often used within the greater rugby community: Rugby is for Every Body. Rugby is a sport with a wide range of positions and team needs, so whether you’re tall, short, skinny, thick, a bit slow on your feet or a bit of a speedster, or anything in-between, there is a role for you on a rugby team. Because of this, there’s a degree of body positivity that I have never encountered anywhere else within the world of sports.
Friendship
I’m not entirely sure why, but rugby players are some of the friendliest, most jovial athletes I’ve ever met. When I joined the Flamingos, my teammates became friends within a few short weeks, and over the last few seasons, I’ve made tons of friends around the country as we have traveled for games. I feel supported and loved by many of the people I work with on the team, and they’ve helped me to feel more at ease within the greater LGBT community.
Health & Fitness
I have always considered myself to be moderately in shape. I’m not easily tired out, I can lift pretty heavy things for my size, etc. Thus, you can understand my surprise when, within a few months of beginning to attend practice regularly, I dropped four sizes in clothes and more than doubled the distance I was able to run. Rugby is considered the second most athletically intense sport in the world, and even at an amateur level, playing alongside a bunch of men who, for the most part, had no prior experience in any sport at all, I found myself challenged by the physicality of the sport. More importantly, I found myself supported by my teammates as I learned the rules, and slowly became more fit simply through attending practice.
If you had come to me five years ago and told me that I’d one day be spending my weekends playing rugby and doing fundraising for LGBT organizations, I would’ve told you that that was nonsense. But here I am, and the friends I’ve made and the health I’ve gained through this sport have had a profoundly positive effect on my life. If you’re LGBT, or even if you aren’t, and you feel like you’re in need of some new friends and have struggled with getting into shape, I can’t give a better recommendation than to find a rugby team to join.
International Gay Rugby has a list of their team locations found here, and USA Rugby has a list of all non-IGR teams in the country, found here. I should note that many “straight” women’s teams are heavily LGBT, and that as a transgender man, I have found a massive amount of acceptance of the trans community within the IGR rugby community, so if you’re under the impression that this is mainly aimed at gay men, I assure you that is not the case.