Bingham Cup 2010, the Gay Rugby world championship tournament will be held in Baine , Minnesota this year. First held in 2002 , BIngham Cup is a biannual, non-professional, gay rugby union tournament. The tournament was named after Mark Bingham , a former UC Berkeley Rugby star . Bingham died in the September 11, 2001 attacks on board United Airlines Flight 93. Bingham is believed to have been among the passengers who attempted to storm the cockpit to try to prevent the hijackers from using the plane to kill hundreds or thousands of additional victims. He made a brief airphone call to his mother, Alice Hoglan, shortly before the plane went down. Hoglan, a former flight attendant with United Airlines, later left a voice mail message on his cell phone, instructing Bingham to reclaim the aircraft after it became apparent that Flight 93 was to be used in a suicide mission.
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The Bingham Cup was first hosted by the San Francisco Fog RFC, Mark Bingham’s home team. That year, eight teams traveled to California to compete over two days with Fog RFC coming out on top as the tournament’s first winners. REEL GAY TV was there, and footage from that tournament, including Alice Hoglan who was on hand for the trophy presentation, can be seen below.
With each of the following tournaments, The Bingham Cup has become bigger and better. Minneapolis looks to be no different. The Bingham Cup, will take place at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota from June 17-20 2010. For more information please vist www.binghamcup.com
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