IGRAB is pleased to announce that Dublin’s Emerald Warriors RFC have beat out bids from Paris and Sydney to host the next Bingham Cup competition in June 2008.

“All of the bids reflected the great spirit that characterizes our organization,” said IGRAB chairman Raimundo Martinez. “After careful consideration by the IGRAB selection committee, it is my pleasure to announce that we will be drinking Guinness in 2008 in Dublin!”

The Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Rugby Tournament is the largest amateur 15s rugby event in the world. The 2006 tournament, hosted by the Gotham Knights RFC May 2006 in New York City, saw thirty international teams and over 700 rugby players competing over three days.

Endorsed by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the 2008 competition will take place at the Dublin City University (DCU) Sports Complex on 13-15 June, and will include both women’s and men’s rugby.

“The Irish Rugby Football Union extends its best wishes and message of support to the Emerald Warriors rugby team and its participation in the Bingham Cup rugby tournament,” said Philip Browne, Chief Executive of the IRFU.

The Bingham Cup - sometimes referred to as the gay Rugby World Cup - is named for Mark Bingham, a member of the San Francisco Fog RFC who gave his life on September 11, 2001 aboard United flight 93. The Fog created the event in Bingham’s memory, and were the first to host it in June 2002. Since then the Bingham Cup has been held in London (2004) and New York City (2006).

Emerald Warriors RFC was formed in August 2003 to provide gay, heterosexual and bisexual men the opportunity to play competitive rugby in Ireland and internationally.

For complete information on the 2008 Bingham Cup, visit the official event website at binghamcup.com.

Congratulations to the Sydney Convicts for their victories in the 2006 Bingham Cup and Plate divisions, and to the Boston Ironsides for their win in the inaugural Bowl division. Final scores from the matches, held May 26-28 in New York City, are available at results.binghamcup.com. Official placings in each division are as follows:

Cup

1. Sydney Convicts
2. San Francisco Fog
3. Washington Renegades
4. Gotham Knights
5. Seattle Quake
6. King’s Cross Steelers
7. Los Angeles Rebellion
8. Manchester Village Spartans

Bowl

1. Boston Ironsides
2. Dallas Diablos
3. Philadelphia Gryphons
4. Austin Lonestars
5. Chicago Dragons
6. Atlanta Bucks
7. Portland Avalanche
8. (Dublin) Emerald Warriors

Plate

1. Sydney Convicts
2. World Barbarians
3. Washington Renegades
4. Gotham Knights
5. Minneapolis Mayhem
6. Cardiff Lions
7. Phoenix Storm
8. San Francisco Fog
9. (Toronto) Muddy York
10. Amsterdam NOP

Support for the 2006 Bingham Cup, the largest amateur rugby competition aimed primarily at gay men’s teams, is running ahead of expected levels, with a new title sponsor and many teams expressing support for the new women’s divisions.

The Bingham Cup is the biennial international rugby competition named after Mark Bingham, a hero of United flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Bingham played for gay and bisexual rugby team the San Francisco Fog after leading UC Berkeley to national championships. The next Bingham Cup takes place in New York City in May 2006, and organizers expect 1,000 male players from at least ten countries, plus womens teams.

“We’re thrilled that XXL, a very popular London club, is our title sponsor,” said tournament chair Brian Devinney. “They join our other corporate sponsors, NZ Union clothing, United Airlines, Budweiser, Red Bull, Edirp Travel and the Roosevelt Hotel. It’s exciting to have so much support already, with about six months still to go until opening day on May 23, 2006.”

The decision to add women’s rugby is also boosting excitement for the tournament. “Already, New York Rugby Club and the Washington Furies have confirmed they will play in the first ever Bingham Cup women’s divisions,” said coordinator Toby Butterfield. “Teams from all over the USA, and even Canada are interested. USA Rugby moved the 2006 women’s national playoffs from Spring to Fall, so we expect teams to hone their skills at 2006 Bingham Cup next May.”

The competition has garnered many friends in women’s rugby and beyond. “The Bingham Cup is a rugby competition that truly embodies the spirit of the sport: hard-hitting competition, fabulous social events and the opportunity to meet new and old friends from around the country and the world,” said Lois Bukowski, a current Northern California/Pacific Coast B-3 ref who ended her playing career in 2002 with perennial National Champions, the Berkeley Allblues, after 15 years of experience at the club and representative side level. Bukowski, who refereed at both prior Bingham Cup events, is set to come to New York for the third one next May.

Following a sensational long weekend of rugby in London in May 2004, IGRAB selected New York City’s Gotham Knights to host the third Bingham Cup on Memorial Day Weekend 2006. The host committee, headed by Brian Devinney, Gotham’s fundraising chair, plans an ambitious program of sporting and social events starting with coaching and player clinics on 24-25 May 2006 and rugby competition on 26-28 May.

“We’re anticipating an unprecedented number of clubs from all over the world,” Devinney said, noting that regional tournaments involving gay-friendly teams have grown all over the world, as teams gear up for the biennial Mark Kendall Bingham Cup competition.

“The Inter-Club Challenge in the UK, FogFest in San Francisco, Magnitude 15.0 in Seattle, New York’s East Coast Invitational, and now the Union Cup 7s tournament in Europe all demonstrate the appetite for rugby among gay people and their friends,” Devinney said. His host committee is planning to meet that appetite with clinics with guest coaches, a women’s division, and the elaborate parties that accompany the Bingham Cup. “New York considers itself the world’s second home, and we’re looking forward to hosting our IGRAB friends in May 2006,” added Gotham Knights president Adam Josephs.

Look for information about the Bingham Cup at www.binghamcup.com, soon to be updated with details about Bingham Cup 2006 in New York.