The Kings Cross Steelers are an English rugby union team, the first open membership gay and bisexual rugby club in the world[1].
The Kings Cross Steelers are currently playing in the Essex (Spitfire) League 2.
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The club was founded on 1 November 1995 in the Central Station pub located in Kings Cross in London and joined the Surrey County Union the following summer, playing their first game on 21 September 1996, which they lost by 92-10 to Orleans Former Pupils at Strawberry Hill.
In June 2002, the club managed to be runners up in the Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament. Two years later they hosted the tournament. Their best result in the competition to date was in Dublin in 2008, when they were tournament runners-up, losing to the Sydney Convicts in the final.
In 2009, the club hosted, and won, the Union Cup - a biennial tournament for gay rugby clubs in Europe.
In 2011, the club successfully defended the title winning the Union Cup in Amsterdam after a final against the Manchester Village Spartans. In the same year, the club won the Hadrian Cup, a yearly tournament held in Newcastle and organised by the Newcastle Ravens.
The club's name comes from "Kings Cross" as the place of the club's foundation, while "Steelers" comes from the founding members' love of American football.
The Kings Cross Steelers are currently playing in the Essex (Spitfire) League 2. The 1st XV were promoted to Essex 2 during the 2006/07 season with the 2nd XV playing in the Merit league 8. The club has an ethic of helping people to play and enjoy rugby with a strong belief in providing a community spirit among its members.
The logo is of an elephant in a castle. The logo is based on the crest of the Marquess of Camden, and forms part of the crest of the London Borough of Camden (which covers the Kings Cross area). Or to give it the correct description "On a Wreath of the Colours issuant from a Mural Crown Argent a demi Elephant Sable armed or about the neck a Wreath of Holly fructed proper". The elephant in the club badge is affectionately known as 'Nelly'.
The 2009/10 kit for the Steelers consists of green shoulders, with a green and blue checkerboard pattern across the middle, fading into blue at the bottom. Shorts and socks are blue. The 2009/10 sponsors are Comptons of Soho and the Metropolitan Police.
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