Perth’s long running gay social club Bears Perth have made headlines around the globe as they face the dilemma caused by Perth’s newly announced rugby team.
Bears Perth are a friendly social group for larger and hairier gay men and their supporters. The group is incredibly welcoming and inclusive of everybody, and throw some great events. Perth Bears are the new west coast based rugby team who will enter the national competition in 2028.
Club President Kingsley Dawes realised there was going to be some confusion when they suddenly had an increase in online applications for memberships. Yes, a whole heap of rugby fans just joined a gay social group.
Speaking to OUTinPerth Club President Kingsley Dawes said it had been a mix of both a comical and a troublesome time.
“We’ve been preparing for this since August last year, I think was in August or September last year, a whole heap of artwork was put out about the Western Bears. It had a nice big shield, and they had a really good bear picture, and it was really cool.
“A few of us said, ‘Oh God, that could get tricky if, if the two got mixed up’, and then it all kind of died away, and we didn’t hear anything about again.” Dawes shared.
During the state election though the topic of a WA based rugby team reemerged, and the club got their first unexpected membership request. The North Sydney Bears were a foundation club that exited the national league in 1999 when they merged with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles to form the Northern Eagles. A former player for the team asked to join.
“We received a membership request from a guy in his 80s that was based in Sydney, who used to play for the North Sydney Bears back in the day. So we gently and kindly told him, ‘Well, thank you very much. We’d love to have you as a member, but we are actually a gay social club.'”
Dawes shared that the former player was good humoured about the mix up, but once the plan for the team to be brough back to life on the West Coast was formerly announced there was a flood of applications to join online, so much that the club had to shutdown their membership portal.
The club has now put up a huge notice highlighting they’re not a rugby club, and media from around the world have been calling to report on the story.
Dawes says there is however an opportunity for the new rugby club to tap into it’s potential gay fan base – after all the reigning Mr Bear Perth Jeb Brown is a huge rugby fan, and also plays for local gay team The Rams.
To add to the potential confusion it’s been announced that the new rugby team Perth Bears home will be HBF Stadium, while the similarly named Bears Perth meet at Loton Park Tennis Club, which is just metres away from the stadium.
“We regularly put out signs that say ‘Come down to Perth Bears’. I guarantee you that somebody who thinks that it’s after hours rugby function going to come on down.” Dawes said.
What any wayward rugby fans will find though is a welcoming and friendly bunch of guys whose activities include board games, disco nights, karaoke nights, bowling outings and the occasional pole dancing class.
Bears Perth have been operating for 32 years and became an incorporated association in 1997. To date there’s been no suggestion that the long running club should change its name for the rugby team.
Former editor of the West Australian Anthony De Ceglie has just been named as the new CEO of the Perth Bears. De Cleglie has spent the last few years as a top executive at 7West Media restructuring their operations and cutting staff and costs.
