New york in gold

From the 25th till 28th June 2019, the Brussels Mannekenfish participated to the IGLA world tournament in New York city winning the gold medal in the recreational tournament. Following the competition, the team celebrated the world pride commemorating the 50 years anniversary of the Stonewall riots by marching in the parade.

IGLA 2019 tournament

The Brussels Mannekenfish were competing in the recreational tournament in which 15 teams from all around the world were participating. The team started by winning its two first games against San Francisco Tsunami (5-4) and Making Waves Edmonton (12-5). These two victories opened the way to the 8th finals were the team met the London Orcas. After two quarters of close game, the Mannekenfish took the advantage at the begining of the third quarter leading to a victory 12-6.

The Brussels team was to meet the hosts of the tournament, Team New York Aquatics (TNYA), for the quarter finals. After a victory (15-4), the fate led to another game against TNYA in the semi-finals. A new victory opened the doors to the finals for the Brussels Mannekenfish were they were to meet again the San Francisco Tsunami. After the first tight game at the beginning of the tournament, the Mannekenfish stayed fully focussed. However, the team had improved all along the tournament leading to a victory against the Californians 8-3.

CELEBRATING WORL PRIDE 2019

After the tournament, the team took part in the celebration of the world pride. On Sunday 30 June, the team joined all the participants of the IGLA tournament to march in the streets of New York. This edition of the world pride was the opportunity to commemorate the 50 anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the event that is considered as the starting point for the movement for LGBT+ liberation movement.