Gotham Knights Rugby Football Club, Inc. ("Gotham Rugby," "we," "us")

Effective date: 9/13/26 · Last updated: 9/13/26

Gotham Rugby is a nonprofit, inclusive rugby club in New York City. We collect only the personal information we need to run the club — to sign up players, collect dues, run events, sell merch, and tell people what we're up to. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

It applies to gotham.rugby, our forms, our merch store, our email and text messages, and the information we handle when you join, play, volunteer, donate, or come to an event.

1. What we collect

Information you give us

  • Contact details — name, email, phone number, and mailing address when you fill out a form, register, buy something, or donate.

  • Player and member information — playing experience, position, availability, and your USA Rugby and/or International Gay Rugby (IGR) membership number, which we need to register you for league play and insurance.

  • Payment information — dues, donations, event tickets, and merch purchases are processed by Stripe or Shopify. We never see or store your full card number; we receive only a confirmation, the last four digits, and the amount.

  • Messages — anything you send us by email, text, form, or social media.

  • Photos and video — if you play, volunteer, or attend our events, you may appear in photos or video we publish. See Section 6.

Information collected automatically

  • Site usage — pages visited, links clicked, device and browser type, approximate location (city level), and the site that referred you. This comes through cookies and similar tools described in Section 4.

  • Email and text engagement — whether a message was opened or a link clicked.

What we don't collect on purpose. We don't ask for government ID numbers, and we don't ask about your sexual orientation or gender identity to join. Gotham Rugby is open to everyone.

2. How we use it

  • Running the club — registering players with USA Rugby, IGR, and our leagues; scheduling; team communications; collecting dues.

  • Payments and orders — processing dues, donations, tickets, and merch, and shipping what you bought.

  • Recruiting — following up with people who express interest in playing, and inviting you to a practice or social.

  • Communications — club news, event invitations, fundraising appeals, and merch drops by email and, if you opt in, text message.

  • Safety and legal — meeting league and insurance requirements, responding to incidents, and complying with the law.

  • Improving the site — understanding which pages and posts people actually read.

We do not sell your personal information. We don't rent or trade our lists.

3. Who we share it with

We share information only with the people and services that help us run the club:

  • Service providers that process data on our behalf — [Squarespace / Wix] (website hosting), Tally (forms), Stripe (dues, donations, and payments), Shopify (merch store), our print-on-demand fulfillment partners (who receive your name and shipping address to make and ship your order), Brevo (email and text messaging), Google (analytics), and Meta (advertising measurement). Each is bound by its own privacy terms and may only use your data to provide its service to us.

  • Governing bodies and leagues — USA Rugby, International Gay Rugby, and the Empire Geographic Union receive player registration details required for eligibility, insurance, and competition.

  • Opposing clubs and tournament hosts — rosters (names and membership numbers) for match day and tournaments, including NorAm and the Bingham Cup.

  • Legal reasons — if required by law, subpoena, or to protect the safety of our players, volunteers, or the public.

We don't publish member lists, and we don't confirm to third parties whether someone is a member.

4. Cookies, analytics, and advertising

gotham.rugby uses cookies and similar technologies:

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. The site will still work, though some forms and embedded content may not.

5. Email and text messages

  • We send email through Brevo. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link, and we honor it promptly. We may still send you transactional messages you'd expect — a dues receipt, a match-day change, an order confirmation.

  • Text messages are sent only if you opt in. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any text to opt out, or HELP for help. Your phone number and opt-in status are not shared with third parties for their own marketing.

6. Photos and video

Photos and video are how we show the world what inclusive rugby looks like — but nobody is required to be in them.

  • Players, volunteers, and attendees at Gotham Rugby matches, practices, and events may be photographed or filmed, and those images may appear on our website, social media, and promotional material.

  • Members may opt out of appearing in club photography. If you'd rather not be in our photos or video, email us or tell a board member; we'll do our best to honor it, and we'll remove images of you on request where we can.

  • Our full Communications & Media Policy, including how we credit and take down images and how we work with photographers, is available at [LINK].

7. How long we keep it

  • Member and player records — for the duration of your membership and as long as our governing bodies and insurers require afterward (currently [X] years).

  • Financial records — dues, donations, and purchases for seven years, as required for nonprofit accounting and tax purposes.

  • Email and text lists — until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete you.

  • Website analytics — per Google's and Meta's default retention settings.

  • Recruiting leads — if you express interest but never join, we delete or anonymize your information after [12–24 months] of inactivity.

8. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your information: payments are handled entirely by Stripe and Shopify (both PCI-compliant), access to member data is limited to board members and volunteers who need it, and we use the security features of the services listed above. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach affecting your information, we'll notify you as required by New York law.

9. Your choices and rights

You can, at any time:

  • See the personal information we hold about you.

  • Correct it if it's wrong.

  • Delete it, subject to records we're legally or contractually required to keep (for example, financial records or league registrations for a season you played).

  • Unsubscribe from email (link in every message) or texts (reply STOP).

  • Opt out of club photography (Section 6).

Email board@gkrfc.com with your request. We'll respond within 30 days. We won't treat you differently for exercising these rights.

If you're located outside the United States, note that we're based in New York and your information will be processed and stored in the U.S. Visitors from the EU, UK, or other regions with data-protection laws have the rights listed above and can contact us to exercise them.

10. Children

Gotham Rugby's playing membership is for adults 18 and over, and our website and forms are not directed to children under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it. Merch purchases must be made by an adult.

11. Links to other sites

Our site links to Instagram, our Shopify store, our governing bodies, and other third parties. Their privacy practices are their own; this policy covers only Gotham Rugby.

12. Changes to this policy

We'll update this policy when our practices change and post the new version here with a new "last updated" date. For significant changes, we'll also let members know by email.

13. Contact

Gotham Knights Rugby Football Club, Inc.
PO BOX 30353
New York, NY

board@gkrfc.com