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San Francisco Fog RFC
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San Francisco Fog RFC
San Francisco Fog Rugby Football Club (RFC), also known as "The Fog", is a rugby union football club in San Francisco, California. It is the first such team in the western United States established specifically to actively reach out to traditionally under-represented groups in rugby, such as people of color, gay men, and women. It welcomes players who do not fit into those categories. The club has over 100 members.
The club was conceived by Derrick Mickle in April 2000, upon learning of the success of the Washington Renegades RFC, established in October 1998 as the first gay/inclusive ruby club in the United States. Through an outreach effort, he recruited the assistance of Cameron Geddes and Bryce Eberhart to help found and start the club. All three had played for their college rugby teams and leveraged their experiences to shape the direction and serious purpose of the club.
With the unexpected financial backing of an anonymous donor in summer 2000, the club's organizing efforts accelerated in August and September 2000. The club had its first practice with nine players on October 14, 2000. Later that month, the club teamed up with other gay and bisexual rugby union teams worldwide to create International Gay Rugby (IGR) in October 2000, with the Fog as a founding member club. Originally called the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB), IGR is currently recognised by World Rugby as the representative organization of the LGBT and inclusive rugby community, up to the point they both have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a commitment between the two organizations to work together to educate and eliminate homophobia in rugby.
The Fog formally incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of California soon after, with Mickle, Geddes and Eberhart as its first elected officers. Mickle served as president for the club's first two years and was the driving organizational force behind running the club during those initial years.
The club started from an enviable foundation of solid financial resources; a critical mass of players with prior rugby experience; and an experienced coach skilled at developing new players who had little-to-no team sports experience. As word spread through San Francisco's gay community, the club quickly added players. The club was 40+ players strong, including a handful of non-gay players, when it was admitted to the Northern California Rugby Football Union in spring 2001 with a unanimous vote. The club had its first union match against the Bay Area Barracus on April 7, 2001, one year after the club's conception. The club joined regular Division III union play, in the fall of 2001. The club observed its 20th anniversary on October 14, 2020.
Perhaps the Fog's most famous member was Mark Bingham, who joined the club in February 2001. Bingham had been a rugby player since his teenage years, and played on the rugby team at the University of California, Berkeley, a team consistently rated among of the best collegiate rugby teams in the United States.
Derrick Mickle first met Mark Bingham and Jason Reimuller in fall 1998 while playing on a gay flag football team in San Francisco. The three bonded over their shared experience playing rugby in college. Bored with flag football, the three had a discussion pondering what it would be like to play for a gay rugby team, unaware of the existence of the Washington Renegades, the London Kings Cross Steelers, the Ponsonby Heroes (Auckland, New Zealand), and the Manchester Village Spartans (Manchester, England, United Kingdom). Mickle kept in touch with the two over the next couple of years, and reached out to them when the club started practices. Bingham and Reimuller eventually joined the club a few months after the club's first practices. Like all team members who joined the Fog in its first year, Bingham is considered a founding member of the team. Although Bingham had no formal leadership role in the club and was not involved in the organizing efforts to start the club, his charismatic leadership; hard-hitting, but supportive and encouraging playing style; and elevated level of play were a source of aspiration and inspiration for his teammates.
In May 2001, the Washington Renegades hosted an IGRAB International Invitational for gay rugby union teams in Washington D.C., United States. The event was officially a rugby sevens tournament among the existing IGR teams at the time. In addition to the tournament, there were exhibition rugby union (XVs) matches. In the exhibition match between the Fog and the Renegades, the two played against each other for the first time in a XVs match. The Fog won 19–0. Bingham was a critical player for the team, and instrumental to the Fog's wins during the tournament.
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San Francisco Fog RFC
San Francisco Fog Rugby Football Club (RFC), also known as "The Fog", is a rugby union football club in San Francisco, California. It is the first such team in the western United States established specifically to actively reach out to traditionally under-represented groups in rugby, such as people of color, gay men, and women. It welcomes players who do not fit into those categories. The club has over 100 members.
The club was conceived by Derrick Mickle in April 2000, upon learning of the success of the Washington Renegades RFC, established in October 1998 as the first gay/inclusive ruby club in the United States. Through an outreach effort, he recruited the assistance of Cameron Geddes and Bryce Eberhart to help found and start the club. All three had played for their college rugby teams and leveraged their experiences to shape the direction and serious purpose of the club.
With the unexpected financial backing of an anonymous donor in summer 2000, the club's organizing efforts accelerated in August and September 2000. The club had its first practice with nine players on October 14, 2000. Later that month, the club teamed up with other gay and bisexual rugby union teams worldwide to create International Gay Rugby (IGR) in October 2000, with the Fog as a founding member club. Originally called the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB), IGR is currently recognised by World Rugby as the representative organization of the LGBT and inclusive rugby community, up to the point they both have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining a commitment between the two organizations to work together to educate and eliminate homophobia in rugby.
The Fog formally incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of California soon after, with Mickle, Geddes and Eberhart as its first elected officers. Mickle served as president for the club's first two years and was the driving organizational force behind running the club during those initial years.
The club started from an enviable foundation of solid financial resources; a critical mass of players with prior rugby experience; and an experienced coach skilled at developing new players who had little-to-no team sports experience. As word spread through San Francisco's gay community, the club quickly added players. The club was 40+ players strong, including a handful of non-gay players, when it was admitted to the Northern California Rugby Football Union in spring 2001 with a unanimous vote. The club had its first union match against the Bay Area Barracus on April 7, 2001, one year after the club's conception. The club joined regular Division III union play, in the fall of 2001. The club observed its 20th anniversary on October 14, 2020.
Perhaps the Fog's most famous member was Mark Bingham, who joined the club in February 2001. Bingham had been a rugby player since his teenage years, and played on the rugby team at the University of California, Berkeley, a team consistently rated among of the best collegiate rugby teams in the United States.
Derrick Mickle first met Mark Bingham and Jason Reimuller in fall 1998 while playing on a gay flag football team in San Francisco. The three bonded over their shared experience playing rugby in college. Bored with flag football, the three had a discussion pondering what it would be like to play for a gay rugby team, unaware of the existence of the Washington Renegades, the London Kings Cross Steelers, the Ponsonby Heroes (Auckland, New Zealand), and the Manchester Village Spartans (Manchester, England, United Kingdom). Mickle kept in touch with the two over the next couple of years, and reached out to them when the club started practices. Bingham and Reimuller eventually joined the club a few months after the club's first practices. Like all team members who joined the Fog in its first year, Bingham is considered a founding member of the team. Although Bingham had no formal leadership role in the club and was not involved in the organizing efforts to start the club, his charismatic leadership; hard-hitting, but supportive and encouraging playing style; and elevated level of play were a source of aspiration and inspiration for his teammates.
In May 2001, the Washington Renegades hosted an IGRAB International Invitational for gay rugby union teams in Washington D.C., United States. The event was officially a rugby sevens tournament among the existing IGR teams at the time. In addition to the tournament, there were exhibition rugby union (XVs) matches. In the exhibition match between the Fog and the Renegades, the two played against each other for the first time in a XVs match. The Fog won 19–0. Bingham was a critical player for the team, and instrumental to the Fog's wins during the tournament.