The Chicago Dragons are off to its best start ever and truly ready to face some of the best rugby teams from around the world.
The Dragons kicked off its spring 2012 season with an early April championship win at the St. Louis Spring Fever Invitational, which culminated in a 21-0 victory over the Madison Minotaurs in the championship match. This first-ever tournament win for the Dragons resulted from wins over the St. Louis Crusaders, Charlotte Royals and Nashville Grizzliesand the event featured the first tries for Dickie Harper and Jared Majerle.
"St Louis is an experience a long time coming for the Dragons," said Dragons President Craig Sklenar. "We have the experience, knowledge and drive to win tournaments, but just could not seem to close that chapter in our team's history. We could get to a championship match and barely lose, whatever the case it was a frustrating experience.
"So winning at St Louis this season as our first event of the year has set a positive competitive tone on the team I have not seen in a while. We won't always win every game, but we sure know that amazing feeling at the end of the day, hearing that final whistle blow, knowing you are the champion of an event keeps you as a player going week after week."
Sklenar, 30, who lives in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood and works as the urban planner for the City of Evanston, is in his fifth season playing for the Dragonsand this promises to be an amazing year for the predominantly gay rugby club.
"Our spring season began with a win at a tournament in St Louis, usually a daunting task for any club stepping on the pitch for the first time in any season," he said. "The win proved that the Dragons have been working hard in the off season, and the ability of our new coach was tested for the first time, [ with ] great success."
Now the team must prep for its greatest challenge: the Bingham Cup, set for June 1-3 in Manchester, England. The Bingham Cup is the world championship of gay and inclusive rugby teams and is the largest men's 15-aside rugby union tournament in the sporting calendar outside of the IRB Rugby World Cup. Manchester 2012 will be the sixth Bingham Cup, named in honor of gay rugby player Mark Bingham, who died on United Airlines Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.
The Bingham Cup welcomes teams from 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, France and Portugal.
"We are walking into the Bingham Cup with some wins under our belt, which will help the team prepare mentally for a three-day event that [ might ] involve six or seven rugby matches," Sklenar said. "Bingham is a special event that cannot really be placed into words. Our team works hard for two years to fundraise, recruit and develop our squad to take to the Bingham Cup that will be the most competitive. It's also a time to catch up with old friends, meet people from around the world and share in the memory and courage of Mark Bingham, who selflessly stormed the cockpit with other passengers on Flight 93 in September, 2001.
"It has been 10 years since the first Bingham Cup [ was ] held, and the event has grown to the largest amateur rugby tournament in the world. To me, that's the most striking aspect of the Cupnot only is it an event to further our cause of bringing inclusiveness and openness to the sport of rugby, but it is now the largest of all amateur rugby tournaments in the world."
Sklenar attended the 2008 Bingham Cup in Dublin, and made his debut on the pitch in a Bingham Cup in 2010 in Minneapolis.
"Bingham is a special event," Sklenar said. "Any club that is a member of the International Gay Rugby Association ( IGRAB ) may choose to participate in the Bingham Cup. Since most cities around the world have only one club affiliated with IGRAB, that means you are representing your city on a world stage for one weekend every two years. There are more than gay men who attend the Bingham Cup. Straight and bisexual men form squads, too. I really enjoy knowing that the men from our club, of all backgrounds, look forward to Bingham. The weekend is just a fun event to be at, not to mention you get the opportunity to play rugby in locations around the world many of us would not imagine we would ever play [ in ] . Doing a rugby tour is something every club works toward; the Dragons get to do it every two years."
There are 20 Dragons with Sklenar playing in the Bingham.
The Dragons also will feature a few players from Kansas City to fill out their roster.
"The greatest [ Bingham ] memories are sharing the victories and pushing yourself on a daily basis to play the best you can," Sklenar said. "Some of the best memories come on and off the pitch. Scoring a hard-fought try [ or ] playing against a rival team for a prime spot in the playoffs are all great memories of matches at the tournament. A teammate getting his nickname or his first Zulu, finding [ a ] Bingham crush are all good memories off the pitch, too.
"I find those on the team who go to Bingham are inherently closer to each other because of the shared experience of the tournament. Hence, my goal [ is ] to get every player, every supporter excited and at Bingham.
"Bingham to me is a very honorable event. I do not know if the Cup would exist had it not been for the unimaginable events on September 11, 2001. Mark was able to bring us all together in this amazing way, and we play to honor him and his spirit at every Cup, at every match back in our home unions and continue to spread the message of equality on and off the pitch."
Sklenar said playing on the Bingham's international stage, often against teams filled with players who have played the sport, essentially, their entire life is sometimes daunting. Still, the Dragons finished 11th out of 30-plus teams in 2010.
"We are honored and excited to participate in the Bingham Cup," Sklenar said. "This time around, the Dragons are looking to make it to a championship match during the tournament. Our boys really want to bring a trophy back to Chicago.
"Bingham is an event that not every club in the Chicago Region gets to experience. The Dragons every two years pack up for a week and head to a location to meet 40 clubs from around the world to play the sport of rugby. It's an event I would love to share with more rugby players and hope to as our club grows in the coming years."
So how do the 2012 Dragons look compared to 2011 and past years?
Good, Sklenar said. The team is beginning to see results in three areas that the team has focused on in the off-season.
First, we have a new coaching staff hired outside the ranks of the Dragons," Sklenar said. "Next, recruitment of new players and potential players has increased. Finally, game development of our veteran players," has improved.
"Retaining players and bringing new ones into the fold is always the hardest aspect of any club. The Dragons have worked hard this year to come together as a team, build on our strengths, and recognize our weaknesses so we can best eliminate them. Our new coach, Corey Ringhisen, has done a tremendous job of setting expectations, developing team strategies and unifying our squad.
"The Dragons are a team that is growing stronger every match we play. We have grown from a small club with [ only ] a few experienced players and players who have never played the sport before to a broad squad of veteran players [ who ] get excited about teaching new members the sport of rugby.
"This is a keystone year for the Dragons. With a strong start to our spring season and the continual development of our players, we will see the strongest squad in the team's history."
In addition to the Bingham Cup, the Dragons are working to help raise funds and expand youth clubs in Chicago, partnering with the Illinois Youth Rugby Association, Sklenar said.