An old Twin Cities queer sports league is getting a shot in the arm this year, with two new commissioners who’ve got plans to rebuild it to its heyday.

Unity Basketball, a Minneapolis-based LGBTQA basketball league, has been around since the early 1990s, says Commissioner Erik Borg. “The league has gone through ups and downs over the years,” Borg told TheColu.mn. “We had eight to ten teams a few years ago, I believe, making us one of the bigger leagues in the country.”

Both he and fellow commissioner Dan Wick are new on the job, but want to see the league grow beyond the expected 50 or 60 players this year. “It’s the first of a couple rebuilding seasons,” Borg said.

He and Wick are very confident, and say Unity has a lot going for it. “It’s a great way to continue playing or get back into basketball, and we’ve got a great group of guys and girls this year!”

“For the first time in a while, there’s a lot more enthusiasm,” he added

If all pans out, Borg expects the league to field 6 teams this year, up from 4 last year. With that many players, Borg said, they would be able to send two teams to the Coady Roundball Classic, a major LGBTQ basketball tournament held in Chicago.

“We’re definitely an all-skills league,” Borg told us, saying they had players with relatively little experience playing alongside strong players. Borg stressed the league was open to everyone regardless of gender identity, although he said the league was mostly cisgendered, and currently had more men signed up to play than women.

Practice dates are not set, Borg said, but all games will take place on Sunday afternoons and evenings at the Martin Luther King Jr. Rec Center in Minneapolis, starting November 8th. Signup costs $65 per player, and closes on October 31st. Teams will be chosen by a draft system at the Saloon on November 1st, during a beer bust and party to benefit the league.