Category Archives: Washington Wetskins

Sports: Gearing up for action

Team DC Fashion Show, gay news, Washington Blade

Last year’s Team DC Fashion Show (Washington Blade file photo by Pete Exis)

Every spring, the LGBT athletes of the Washington sports community come together to host the Team D.C. Fashion Show and Model Search. This year, it’s on March 9 at Town.

This year’s show features donations of latest fashions from Skiviez, UnderBriefs, Body Aware, Fireboy, Underwear Station, Adam & Eve and Universal Gear. You can purchase the apparel right off the models during the auction.

The event is a fundraiser for the Team D.C. College Scholarship Fund which provides scholarships to local, openly gay student athletes. You can vote for the models before the show online at teamdc.org.

Stonewall Kickball will kick off its spring season on March 17 with games being contested every Sunday through May 19. Registration will close once they reach their max of 480 players. More information is at stonewallsports.org/kickball.

The District of Columbia Aquatics Club will compete in regional tune-up meets leading up to the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatic Championships in Seattle to be held Aug. 12-17.  The swimmers will be looking to take back their world title from Team New York Aquatics. They are online at swimdcac.org.

The Chesapeake & Potomac Softball League (CAPS) will be holding early registration events in March with the spring season beginning on May 5 at Watkins Regional Park. Later in the summer, the CAPS will be looking for volunteers as they host the Gay Softball World Series Aug. 26-31. You can find the CAPS at eteamz.com/caps.

The Federal Triangles Soccer Club will host the annual Women’s Winter Wrapup Indoor Cup on March 24 at the Rockville Sportsplex. Information is forthcoming as the Triangles will once again host the Summer of Freedom League. Details will be available at federaltriangles.org.

Season six of the D.C. Gay Flag Football League began Feb. 24 with play to continue through April 21 at the Carter Barron Fields. Players can still get on the waitlist by going to dcgffl.org.

Lambda Links will begin its weekend golf outings in April with the first golf tournament, the President’s Cup to be held in May. Tee times will be listed at lambdalinks.org.

Registration is now open for the spring season with the D.C. Strokes Rowing Club.  You can sign up for the Learn to Row, Club or Competitive Programs. There is a pre-season camp to be held from March 15-17. Information is at dcstrokes.org.

The spring season for the Washington Renegades Rugby Football Club began last month with practices at Cardozo High School. The Renegades will travel to New York City for the Four Leaf 15s Tournament on March 23. They are online at dcrugby.com.

The Ski Bums hosted a great day trip in February to Seven Springs and are not quite ready to let go of winter as they are currently in Niseko, Japan. This August, they will be traveling to Argentina to check out some South American powder. Trip details are at ski-bums.org.

The Rainbow Spinnakers Sailing Club will ramp up their weekend sails in the Chesapeake Bay in the coming months. Meet up with the sailing enthusiasts for some skipper training or just go along for a relaxing ride. You can join their mailing list at rainbowspinnakers.com.

Charm City Volleyball hosts its social play on Wednesday nights and competitive play on Sunday afternoons. On April 27-28 they will be hosting Charm City Invitational XXVIII.  Information is at volleybaltimore.org.

The Washington Wetskins water polo team is also gearing up for the IGLA Championships in Seattle this August. You can meet up with the players at the Wetskins Mixer at Nellie’s on March 14. They are on Facebook under Washington Weskins.

For all you hockey fans, there will be a Night OUT at the Capitals viewing party on April 6.

The D.C. Icebreakers will host the event and offer a bonus skate from 6-7 p.m. at the Capitals Practice Rink at the Kettler Iceplex in Arlington. Following the skate, the group will head to Baliey’s Pub to watch the Capitals take on the Florida Panthers at 7:30 p.m. The skaters are at dcicebreakers.com.

The Adventuring Outdoors Group has a great list of hikes planned for the spring season. It’s a great time of year to tag along with the hikers to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Washington area. They will also launch their “If It’s Warm Enough” bike ride series this weekend. The trip list is at adventuring.org.

Registration spring tennis is now open for singles and doubles with the Capital Tennis Association. The outdoor leagues will run from March 16 to May 5 and will be held at the Rock Creek Tennis Center. You can register at capital-tennis.org.

George Washington University, a longtime supporter of the LGBT sports community, has invited all volleyball players to their open courts at the Smith Center. This is open to all levels of players for $5. The next dates are March 5 and March 19 from 7-9 p.m.

You can find more information about spring sports outings such as basketball running, ultimate frisbee, rock climbing, racquetball, horseback riding, scuba diving and dancesport at teamdc.org.

Wetskins water polo team stay busy

Washington Wetskins, LGBT sports, gay news, Washington Blade

The Washington Wetskins (Photo by M.V. Jantzen)

Washington is home to the longest continuously operating LGBT water polo team in the United States.  Founded in 1985, the Washington Wetskins have represented the D.C. area in numerous national and international competitions.

Over the years, the Wetskins have traveled to such varied places as New Orleans, San Francisco, Paris, Amsterdam and Reykjavic, Iceland.

The Wetskins current active roster consists of about 20 women and 20 men.  Practice is held on Monday and Wednesday nights at the Tacoma Recreation Center.

The team is self supported with annual dues ranging up to $300. Financial assistance can be offered to those unable to meet the dues structure.

They are members of the USA Water Polo Association as well the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) organization.

While it helps to be a strong swimmer, the Wetskins accept newcomers of all levels. They have even been known to teach people how to swim with practices that include drills and skills clinics.

Water polo, like many other sports only seems to appear every four year at the Olympics. It is actually played competitively year round and men’s water polo was among the first team sports introduced at the modern Olympic Games in 1900.

When water polo shows up on television during the Olympics, I often hear friends asking questions about the player’s gear. The caps are worn to identify the two teams and also to protect the ears from being injured.

As for the swimsuits, small and tight fitting are the best options. For both men and women, this style diminishes the chances of the opponent being able to grab onto the suit.  Women especially need their swimsuit straps to be tight so their opponents have no chance of pulling on them.

In terms of rules, water polo is most similar to team handball and also shares some similar rules with ice hockey.  As for action in the water, there are similarities to open water swimming and even wrestling.

As a former water polo player myself, the sport can be as grueling as it is exciting. During the course of a competitive match, the players will endure constant movement in the water for up to an hour with a few very short breaks.

Water polo players need incredible stamina because of the constant underwater holding, pushing, elbowing, kicking and even scratching that occurs during the game. All of which are technically illegal, but a constant factor in advanced competitions.

According to longtime Wetskins member, Tom Woodruff, “If the referee can’t see it, the referee can’t call it.”

And in many cases, the referee just ignores it.

In 2008, the Wetskins hosted the water polo portion of the IGLA World Championships in D.C.  I was lucky enough to attend the championship match in College Park.

The match was really intense and the skill level was incredible. It felt like both teams were out for blood.  Afterwards, I rode the shuttle bus back to D.C. with the players. Some of the players were sporting black eyes, gash marks and Band-Aids, yet both teams were joking and laughing.

“That isn’t surprising,” says Woodruff. “The LGBT water polo community is small and everyone knows each other.  They can fight ferociously in the water and then be friendly out of the water.”

Coming up for the Wetskins are the 2013 IGLA world Championships in Seattle and the 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland.

The team can be found on the web at wetskins.org.