Josh Terry was on one of the worst dates of his life when he learned about a queer dodgeball league that was building momentum in Toronto.
Seven years later, he’s now on the organizing committee for Gay Ball Society (GBS), a thriving sports organization in the 2SLGBTQ+ community that has ballooned to 26 teams and nearly 350 players.
GBS oversees non-competitive dodgeball games inside the gymnasiums at Church Street Public School and St. Joseph’s College School in the Church-Wellesley Village every Monday night.
The group has been active for ten years and is currently several weeks into its 21st season. Players are welcome from all across Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ community.
The dodgeball rules are relatively classic. While throwing balls at one another, players will try to eliminate every opponent on the opposing team within the game’s four minutes.
“I suppose some good came out of that date,” Terry said of the league. “I was new to the city at the time and decided to sign up — and here I am, all this time later.”
More than just dodgeball
Gay dodgeball teammates Laurence Jarlett and Tyler Coke both moved to Toronto in 2023 and have become good friends since joining GBS last year. Originally from the U.K. and Montreal respectively, Jarlett and Coke joined the league in search of community.
The pair isn’t focused on just dodgeball points and wins. For Jarlett, GBS has shifted his perception on the power of sport and the importance of finding your chosen family.
“I hated team sports when I was a kid,” he told TorontoToday.
As a young gay person, Jarlett said he disliked the gender segregation often associated with in-school sports.
“I was the typical gay boy where all my friends were girls, so you’re forced to go play with a bunch of macho boys you don’t like,” he reflected.
“So, [GBS] has been really fun. You get all sorts of different personality types, experience levels and athleticism levels. Nobody is judgemental,” he added.
Once the games wrap up on Monday nights, players join each other for drinks and a social at the bar Pegasus on Church Street. The venue offers GBS drink specials and has become the league’s most dependable watering hole.
“We basically take over the bar every week,” Coke said. “They’ve been so gracious to us. This is a really nice and easy community to get involved with.”
For Terry, one of his biggest pleasures overseeing the group has been witnessing GBS function as an unofficial matchmaker over the years.
He noted there are several players who have found their partners and spouses through the dodgeball league, while others have become lifelong friends.
“There are group chats of retired teams that are still active after years,” he said. “Even if they’re no longer in the league, former players will still join us at Pegasus on Mondays. Relationships, lasting friendships — that’s what it’s all about for us.”
Demand for chucking balls has ‘never been higher’
While the club may not be all that competitive on the dodgeball floor, registration for a new term can be a brawl away from the courts.
Last December, every winter spot in GBS’ two leagues filled up in less than 15 minutes.
“It feels like you’re trying to get Taylor Swift tickets when registration opens,” he said. “People are on their computer, hitting refresh and waiting for it to open. It’s nice to see that level of interest.”
Initially operating under one league, GBS added a Little League with 90 player spots in 2018 to keep up with growing demand.
The Little League has eight teams, compared to the Classic League’s 18. The minor league provides new players with an opportunity to learn the sport and meet others who are also joining for the first time.
As of last year, teams in both leagues also expanded from 12 to 13 players.
But GBS isn’t alone in Toronto’s queer sports space. 2SLGBTQ+ leagues also exist for volleyball, curling and pickleball, among others.
The unserious, quirky and laid-back nature of the organization is what makes GBS stand apart from the rest, Terry said.
Many “silly activities” throughout the year keep the league’s members engaged, Terry said, like themed costume nights and dodgeball games played while dressed in drag.
“This is the biggest our league has ever been, so demand has never been higher,” he added.
Overseeing a unique theme every season, GBS is paying homage to video games for the 2025 winter term.
The league’s team names have kept in the spirit of the theme, with “The Edge Hogs,” “Ops and Bottoms” and “Ponghub” all vying for the top of this season’s leaderboard.
Beyond the spirit of friendly competition, there’s even prizes to be earned for GBS teams.
In Little League, Terry said the first-place team will be awarded with a “really atrocious” gymnastics trophy that has been adapted by players over the years. Participants dress up the award every year and its current iteration has a Barbie head on top of it.
Even the last place finishers receive a trophy. That team is recognized with a piggy bank mounted on a wooden staff, with players’ names engraved into an attached plaque.
“It’s obnoxious, but it’s really fun,” Terry said.
A sport for everyone
Players noted that while the league is predominantly composed of gay men, GBS is available to people from all walks of life.
“We have trans players, poly players, we welcome allies,” Terry said. “It’s really just a safe, inclusive space for anyone to come and play some dodgeball and do some silly stuff.”
Players like Jarlett and Coke said they would enjoy seeing more diversity in the queer dodgeball league.
“There’s only a few women, so it would be great to see more of a mix,” Coke said of the teams.
Jarlett said he hopes other new or lonely 2SLGBTQ+ folks in Toronto can find the same community solace he did in GBS, regardless of their gender or sexual identity.
“It can be a bit isolating trying to get out there and meet new people at first but it was so worth it,” Jarlett said. “It’s a great way to have some fun, make friends and do something active.”
Registration for the league’s 22nd season will open toward the end of the summer.
