CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina’s only LGBTQ+, inclusive rugby team is returning to the field for its first normal regular seasons since before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The Charlotte Royals Rugby Football Club started play in its regular spring season and will have its fall season, culminating in a fall tournament, the Bingham Cup. 

Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the team and its finances, players are ready and excited for a return to what feels like normal.

Senior coach Jeff Enochs described what impact the pandemic had on the team.

“It dried up all of our funding, most of our funding. We’re trying to raise money to get our team back into position where we can actually afford these practices, afford the games and the tournaments. And it really wiped out our numbers,” Enochs said.

Currently, the team has about 20 regular players, but is on the hunt for more. The team’s spring and fall seasons’ games are played with 15 people.

Enochs, whose day job is at Bank of America, leads two practices a week. The practices take place on Mondays and Thursdays and last for about two hours. But the time commitment is no sweat for Enochs.

“These boys are my family. We have so many players that come and go, but they always stick around and they’re always family, and we always help each other out,” Enochs said.

The team was created in 2004 with the goal to create a safe, welcoming space for LGBTQ+ athletes. Enochs said it was an invitation at Pride 18 years ago which turned him into a rugby fanatic.

“I thought nothing of it. I went, I had my first couple practices, my first game, and I couldn’t leave the sport,” Enochs said as he walked into practice.

In the last 18 years, Enochs has been a player, fan, staff member and now a senior coach. 

“We accept any players. If you want to play rugby, you want to learn to play rugby, I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what your background is,” Enochs added.

Despite the return to "normal" this year, the August tournament in Canada will be Enochs’ last with the team as coach. After 18 years, he said it’s time for a new challenge.

“I want to devote a lot more time to growing the sport of rugby in North America, South, trying to bring on more teams. And honestly, it’s time for some new blood to come in,” Enochs explained.

Enochs, who does work with International Gay Rugby (IGR), said he wants to grow the sport, particularly women’s rugby, in the South. IGR is listed as one of the Royals’ governing bodies.

“The fact that we can offer this, this environment, this family, to individuals — LGBTQ, ally, whatever, and to do it for so long, it just speaks volumes like how much community support we have behind us,” Enochs said about the Royals’ success in Charlotte.

However, they say they need more help and people.

“As you can imagine, two years, people have picked up different things and now that’s kind of their main focus. So, we’re really spending a lot time out here trying to get new players out here, teach them what rugby’s all about,” Enochs continued, “So, we’re starting from scratch.”

The team did get back together in fall of 2021, but had COVID-19 restrictions in place and had not played together since early 2020.

Enochs’ fellow senior coach, Robert Primm, will take over head coaching responsibilities once Enochs retires. Primm is a 20-year rugby veteran and describes himself as an ally of Charlotte’s LGBTQ+ community.

“We try to build a culture here with the Charlotte Royals that’s something folks can be proud of. We have ... we make it a nice family friendly event. We’ve had drag queens out here doing commentary on the sidelines, we’ve had cheer squads, it has been ... it’s a place where you definitely want to bring the family to,” Primm said.

Primm’s main goals are recruiting more players and advancing the level of play.

“We would like to have folks from New Zealand, Australia, London, any of those, to know exactly who we are,” Primm added.

The Royals will take the field on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Northeast Recreation Field Complex on John Kirk Drive. They will be hosting a round-robin series of games with some of the South’s other inclusive rugby teams.

For more details and to get involved with the team, you can go to their Facebook page or website.