Minneapolis Mayhem
Encyclopedia
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| Name | Minneapolis Mayhem Rugby Football Club |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Sport | rugby union football Rugby union Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand... |
| Union | Midwest |
| Ground | Harrison Park Harrison Park Harrison Park is a stadium in Leek, Staffordshire. It is home to Leek Town F.C. currently of the Northern Premier League, and Leek C.S.O.B.. Capacity is 3,600.-Overview:... |
| Website | Minneapolis Mayhem RFC |
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, national and international participation and competition in the game of Rugby Union Football, and to create an environment where members of the community can learn the laws and practice of Rugby, thus improving their capabilities as players."
Since forming in 2004, the Mayhem have been fortunate enough to play against teams from Minnesota, across the country, and around the world. Mayhem RFC is a member of the Minnesota Rugby Football Union
Minnesota Rugby Football Union
The Minnesota Rugby Football Union is the Local Area Union for Rugby Union teams in the state of Minnesota. The MNRFU is part of the Midwest Rugby Football Union , one of the seven Territorial Area Unions that comprise USA Rugby....
(MNRFU), the Midwest Rugby Football Union
Midwest Rugby Football Union
The Midwest Rugby Football Union is the Territorial Union for rugby union teams playing in the Midwestern United States. It is one of seven TUs that govern specific regions of USA Rugby...
(MRFU), USA Rugby
USA Rugby
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
, and International Gay Rugby Association and Board
International Gay Rugby Association and Board
International Gay Rugby Association and Board is the umbrella organization for the world's gay rugby clubs. It is dedicated to encouraging lesbians and gay men everywhere to play rugby...
(IGRAB). The Division III club trains and plays regularly in Minneapolis at Harrison Park
Harrison Park
Harrison Park is a stadium in Leek, Staffordshire. It is home to Leek Town F.C. currently of the Northern Premier League, and Leek C.S.O.B.. Capacity is 3,600.-Overview:...
.
History
Dave Peil, then owner of Grumpy’s Bar in Minneapolis, worked with a local rugby club The Metropolis RFC hosting fundraisers and third halves, tossed around the idea of starting a new predominantly gay rugby club.Following the model laid out in the “Starting a Club” primer by San Francisco Fog RFC founder Derrick Mickle, Peil set out generating interest through posters in bars, talking to whoever would listen, and starting a Yahoo Group (TCGayRugby) to communicate with interested people. The interest came in from around the country, board members from clubs in larger cities offering advice and words of caution that it may take a year to get enough players to field a team.
By November 2004 the outline for the future of the club was in place. A short term goal was enough members to make strong showing at the Pride Festival in June 2005, a major recruiting opportunity.
The first board was elected on February 26 2005, naming newly founded team the Minneapolis Freeze. The name was then officially changed on March 6 when it was discovered there was an inactive club in Northern MN who had that name. The second choice of The Minneapolis Mayhem was chosen and continues today.
The first practice was on March 2 2005, held under the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis. 22 people came out for the first practice.
The cheer of the Mayhem is "Tahi! Rua! Toru! Mayhem! Mayhem! Mayhem!" which is "1, 2 ,3..." in Maori.
Bingham Cup
The Mayhem played in their first Bingham Cup in 2006, hosted by the Gotham KnightsGotham Knights
The Gotham Knights Rugby Football Club is a division III men's club in the Metropolitan New York Rugby Union. Their home pitch is on Randall's Island, between the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx...
in New York, NY. Just over 12 months after forming, the Minneapolis Mayhem placed 5th out of 10 teams in the Plate Division.
The Minneapolis Mayhem submitted a bid to host the Bingham Cup in 2010. The only other team to submit a bid was the Sin City Irish RFC, a non-IGRAB, team. On January 21, 2009, it was announced that the Minneapolis Mayhem will host the 2010 Bingham Cup at the National Sports Center
National Sports Center
The National Sports Center is a 600-acre multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota, United States, that includes a soccer stadium, over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a velodrome, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the Schwan Super Rink, which is...
in Blaine, Minnesota
Blaine, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,942 people, 15,898 households, and 12,177 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,330 people per square mile . There are 16,169 housing units at an average density of 477.6 per square mile...
.