It’s the first sunny Wednesday in weeks this summer, and Patterson Park swells with people. The expansive green space in the middle of East Baltimore is lively as Jordan Carter and I seek out the eight hoops that make up the park’s basketball courts. The competition for court space is thick. Across the courts, all ages have shown up in the 85-degree weather to hoop as the evening crowd converges.
We’re there to watch Ballmore’s weekly pickup game, a casual, drop-in style game that the queer-friendly open gym has been running for nearly a decade. Its current core organizers, Morgan Dowty, Alycia “Web” Webster, and Patrice “Rice” Ermilio, are dedicated to keeping the free, playful space alive.
As the evening continues, Ballmore’s players check in on the brightly painted blacktop and begin the connection-driven game. Before tip-off, players circle up at center court to introduce each other. Names, pronouns, and a welcome from one of the organizers set the tone. I am a delighted observer on the sidelines, and nobody is shy when asked what keeps them coming back to Ballmore.
“You’re welcome on this court, no matter your skillset,” Ermilio said.“We’re going to find a place for you out here. You don’t have to be an all-star. We’re all taking the game at our pace.”
And that pace isn’t without risk. Ermilio, with a chuckle, admitted to tearing their ACL while playing pick-up.
The dedication to keeping the game free and playful is the foundation of their game’s philosophy. My conversation with Dowty and Webster a few days earlier explored the early days of Ballmore. The pickup game began with Morgan’s desire to keep playing the game they love.
“I started emailing everyone I knew. I approached the 29th Street Community Center in Barclay. They had a pickup night, and I asked if they could have a women’s pickup night. It ran there for several years,” they say fondly while walking me down memory lane.
With Web’s addition to Ballmore in 2019, the small pickup game began to grow into a bigger and more public arena for players to gather.
Dowty smiles, recalling another chapter in the Ballmore saga.
“That was the first time I had somebody who was excited about helping and growing it. And we, with some other folks that were playing, put on a tournament in 2019 as part of the Baltimore Ceasefire Weekend. We had a really good turnout. We started the Instagram page then — before I’d just been emailing people. That was a critical moment where Web was getting involved, had the vision of growing, and more people started coming.”
From there, the group grew from a few consistent folks to more than 30 people regularly coming together to play. For Web, Ballmore is an extension of a lifelong love of the game. “I played basketball my whole life. I only played like a year in college, and when I moved out here, I was looking for a place to play just like Morgan,” Web said.
“When I found the group, it was perfect. It was like recess or gym class with your friends, but we’re in our 20s, and it was free. It was exactly the playful, relaxing, goofy place. When I first showed up, we weren’t keeping score. We were just playing for two hours. I noticed it brought a lot of people joy, and it brought me joy. Basketball is easy for me because I love it.”
“It was like recess or gym class with your friends, but we’re in our 20s, and it was free.”
Alycia “Web” Webster
The joy and connection at Ballmore encourage folks to return weekly. LJ, a regular teammate originally from Charlotte, joined after moving to Baltimore in 2020. Five years later, they’re grateful for the community of Ballmore and the chance to keep up their basketball skills. Another regular player, Charlene, happened upon the group playing on the court two years ago after being in a predominantly men’s pickup game.
The appreciation for Ballmore is clear with every returning player I speak to. Kayla from Columbia learned about the group from Web eight years ago and has rarely, if ever, missed a chance to hoop with the group since. The friendships and laughter around the court are remarkable to witness.
Ballmore is a space grounded in intimate relationships, recognizing the material and ideological barriers keeping people from playing the game. The gender diversity and no-cost foundation of the weekly game are important to everyone in Ballmore. While fervor for mainstream women’s sports grows, Dowty remains clear that Ballmore is not a women’s only space. “Ballmore is a space for non-binary and trans players,” Dowty emphasizes before leaping back onto the court from beside me. The forest green park benches where I sit offer players brief respites between the 6-minute games underway on the court.
As we continued to talk courtside, Rice affirmed their devotion to finding resources to enrich the game for queer people while keeping the game free.
“We want to make it accessible for everyone to come out and ball.”