• World's 2004 Gay Rugby Championship (London)

Founded in 2000 by Derrick Mickle, the San Francisco Fog RFC was the first rugby club in the western United States geared primarily toward gay men and men of color. The club's inaugural year was nothing if not typical: the first practice, the first match, acceptance into the local union, and a great deal of fun -- but it had an unexpected and unfortunate ending. Four days before the Fog's preseason training was to begin in 2001, the team was thrust onto the international spotllight when one of its members, Mark Bingham, was killed aboard one of the airliners hijacked on September 11. Nine months later, in consultation with Mark's mother, Alice Hoglan, and the other IGRAB member clubs, the Fog once again stepped onto the world stage as organizers (and eventual winners) of the first(2002) and second (2004) international gay rugby tournament, whose trophy is named in Mark's honor.