jersey on and play for our club. We think about the players who have gone before us and who so fearlessly started the club 25 years ago in the face of so much unpleasantness towards the LGBTQ+ community. We think about the players who are yet to start playing but who will stand on the pitch in 25 years’ time and hope that they will be filled with the same amount of pride as we have now each time we represent our club and the LBGTQ+ community. We think about how initiatives such as the Rainbow Laces campaign and working with our charity partners the Terrence Higgins Trust, we are shining a light on issues we care about deeply about, but at the same time are giving something back. We also think of the wider rugby community that has embraced IGR and supported us along the way specifically the RFU, Essex Rugby, Out For Sports and Sports Media LGBT+ along with teams such as Harlequins and players such as James Haskell who proudly marched in solidarity with the Steelers at 2019’s Pride in London. during the lockdown along with their physical fitness. This is a staggering amount and one which led to the club to work tirelessly to bring back rugby for the members. Working within the government and RFU restrictions the club managed to provide meaningful rugby-based activity that saw 60 plus members participate in, per session. In addition to these training sessions, the club organised a Touch Rugby tournament for members which coincided with the club’s 25th anniversary.
This year has proved that being part of a community has never been so important and the rugby community is one of the most passionate, most welcoming but above all one of the most inclusive communities. Rugby really is for all.
One thing that is most striking about the club, as with any club is that every member has a different story. We have all come from very different backgrounds and everyone’s experience in the rugby community and within the LGBTQ+ community has been different, but the most important thing is the camaraderie on the pitch and off it. The club has been able to encapsulate the best aspects of rugby and pass these values to the players throughout the years. The coaches, the supporters, the committee members and all those people who work behind the scenes to make sure the club function are the backbone to the club community. What I have personally seen in my years at the club is the fantastic way people pull together in different circumstances to make sure the club is seen in its most positive of light. There is very much a one-club mentality at the Steelers and an enormous sense of pride each time we put a
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