It took me a while to write this, because it can be hard to summarize the entirety of my experience (or even a fraction of my experience) of rugby into any number of words honestly. I’ve played with a few different teams before, sometimes only for a game or two, but none of the teams that I’ve ever played for can compare to the atmosphere of Muddy York.

I’ve struggled in the past before with my sexual identity in this sport, even dating back to high school. Coming to terms with the fact that I wasn’t straight at the same time as trying to learn the sport and be a student athlete caused a few issues for me, and I spent a lot of time trying to hide it. I’m sure that this is an experience that isn’t unfamiliar to many people, especially when playing a rough sport such as rugby.

As an adult, joining a club and playing rugby brought on those issues for me again. I tried to hide my sexuality and avoid having my entire identity with my new team be “the gay one” or be treated like I wasn’t serious about playing and just wanted to get touchy with men. Not to mention needing to figure out which teammates would be cool with having a gay man on their team.

That’s not the way it is at all with Muddy York. And if there were a word to use to describe the club’s ethos, I’d say “Opportunity”. Due to the nature of our club, we’re filled with people who shared my experience, or were deterred from playing sports at all for that very same reason. We’re given the opportunity to be queer sports people in a niche sport, and gain respect for it within the league. We started a noncontact/Mixed Ability program a few years back, giving people who can’t or don’t want to play contact rugby the opportunity to play one of the greatest sports on Earth. Being the only inclusive rugby club in the league, we can show everyone that we’re very serious about playing rugby and improving ourselves to the point where we can beat anyone on any day. As a part of IGR (International Gay Rugby), we have the opportunity to make connections with IGR clubs from all over the world, and show unity with each other as we fight for the rights of our community all over the globe.

I feel incredibly excited to be able to put on my jersey with Muddy York, and incredibly honored to take the pitch with my teammates and captain them every game day. I love being able to share my knowledge and experience with my teammates who are new to the sport and trying to learn/improve themselves. I feel deeply grateful for the connections I’ve made through the club, whether it’s with my teammates or people from other IGR clubs around the world. And I’m incredibly proud to be able to call myself a Gilbert Champion for 2023.

Pictured below is 2023 Champion and the blog post author Shakyle Daley-Samuels