It’s that time of year again. I can hardly believe the not-much-of-a-summer is over and sports are moving indoors again, or stopping all together until spring. Rainouts were frequent this year, as wet does not work well with park. Add to that the persistent cloudy, cool days and it almost makes me look forward to fall.
Almost.
Continuing out-of-doors as the weeks take on a chill are those rough and tumble ruggers, the Gryphons Rugby Football Club. The group has one more regular-season game this fall, on Oct. 5 in Fairmount Park, with the possibility of a playoff game Oct. 24. After the Oct. 5 game, join the Gryphs at Tavern on Camac for their First Saturday party.
Also playing in the autumn air, Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League kicked off its fall season Sept. 28 with yours truly singing the “National Anthem” for the season’s inauguration. GPFFL plays through Oct. 26, with a Halloween party and player auction after, 7:30-11 p.m. at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St.
Philadelphia Falcons Soccer Club finishes its pick-up games Oct. 2 and moves indoors for the winter Nov. 4 at Guerin Recreation Center, 1600 Jackson St. Indoor play will run from 8-10 p.m. Mondays and 2-4 p.m. Saturdays through March.
CBLSL Fall Ball wraps up in mid-October. Also completing its fair-weather volleys, Liberty Tennis will move from FDR Park to the Althea Gibson Tennis Center, between 10th and 11th streets on Girard Avenue.
And then there are the sports that are always in — Rainbow Rollers, Philadelphia Gay Bowling League, Spartans Wrestling and Fins Aquatic Club (mostly, except for a few days in the summer when they hit Kelly Pool) — and, you know what? You can join in almost any time!
Same with these groups that are always out: Frontrunners, Philadelphia Liberty Belles, QCycle, Philadelphia Firebirds and Brandywine Women’s Rugby. Always welcoming new members.
You can find contact information for all of these and others on PGN’s Community Bulletin Board (epgn.com/pages/bulletin_board). And Get Out and Play is online every other week under columns/Get Out and Play.
Rolling, rolling, rolling ’cross the river
Gay skate! The wheels will be humming 8:30-10:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Cherry Hill Skating Center for this bimonthly skating event. This is a fundraising event for the Liberty Belle Bowling Tournament, held every Fourth of July weekend. General skate admission is $10 dollars and, if you don’t bring your own skates, rental is another $3. They take cash or credit cards, but note that there is no ATM on the premises. The rink is at 664 Deer Road, Cherry Hill, N.J.; 856-795-1919. For directions, visit www.cherryhillskatingcenter.com and for more information, e-mail [email protected]i or call Phil at 856-889-1434. And it’s October, so why not dress up for it?
Short stops • OutFest is Oct. 13 in the Gayborhood. This is your chance to get information directly from the teams, leagues, squads, groups and organizations that play and complete in Philly. Look for the Spruce Street Sports row between 13th and Camac streets.
Correction: In the Sept. 20 edition of Get Out and Play, PGN incorrectly identified the amount GPFFL is hoping to raise to support Gay Bowl. The league needs to raise $100,000.
Countdown to Gay Games 9: 308 days. Send your information, questions and idle thoughts to [email protected].