Above: Mark Bingham; Alice Hoaglan awards The Bingham Cup trophy.

Every September 11, the Fog pauses to remember Mark Bingham, our friend and an early member of the San Francisco Fog.

Mark was a successful public relations executive who’d played rugby for the perennial national champions, UC Berkeley. The Fog, by contrast, was a newly formed club that hoped to join the competitive Northern California Rugby Football Union (NCRFU) as its first team geared primarily toward gay men and men of color.

We were mostly complete novices to the game, and our training sessions were horribly remedial, but Mark started showing up anyway. He coached, cajoled, and crashed through our practices, and played No. 8 in our first two friendly matches and in our first tournament (where he promptly dislocated his shoulder). He taught us his favorite rugby songs and made us feel like we were part of something bigger than ourselves. That was early 2001.

Over the summer the Fog did gain entry into the NCRFU. Mark, traveling in Europe, let us know how proud he was of the club’s achievement. He also told us what it meant for him to be part of a rugby team comprised entirely of gay men: “As we worked and sweated and ran and talked together this year, I finally felt accepted as a gay man and a rugby player. My two irreconcilable worlds came together.”

Mark never got another opportunity to play for the Fog. He was aboard United flight 93 when it crashed in rural Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

This Friday we will gather once again to remember Mark and the many gifts he brought to our young club. And as always, we will honor his mother, Alice Hoagland, too. A tireless supporter of Fog Rugby and of the international gay rugby movement, Hoagland can usually be seen cheering on teams from all over the world at the biennial Bingham Cup tournament, established by the Fog in 2002 in her son’s memory.

For the full text of Mark Bingham’s final email to the Fog, see our About page.

The Fog Women will play the Belmont Shore Landsharks on Treasure Island at the Fog Rugby pitch on Saturday, September 5th.

Due to the Bay Bridge closure this weekend, access to Treasure Island will require a special permit. If you need to attend this match, please contact us.

Kickoff is at 1pm.

The Fog Women will have their first league match of the 2009 Fall season against the Norcal Triple Threat in Sacramento on Saturday, August 29th.

Kickoff is at 1pm. Directions to the pitch are posted below.

Get directions or view larger map

FOG RUGBY® is proud to announce that Bass and Budweiser have just renewed their sponsorship contract for three more years after the brands’ successful sponsorship of the club.

The Fog Rugby community loves Bass and Budweiser products and is very much looking forward to the coming three years of sponsorship.

We are pleased to announce that the Women’s Sevens National Invitational Tournament will take place Saturday and Sunday, August 15-16, 2009 on Treasure Island, hosted by the San Francisco Fog RFC.

Saturday will feature all teams in pool play, leading into Sunday’s trophy rounds and culminating in the crowning of the 2009 National Sevens Champion. All play will take place at the Gaelic Athletic Association’s field at 11th Street and Avenue H on Treasure Island. Saturday afternoon the Gaelic Athletic Association will play the men’s final for Gaelic Football on the same field.

This year marks the inaugural Championship for Women’s Sevens, and will coincide with the Men’s Sevens National Invitational Tournament, hosted by the San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Football Club, also on Treasure Island.

Dana Creager, fresh from the US National Team, is serving as Competition Coordinator. Creager notes “We are very pleased to be bringing the Inaugural Women’s Sevens tournament to the San Francisco Bay Area, a hotbed of American Rugby, and are honored to be hosted by the San Francisco Fog. It is guaranteed to be a weekend full of great rugby.”

With origins that trace back to Scotland over 125 years ago, Rugby Sevens is a fast paced, high action version of the more traditional 15-person game.

Sponsors of this event are: Bass, Budweiser, and Energy 92.7.

Admission is free to all spectators. More information and directions to the pitch available on the Women’s Sevens National Invitational Tournament website.

The Lady Fog will be gearing up for the fall season with conditioning sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from July 13 through July 28. Sessions will be held on Treasure Island at the Fog Rugby pitch from 7:30pm to 9pm and led by the Fog’s “Ranger” Jon Nord.

On Thursday, July 23, there will be a BYOM (bring your own meat or meat substitute) BBQ following the conditioning session. There will also be touch rugby on an adjacent field.

As we do every summer, The San Francisco Fog RFC is spending the off-season playing touch rugby twice each week.

Thursday evenings at 7:30pm you can find us at the Fog Rugby pitch.

Saturday mornings at 11am we’re at Ocean Beach, just south of the Cliff House and the Great Highway-Balboa intersection. See the Google Maps below for exact location.

Whether you’re new to the sport, looking for something fun to do, and/or wanting to get in some fitness, make sure to come out and join us!

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The 2009 edition of FogFest is approaching fast — and time is running out to save $10 on event admission!

This Saturday, June 27, Fog Rugby is proud to host FogFest IV, a harlots-style festival that emphasizes both the competition of rugby as well as the more light-hearted aspects of the game. Individuals register and are placed on teams at random (well semi-randomly, since we do take your usual position into account).

We do ask that both players and non-players pre-register online by Friday, June 26, so we can ensure that our post-event BBQ and social are the best they’ve ever been.

FogFest is open to both men and women rugby players, and you’ll need to know your CIPP number (i.e., proof you have registered with USA Rugby).

Here’s what your registration fee gets you:

• Full day of RUGBY (at least 3 games) at beautiful Treasure Island
• High quality FogFest tournament JERSEY
• BEER all day (must be 21+ with ID)
• Post-tournament BBQ and SOCIAL with music, beers slides, and lots of other fun

And even if you just want to watch the games and get in on the post-tourney activities, you’ll save $10 by pre-registering — so do it now!

Interested in learning the basics of rugby in a fun, no-pressure atmosphere?

Join us on Saturday, June 20th for a full day of rugby instruction, fun, camaraderie, and a BBQ with beer and great food and folks.

No experience is necessary — we’ll teach you everything you need to know. And men and women of all shapes and sizes are welcome!

You will learn basics of rugby:

• rugby laws
• tossing and catching the ball
• painless tackling with less effort
• forming rucks and mauls
• line outs
• scrums
• rugby songs

The Clinic starts at 11:00am (sharp!) on Treasure Island at the Fog Rugby pitch (near the intersection of 9th St and Ave D).

Note: Participants must be 18 years or older to participate in this Rugby 101, but please feel free to contact us about our Youth Rugby program.

On Saturday, May 30, SF Fog Rugby presents Jell-O Wrestling as the Ladies of the San Francisco Fog return for a fourth time to the Jell-O wrestling pool! If you missed the first three wrestling events, this is the time to see first hand the excitement of the lady ruggers!

Just $12 (advance tickets; $15 at the door) will get you into the event with all the wrestling action plus all the beer you can drink. The lady ruggers will also be serving Jell-O shots at $3 each. Plus, Fog resident DJ Jonboy (Dubalicious) will be providing the grooves for the afternoon.

Advance ticket sales are now closed. Please purchase your tickets at the door.

Place: The End Up (401 6th Street, San Francisco)
Date: Saturday, May 30
Time: 3pm to 7pm
Tickets: $15 at the door (advance tickets no longer available)