Inaugural Beehive Bash will spotlight four local women’s sports teams
Four Utah teams will combine forces on April 13 in Salt Lake City for the inaugural Beehive Bash, a celebration of women’s sports in Utah.
The showcase will begin with back-to-back rugby matches in the stadium at Highland High School. At 11 a.m. the Salt City Slugs, the oldest established women’s rugby club in Utah, will face off against the Boulder Babes in a Rocky Mountain rivalry of the USA Club Division 2 Women’s Rugby. Then, at 1:30 p.m., the Division 1 Utah Vipers will scrum with the Provo Peaks women’s rugby club in an intrastate exhibition matchup.
Following a short intermission to reset the field, at 4:30 p.m. the Utah Wild semi-professional ultimate team for women and non binary athletes will take on the Western Ultimate League defending champions, the Seattle Tempest, in a rematch of a Rocky Mountain Rumble game that the Washington team won by a single goal last May.
Finally, after another quick field reset, at 7:30 p.m. the Utah Falconz will take on the San Diego Rebellion in a rematch of last season’s Women’s National Football Conference semifinal in which the Rebellion shocked the previously undefeated Falconz, 48-20.
Adult tickets for the entire day of games can be purchased for $20 at the websites of the Falconz or Wild, or for $25 at the gate. Falconz and Wild season ticket holders will be admitted free, as will all children under 12. Food trucks and informational booths for each of the teams and other community organizations will be on hand.
The Beehive Bash is an outgrowth of a joint effort on the part of a coalition of women’s sports advocates to ask Salt Lake City leaders to re-dedicate the civic-owned stadium at 1300 South and West Temple as a hub for women’s pro and semi-pro sports once it is vacated by its current tenants, The Salt Lake Bees. The proposal was a runaway winner in a professional design competition hosted by the city to solicit ideas for the soon-to-be empty stadium, but the city has not yet announced its intentions for the property. The teams, meanwhile, have banded together in other ways, including combining forces for the Bash.
“We’re even stronger together,” Utah Wild captain Kendra Miller said. “And that’s saying something because, honestly, we’re pretty strong separately, too. These teams are made up of players who had to fight hard for a chance to play at the highest levels of their sports in this state. It’s going to be inspirational to see everyone play on the same field.”
“These athletes and these sports are often overlooked,” Falconz captain and starting safety Kim Krinke said. “But what we find, again and again, is that when people are exposed to our teams, they fall in love with who we are, what we’re doing, and especially what happens on the field.”
Find more information on the venue and how to access the event here, and get your early bird tickets before prices rise on the 13th! You can also sign up to volunteer at this link.
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