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Scrum down: Bristol Bisons welcome LGBTQ+
Bristol Bisons RFC are the only fully inclusive rugby club in the South West. The team welcomes players of all abilities, backgrounds and sexual orientations who are based in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Somerset. Lou Trimby meets social secretary and hooker Josh Deuchars to talk about the club, what it does and what plans they have for the future.
When was the club founded and why?
is needed now More than ever
Josh: The team was founded in 2005 by a small group of guys during the 6 Nations of that year. They realised there were more gay men interested in rugby than they thought and they wanted to create an inclusive and safe environment for people to play and learn about rugby. They also realised there weren’t many options for people who hadn’t played before if they hadn’t gone down the Colts route of entry to a club. We still have some of the original members around today like Michalis our previous Chairman and Alan our Treasurer.
Who can play for the Bisons, do they have to have reached a certain standard?
Josh: Anyone! We cater for all abilities, whether you’ve never picked up a rugby ball, haven’t played since school or someone who’s playing already and is looking for more games or a new team. An important part of the club is who we play, mainly the other inclusive rugby clubs around the UK as part of the IGR. We’re hosting the first gay rugby league final at the end of April called the Turing Cup – come along and support the Bulls, Bisons, Lions and Wyverns.The teams that we play range from local teams to teams across Europe and the rest of the world thanks to tournaments like the Union Cup for European teams and Bingham Cup which is the World Cup of gay rugby. We hosted the union cup in 2013 and brought in over a quarter of a million pounds to Bristol’s economy and we’re currently fundraising for Madrid 2017.
What’s the social life like, rugby clubs are renowned for riotous times on tour and at home!
Josh: The social life is definitely awesome because I’m the one who runs it! We do all sorts of things ranging from watching the 6 Nations, usually hosted by the Bank pub in the Old City, to bowling nights, regular pub nights and we run a camping trip every year. We’ve been to Edinburgh for a rugby clinic at Murrayfield run by the Scottish gay rugby team the Caledonian Thebans, and we go to and play in most of the gay rugby tournaments not just in the UK but also in Europe and further afield. Last year we went to Brussels for the Union Cup, we’re hoping to go to Nashville for the Bingham Cup this year too. But the big one for us is the Turing Cup which we are hosting the final of on April 30. The Turing Cup is a new competition for all of the inclusive sides in the UK and the final should be a great event.
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