The Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament or the Bingham Cup is a biennial international, non-professional, gay

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

tournament, first held in 2002. It is named after

Mark Bingham Mark Kendall Bingham (May 22, 1970 – September 11, 2001) was an American public relations executive who founded his own company, the Bingham Group. During the September 11 attacks in 2001, he was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93. ...

, who died on board

United Airlines Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda attackers aboard the plane on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The plane eventually crashed in Som ...

when it crashed during the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

. The most recent tournament was held in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in August 2022 and was won by the worlds first gay and inclusive rugby club the Kings Cross Steelers. Alice Hoagland

History

Founding

In October 2000, gay and bisexual rugby union teams worldwide founded the

International Gay Rugby Association and Board International Gay Rugby (IGR), formerly known as the International Gay Rugby Association and Board (IGRAB), is the umbrella organisation for the world's gay and inclusive rugby clubs. Based in London, UK, IGR is recognised by World Rugby as the ...

(IGRAB) as a body to promote rugby union as an all-inclusive non-discriminatory sport which everyone can play, regardless of sexuality. An informal invitational tournament, held in May 2001, was formally inaugurated by IGRAB as a new international rugby union competition — a gay rugby union world cup — which in a unanimous decision by all the members of IGRAB became known as the Bingham Cup. The tournament was named after

, a former

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

rugby star who had played in the May 2001 tournament for

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 traditional ...

and cofounded the Gotham Knights RFC. Bingham died in the

on board

. According to Jon Barrett of '' The Advocate'', he is generally accepted to be one of a group of passengers who fought with the hijackers aboard the flight, which eventually led to the hijackers crashing the plane into a vacant field in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

instead of targets in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

At the time of his death, there were around eight gay-inclusive rugby clubs worldwide, and he was helping to create others.

Washington invitational, 2001

In May 2001, in a precursor to the tournament, the

Washington Renegades The Washington Renegades are a Division III and Division IV rugby union club based in Washington D.C. Established on October 24, 1998, by Mark Hertzog. In October 1999, the club played its first 15s match against the Roanoke Rugby Football Club. ...

hosted an IGRAB International Invitational for gay

teams in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, United States. The event was officially a Rugby sevens tournament among the existing IGRAB teams at the time. In addition to the tournament, there was an exhibition

or XVs matches. In the exhibition match between the

and the Renegades, the two played against each other for the first time in a XVs match. The Fog won 19-0.

San Francisco, 2002

In October 2001, following the 2001 invitational, the San Francisco Fog successfully lobbied IGRAB for the right to put on a XVs rugby tournament in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in June 2002. The tournament was fashioned in the style of the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

, both the tournament and the cup prize were named in honor of Mark Kendall Bingham, a club founder who died on United Airlines flight 93 during the September 11th terrorist attacks. Later the name ''Bingham Cup'' become the informal name. Eight teams traveled to San Francisco during

gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

weekend of June 28–29, 2002 to compete over two days with the Fog coming out on top as the Cup’s first winners. The event was sponsored by

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

and

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

and was covered by press from around the world, including

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. The Fog A side emerged undefeated, defeating the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Kings Cross Steelers The Kings Cross Steelers are a United Kingdom, British rugby team, based in London. Founded in 1995 it was the world's first gay-inclusive rugby union club. Its founding sparked the beginning of a much larger gay-inclusive rugby movement which ...

27-5 in the final. Alice Hoagland, Mark Bingham’s mom, presented the Fog with the trophy. The event was profiled in a two-page article in Rugby World magazine.

London, 2004

In May 2004, the Bingham Cup competition was hosted by

, England, club

. From eight teams just two years prior, twenty teams from four countries were fielded for the 2004 cup, which was won for the second time by the San Francisco Fog RFC. During the 2004 cup, the Bingham Bowl Division was introduced, a middle tier award won by the Philadelphia Gryphons. the inaugural bowl was literally a bowl from the kitchen of the Esher RFC in London.

New York, 2006

Hosting of the third Bingham Cup was awarded to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's Gotham Knights RFC in October 2004 in a unanimous vote by the

and was held on

Randall's Island Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City,

in New York's

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend, May 26–28, 2006. 29 teams from 22 clubs in 6 countries participated. The tournament field was divided into 3 divisions, the Bingham Cup for the strongest teams, Bingham Bowl and Bingham Plate. 2006 also included the first ever Women's division, with 2 teams entering. In March 2006, the Bingham Cup Organizing Committee announced that donations would be made to two charities: The Mark Kendall Bingham Leadership Fund, a scholarship established in Bingham's name at the University of California-Berkeley, his alma mater, and the Flight 93 Memorial Fund administered by the National Park Service to be constructed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Over 800 registered participants from 29 teams in nine countries took part in the largest Bingham Cup tournament to date. Australia * Sydney Convicts (A & B) Canada * Muddy York (Toronto)

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Emerald Warriors The Emerald Warriors are an Irish rugby team based in Dublin. They play in the Leinster Metro League Division 10 and 7 and are members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board. They are the reigning bronze final champions since Unio ...

(Dublin)

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

* Amsterdam NOP United Kingdom *

Cardiff Lions __NOTOC__ The Cardiff Lions RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llewod Caerdydd) is a gay and inclusive rugby union football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club was founded in 2004 and is the first of two gay and inclusive rugby clubs in Wales. The Lions wer ...

(London) *

Manchester Village Spartans RUFC The Manchester Village Spartans RUFC is Manchester's gay and inclusive rugby union football team based at Sale Sports Club, Manchester. The club welcomes players at all skill levels who do and do not identify as LGBT, and has both Rugby Union ...

United States * Austin Lonestars, * Atlanta Bucks, * Chicago Dragons, * Dallas Diablos, * Gotham Knights (New York A & B), * Boston Ironsides, * Los Angeles Rebellion, * Minneapolis Mayhem, * Phoenix Storm, * Philadelphia Gryphons, * Portland Avalanche, * San Francisco Fog (A & B), * Seattle Quake, * Washington Renegades (A & B), * Scottsdale Lady Blues, * Bingham Motleys, *

IGR World Barbarians IGR may refer to: * Iguazu International Airport serving Puerto Iguazú and the nearby falls * IGR Iwate Ginga Railway in Iwate Prefecture, Japan * Imperial Japanese Government Railways (or, domestically, Imperial Government Railways) of early 20 ...

, Teams participating for the first time included the Cardiff Lions, the Phoenix Storm, the Portland Avalanche, the Chicago Dragons, the Amsterdam NOP, and the Minneapolis Mayhem. The cup final was between reigning champions San Francisco Fog A and the Sydney Convicts A, who won the game 16-10. Boston Ironsides defeated the Dallas Diablos to win the inaugural Bingham Bowl. Sydney Convicts B beat the

to win the Bingham Plate. The final standings for the tournament are as follows: Bingham Cup Division * Sydney Convicts A * San Francisco Fog A * Washington Renegades A * Gotham Knights A * Seattle Quake * Kings Cross Steelers * Los Angeles Rebellion * Manchester Village Spartans Bingham Bowl Division * Boston Ironsides * Dallas Diablos * Philadelphia Gryphons * Austin Lonestars * Chicago Dragons * Atlanta Bucks * Portland Avalanche * Emerald Warriors Bingham Plate Division * Sydney Convicts B *

* Washington Renegades B * Gotham Knights B * Minneapolis Mayhem * Cardiff Lions * Phoenix Storm * San Francisco Fog B * Toronto Muddy York * Amsterdam NOP The 2008 documentary film ''Walk Like a Man'' focuses on the Sydney Convicts and San Francisco Fog as they prepare and compete for this Bingham Cup."Walk Like a Man"
official movie site. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

Dublin, 2008

On December 1, 2006, IGRAB announced the success of the bid of

to host the 2008 competition in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland. Other bidding cities included

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, and

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. In addition,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Cardiff, Wales Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada also considered bidding to host the 2008 tournament. The fourth Bingham cup was held in Dublin on the weekend of the 13–16 June, at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

campus. 32 teams competed across four divisions (the Cup, the Plate, the Bowl and the Shield). The

Sydney Convicts Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

(A Team) took the cup back with them to Australia after winning the Cup competition for the second time in a row, this time defeating the

(A Team) in the Cup final. The

team, made up largely of the Nashville Grizzlies, beat the

(B Team) in the Plate final.

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

team the

Ulster Titans The Ulster Titans was a Northern Irish rugby team based in Belfast. They played East 2 of the Ulster Magners Minor League and are members of the International Gay Rugby Association and Board. The club colours are black, yellow and white. History ...

won the shield. The

Atlanta Bucks Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

defeated the

(B Team) in the Bowl division, making them the only North American team to win a title in this year's tournament.

Minneapolis, 2010

On January 21, 2009, IGRAB announced that the hosting rights for the 2010 Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament had been awarded to the

Minneapolis Mayhem The Minneapolis Mayhem Rugby Football Club is one of the nation’s few male rugby clubs that makes the sport accessible to traditionally underrepresented groups, including people of color and gay men. "Our goal is to foster local, regional, na ...

. The tournament was held at the

National Sports Center The National Sports Center (NSC) is a multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota. Its site includes a soccer stadium, over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the Sup ...

Blaine, Minnesota Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region i ...

, June 17–20, 2010. The Cup returned to US soil as the 2006 tourney hosts, the Gotham Knights pulled an upset win over the reigning champions, the

. The 2010 tournament introduced the Crest and Spoon divisions. The Phoenix Storm won the Crest after defeating the Gotham Knights B-Side in the final. The Bingham Spoon was claimed for the first time by the Seattle Quake B when they defeated the Ottawa Wolves in the final.

Manchester, 2012

It was announced on September 29, 2010, that the

, England, would host the 2012 Bingham Cup, beating the Sydney Convicts' bid by 6 votes. Notably, Manchester's bid was actively supported by straight professional English rugby player Ben Cohen.Ben Supports Bingham Cup for Manchester 2012
Ben Cohen official fan site The competition was held at Broughton Park RUFC, Manchester, June 1–3 and boasted the largest number of inclusive teams in the tournament's history.LGBT Bingham Cup
/ref>

Sydney, 2014

In August 2014, the

brought the Bingham Cup competition to the southern hemisphere. Twenty-four teams traveled to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia for three rainy days of competition at the home of the

Woollahra Colleagues RFC The Woollahra Colleagues Rugby Union Football Club, known as Colleagues, is a rugby union club based in Woollahra, in Sydney, Australia. The club was founded in the 1930s and currently plays in the First Division of the NSWSRU competition. Histo ...

. The home-town Convicts ultimately won the Cup for the second consecutive tournament.

Nashville, 2016

Hosting of the eighth Bingham CupBingham Cup 2016
Official Bingham Cup Nashville was awarded to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

's Nashville Grizzlies, marking the first time the tournament would be held in the American South. The tournament was held on

weekend at Nashville's Ted Rhodes Park with players housed at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. Forty-five teams competed for tournament prizes in twelve divisions. The winners of the twelve divisions were as follows (in ascending order): * Challenger Julep - Chicago Dragons B * Challenger Cup - Dallas Lost Souls * Hoagland Spoon - Ottawa Wolves * Hoagland Vase -

C * Hoagland Shield - Nashville Grizzlies A * Hoagland Bowl -

Columbus Coyotes Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo (surname), Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also re ...

* Hoagland Cup - Caledonian Thebans * Hoagland Plate - San Diego Armada * Bingham Shield - Washington Renegades B * Bingham Bowl -

* Bingham Plate - Gotham Knights A * Bingham Cup - Melbourne Chargers A In addition, the Nashville tournament hosted the inaugural Bingham Old Boys match & marked the first awarding of the Bingham Cane for the winning team.

Amsterdam, 2018

* Bingham Cup -

A * Bingham Plate - San Diego Armada * Bingham Bowl -

A * Bingham Shield - Sydney Convicts B * Bingham Vase - Birmingham Bulls A * Bingham Spoon - Amsterdam Lowlanders * Hoagland Cup - Dallas Lost Souls * Hoagland Plate - Charlotte Royals * Hoagland Bowl - Caledonian Thebans * Hoagland Shield - Newcastle Ravens * Hoagland Vase - Les Gaillards Parisiens * Hoagland Spoon - Lisbon Dark Horses * Challenger Cup - Armada Montreal * Challenger Plate - Birmingham Bulls B * Challenger Bowl - Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents * Challenger Shield - St Louis Crusaders * Challenger Spoon - Portland Lumberjacks

Ottawa, 2020

On October 4, 2018, IGR announced that the 2020 Bingham Cup was awarded to the Ottawa Wolves and that the tournament would be played in

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Ottawa was to be the first city in Canada to host the tournament, which was originally scheduled to be played August 8–17, 2020.Bingham Cup 2020
Official Bingham Cup Ottawa On March 28, 2020, IGR announced that the 2020 Bingham Cup was postponed until August 2022 because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Ottawa, 2022

The 10th edition of Bingham begins August 18th.

Rome, 2024

The 11th edition of Bingham will be held in Rome, from the 23rd to the 26th of May 2024.

Tournament Summary

References

External links

Bingham Cup website

IGRAB the International Gay Rugby Union & Board Site

Newsday

Reuters news story and video
{cbignore, bot=medic International rugby union competitions Rugby union tournaments for clubs 2018 rugby union tournaments for clubs