Open invitation to annual PATH Pride Games

Every spring, the QPenn team puts together a week-long celebration of all stuff Q at Penn, culminating with the Penn Athletes and Allies Tackling Homophobia Pride Games on the closing Sunday. The games have been very popular over the years, with LGBTs and a large number of allies tossing eggs, running obstacle courses, guzzling fruit punch and doing push-ups and more for bragging rights.

Now the word is out to include even more LGBT athletes from around the area, with organizers soliciting Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League and the Falcons Soccer Club directly, and now they want you! Form your own team of seven or more or just show up and cobble together a team with others. This is not limited to college-age players! Anyone can participate.

The fun starts at noon on High Rise Field, which is near the west end of Locust Walk near 40th Street. The final competition of the day is always a crowd favorite: the drag race. Run across the field and put on lipstick, clothing articles, etc., run back and remove and the next team member does the same. Hilarity rules.

Event registration is at facebook.com/events/231432573709455/ and contact [email protected] if you have any questions. Rain moves the event indoors to Hollenback Annex at 3000 South St.

This is a really fun time that has long been one of my favorites to attend, participate in and shoot. (That is until last year when biking to it I crashed and broke my wrist. C’est la vie.) What a great opportunity to get out and play!

Rolling in right circles

Slough off the winter doldrums and get crazy with the Philly Roller Girls this spring. These wild women inaugurate the 2014 season home play with the PRG Cheeseskates battling Strong Island Derby Revolution from St. James, N.Y., at 11 a.m. March 30 at Millennium Skate World in Camden. Two weeks later, there’s a double-header starting at 5 p.m., April 12 at Class of 1923 Ice Rink just off the South Street Bridge in University City.

By recent estimate, about 75 percent of all competing teams have lesbian or transgender members and, in Philadelphia, LT women comprise more than a quarter of all team members. Let’s go support our fellow athletes and hit the beer garden while we do it!

Got kids? No problem. PRG is family-friendly. Children 5 and under are always free and children 6-12 are just $5 per double-header. You can get tickets beforehand at Crash Bang Boom, 528 S. Fourth St.; 12 Steps Down, 831 Christian St.; and The Abbaye, 637 N. Third St., or at the door the day of the event. Visit Phillyrollerderby.com.

Short stops • GPFFL final skills day is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. March 22 at FDR Park and spring registration closes 5 p.m. that day. Draft day is March 23 and the Meet Your Team party is 7-9 p.m. March 28 at ICandy. • Gryphons RFC 2014 spring season home opener is March 22 at Pepper Middle School. • Falcons Soccer moves back outside to Edgely Fields mid-April for pick-up play 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays until dark. Countdown to Gay Games 9: 140 days. Got a spring fling? Share it with everyone. Email [email protected].

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