Ottawa has won the right to host the world’s largest amateur rugby tournament – an event that is forecast to pump up to $10 million into the local economy.
The Ottawa Wolves RFC has won the hosting rights for the 2020 Bingham Cup, which is billed as the world’s largest amateur union rugby tournament. The Ottawa Wolves RFC is the first Canadian inclusive rugby club to host the Bingham Cup and follow other inclusive rugby clubs that have successfully held the biennial tournament in cities such as London, England; New York, U.S.A; Sydney, Australia; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Called "the world cup of gay rugby," the Bingham Cup is an international gay rugby union tournament that promotes inclusivity, equality and competition. A total of 70 rugby teams from five continents are expected to participate in the 2020 Bingham Cup in Ottawa. The 2018 tournament hosted by the Amsterdam Lowlanders RFC had more than 2,300 registered participants from 63 countries.
Administered by International Gay Rugby (IGR), the Bingham Cup is named in memory of Mark Kendall Bingham, a former University of California, Berkeley rugby star and co-founder of the Gotham Knights RFC, a gay-inclusive rugby club in New York City. Mark Kendall Bingham lost his life in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks onboard United Airlines Flight 93.
"This is a truly historic moment for both rugby and the inclusive sports movement in Canada," said Jean-François Laberge, President of the Bingham Cup Ottawa 2020 Bid Committee in a news release. "Hosting the Bingham Cup reinforces that Canada is an open, inclusive and welcoming country."
The 2020 tournament in Ottawa will include week-long cultural, educational and sporting events and is forecast to generate economic activity of about $10 million. The 2020 tournament will also be carbon-neutral, feature a wheelchair rugby exhibition game and celebrate Indigenous culture.
The Ottawa Wolves RFC engaged in an extensive bidding process to win the rights to host the 2020 Bingham Cup in the nation’s capital, and they roped in some political heavy hitters to support their cause. This past summer, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted in support of the Ottawa Wolves Bingham Cup bid.
