On a recent single-digit Sunday morning, Kingston Wire headed over to Prime Athletics, an indoor sports facility on Hurley Avenue, to get sweaty at a weekly session of soccer organized by a new-but-burgeoning group called Hudson Valley Gay Soccer.

Hannah Berman and HC Cummings founded HVGS after searching for an inclusive, queer-focused soccer club in the area without success. The couple recently moved from Brooklyn to Kingston and had been playing games with NYC Footy, a soccer league accepting players of all skill levels with a motto of “competitive, but not ridiculous.”

“Hannah had the idea that what doesn’t exist we can create,” Cummings said. The duo applied the concept that NYC Footy had applied to their new group up the river, placing an emphasis on welcoming members of the queer community.

“[Hannah] made an Instagram and followed and interacted [with the community] and we got to a point in February [of 2025] where we had a lot of folks who were ready. We had a mixer to see what the interest was and it was the most joyous, beautiful thing to see all these random queer people from across the Hudson Valley show up,” Cummings said.

The mixer in February cemented to the partners that HVGS wasn’t a loose concept anymore. With all the positive feedback received they soon planned their first game for April of last year.

Miller Dauk heard of HVGS after their mixer and attended their first game last April. As a life-long soccer player, he offered his expertise and now runs the pre-game warmups. Dauk, who says “gay soccer changed my life,” expressed that he has experienced an immense amount of support from the community, leading him to move from Poughkeepsie, where he was living last year, to Kingston.

Accessibility is paramount to HVGS, and in the beginning there was no financial burden to players or organizers because all games were played on public outdoor fields. Once winter rolled in though, questions began to arise as to whether or not to take a hiatus for the season as renting an indoor space would require asking participants to pay a certain amount of money each week to attend.

In mid-December, after Berman and Cummings heard from the HVGS community that they “can’t do life without this,” they organized a fundraiser event at Rough Draft, selling off raffle tickets for different gift cards to businesses, tickets to events, exclusive hand-made ephemera and more from around the city and beyond, accumulating to nearly a thousand dollars’ worth of prizes.

The fundraiser generated more than double HVGS’s original goal in under two hours, coming out to around $5,000 from raffle tickets, as well as Rough Draft donating a portion of their proceeds from that night’s sales as well.

Beyond being able to nail down a weekly indoor space for HVGS in Kingston, the fundraiser brought an immense amount of awareness to the organization; the number of weekly participants went from around 25 to nearly 50. With the extra funds, HVGS is working on making merchandise in collaboration with the print studio The Department of Things down in the Rondout, as well as buying extra equipment.

HVGS welcomes players of all skill levels, with Berman and Cummings saying that “over half” of the attendees have never played soccer before. “It’s meant for people to be safe and have fun,” Cummings said.

From speaking to many of the attendees at Sunday’s session, it’s clear that many became informed about HVGS through social media, word-of-mouth and the fundraiser. Berman said people come from Albany to Westchester and everywhere between to attend the games, which, when they aren’t indoors, take place either in Rhinebeck or Hurley on public fields.

Testaments from players were consistent, with many commenting that the group has been warm, welcoming and playful. Many, including players Shannon and Ashley, said it’s the highlight of their week. “I count the days until gay soccer,” Ashley said.

We also heard from players Marigo and Sarah that they started coming to HVGS recently without knowing anybody. Although being nervous and intimidated at first, they soon felt welcomed by people who introduced themselves and made them feel a part of the team.

Longtime players Yaz, Kel and Clelie described mixed relationships with sports as a queer person growing up, but found that this community has made it easy for them to be authentically themselves without having to put up a facade. JL said that having “socialization during what’s going on in the political climate” has been a huge source of comfort for them.

Berman seconded this last sentiment, stating that the ultimate purpose of HVGS is “to be a community space, especially with a lot of what’s happening in the world. It’s extremely heavy for everyone but especially marginalized people like queer and trans people. We’re trying to foster joy and hold space for folks that need it.”

For now and the near future, HVGS is looking forward to getting back outside when the weather warms up and are “brainstorming ways to keep people engaged and feeling seen and heard,” Berman said. Inklings of a “Queer Prom” organized by HVGS at Uptown Kingston’s Assembly in the spring were mentioned, along with other community events and fundraisers.

Interested readers can reach out to HVGS and join their group chat by messaging their Instagram account, @hvgaysoccer.