Denver gay rugby team, looking for new members, hosts beginners course

For those with dreams of learning a rough and gritty European sport, Colorado’s gay men’s rugby team is putting on a crash course.

Rugby 101 will be held from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Sunday, August 7 at Denver’s Cook Park, on Cherry Creek South Drive and South Monaco Parkway.

Jeremy Ballard, of Colorado Rush, said that nobody should be intimidated by the chance to play the sport that gave rise to American football.

“It doesn’t matter your body type, if you’re too small or too heavy,” Ballard said. “We will teach everyone from the ground up. The sport has a position for every body type.”

Ruby 101 is being held to introduce newcomers to the game, with veteran players there to teach the basics.
Colorado Rush is Colorado’s only gay rugby team in the Eastern Rockies Rugby Football Union, a mainstream rugby association centered in Denver.

That’s right – the Colorado Rush is a gay team that plays opponents who are mostly straight.

“It’s not that big a deal,” Ballard said. “For new guys there’s always that fear they’ll be ridiculed. Once they start playing together, it gets rid of the stereotypes.”

Ballard said other teams accept Colorado’s gay players as worthy opponents – with open arms, he added.

“It’s the kind of sport where you sweat and bleed together,” Ballard said.

Ballard said a lot of the players on the Colorado Rush are “still learning the rules,” but that’s OK – the team is always looking for recruits.

“We have about 30-35 guys but we always need more guys.”

In the games, 15 players from each team are on the field at a time. With injuries, schedule conflicts and needed time to rest, the Rush could use more members.

The team is also part of an international gay rugby league, the International Gay Rugby Association and Board, that plays opponents from around the nation and world. Colorado Rush is in its inaugural year.

The Colorado Rush points out that rugby is “relatively safe” compared to American football, and makes use of strategy and quick-thinking as much as brute athletics, so men of all ages can play – up to and including in their ’50s and ’60s.

Ballard said they won’t discriminate. Men who are gay or straight, of any background, can join the “multicultural” rugby team.

Still, it may not be for the faint of heart – players are sure to get their blood pumping, and come winter they can be found practicing in Cook or Cheesman Park breaking a sweat in shorts and T-shirts even in the snow.

Practice is from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays and 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Sundays at Cheesman Park.

To learn more about the Colorado Rush visit http://coloradorushrfc.org