- Gotham Knights
:"For the
Batman comic and cartoon series, see ,The New Batman Adventures , andThe Gotham Knights Rugby Football Club is a division III men's club in the
Metropolitan New York Rugby Union . Their home pitch is onRandall's Island , between the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.Gotham Knights RFC is New York's recent entry to the growing worldwide ranks of multiethnic and non-discriminatory rugby union teams worldwide. Following in the tradition of International Gay Rugby and Board teams like
King Cross Steelers in England in 1995 and theSan Francisco Fog and theWashington Renegades in 2000, recent part-time New York City business owner and resident,Mark Bingham , met with local rugby player, Scott Glaessgen, to form a New York team. Their plans were cut short onSeptember 11 2001 , when Mark was lost in a terrorist attack onUnited Airlines Flight 93 over rural Pennsylvania.The inspiration of Mark’s life, work, and dedication to the sport of rugby led Scott and other New York City rugby players to meet in late 2001 to establish Gotham Knights RFC. Practice started in the cold, early months of 2002 under difficult pitch conditions, but within weeks the membership grew exponentially. By late February the team had elected a president, officers, and a board, prepared for incorporation, ordered equipment, and decided team colors and logo.
Warm spring weather in New York City led the team into more intensive practices in March and April under coach Scott Glaessgen. The team added assistant coach Mio Nitta, formerly of
Tufts Rugby, as well as a steady influx of new members. Club-wide social events coalesced Gotham into a group off the field. We started intensively recruiting in the metro New York area, searching for a fan base and sponsors to sustain our team. The Knights celebrated their first win over a union opponent in September 2004 over the Suffolk Bull Moose RFC. The team is currently coached by players Keiran Lanham and Callum Sigg with assistant coaches Peter Rizzo and Bob Hoban. Current A-side Captain is John Bockwoldt and Vice Captain is Mike Cromney.Every November, the Knights host the East Coast Rugby Invitational featuring both traditional and predominantly gay rugby teams from across eastern North America.
The Knights were the host team for the 2006 Bingham Cup held over
Memorial Day weekend. 29 teams from 22 clubs in 6 countries participated in various divisions, including the Bingham Cup's first ever Women's division. The Knights advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2004 Bingham Cup held in London and were runners up for the Bingham Plate that year. In 2006, the Knights advanced to the semifinal round of the Cup division, finishing 4th place in the top division, and the B side placed 4th in the Plate division.In the Fall 2007 Union season, the Knights finished 2nd in the Union--the first time a predominantely gay team has reached the championship finals in the MetNY Rugby Union. They competed in the Territorial Playoffs in April, 2008, where there were defeated by the South Buffalo Thugs.
In June, 2008, the Knights traveled to Dublin, Ireland to compete in the 2008 Bingham Cup. Gotham competed in the premiere Cup division, emerging as the top US side. In pool play, the Knights easily dispatched the Boston Ironsides (50 – 0) and San Francisco Fog’s B-Side (39 – 0), but lost a close match to the Kings Cross Steelers' A-side, which placed second overall (8-16). In the knockout rounds, Gotham defeated perennial rival Washington Renegades (10-0), but lost a hard-fought semifinal match to eventual world champion Sydney Convicts (10-35; notably, the Knights were the only team to score a try against the Convicts in the tournament). In the consolation final, the Knights beat the San Francisco Fog’s A-side (8-5) in dramatic fashion, with the winning try scored on the last play of the match. The win clinched the Knights third overall in the tournament and earned them bragging rights as the best gay rugby team in North America.
External links
* [http://www.gothamrfc.org Gotham Knights RFC Official Website]
* [http://www.binghamcup.com Official Bingham Cup website]
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