A working session to align on what we keep, what we pause, and what we build instead. We agree with the heart of the feedback. Trust comes before territory. The job of 2026 is to earn the section, not stand it up. The job of 2027 is to open the door we built this year.
| # | Topic | Time | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Where we aligned | 5 min | Anchor the wins. Confirm what carries forward. |
| 02 | The trust premise | 5 min | Frame why we agree with the pause. |
| 03 | Pivot 1 — Club Courage Section | 8 min | Replace the section with a Foundation Year. Decide on captaincy and visibility model. |
| 04 | Pivot 2 — Pride on the Pitch | 5 min | Hand timing to Abbey. Pick one of three calendar options. |
| 05 | Pivot 3 — Drag + Drumline | 5 min | Right-size to a single-game pilot at 8/26. Define what makes it a green light for 2027. |
| 06 | 2026 to 2027+ build | 8 min | Pick the alternatives that earn community trust. Community, merch, artistic, content. |
| 07 | Off-season beats (Nov to Mar) | 5 min | Stay visible without forcing a moment. Five months, five low-lift beats. |
| 08 | Decisions and owners | 4 min | Walk away with a yes, a no, or a date for everything below. |
Before the pivots, name the wins. The strategy passed the most important test: it sounded like NC Courage, and it sounded like a platform we can grow.
Club Courage as a multi-year platform, not a one-night theme, was the single biggest validation. Everything below protects that.
One Crest. Every Color. stays. It survives the section pause because it is about the team, not a section.
The visual identity work moves forward as planned. We will use it for whatever activations land in 2026, and it stays ready for the 2027 section.
Jenn was right. A permanent supporter section is a promise to a community. If the relationships that fill it and protect it are not yet built, the section is a liability, not an asset. So 2026 becomes the year we earn it.
2026 is the Foundation Year. We do the quiet work that makes a 2027 Club Courage section credible, populated, and protected from day one.
This is also the answer to the off-season question. The work that earns the section is the same work that keeps us active from November through March. It is one plan, not two.
03Agreed. The section is paused for the 2026 home schedule. We replace it with the Club Courage Foundation Year, a year of community work that produces three things by November 2026: a verified list of LGBTQ+ ticket-buyers and prospects, a roster of named community partners with real signed agreements, and a small group of trained section captains who already know the building. With that in hand, the 2027 section opens with people in it on day one.
We defer to Abbey on calendar fit. The concept is portable. The value is the visual of LGBTQ+ players on the Courage pitch and the press coverage that comes with it, not the date. Three options, in order of our preference if June is too crowded.
Decision needed: Abbey selects an option, or schedules a 15-minute follow-up with Stonewall Sports + stadium ops to choose. Whichever option lands, we update creative and the deck inside one week.
Yes, this is the right move. We collapse the four-game July campaign into a single high-fidelity pilot inside Pride Night on August 26. One drag artist. Capital Pride Band drumline for one halftime moment. One unified creative system. We learn what crowd, vendors, and partners respond to with one match worth of risk, not four.
Jenn asked: "what are alternatives for 2026 that build into 2027 and beyond. Are there other collaborations from a community activation, merch line, artistic standpoint, etc. that would make sense?" Here is the menu. Each item is small enough to ship in 2026 and shaped to compound in 2027 and 2028.
Quarterly informal meetups at queer-owned coffee shops in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill. One player or coach per meet, one captain-in-training co-hosts. Off the record, no press. Builds the relationships the section will rest on.
2027 build: Becomes the official section captain meeting cadence.
One Saturday clinic at WakeMed, free, run with NC Courage Academy coaches. Owned with the Center, not by us. Photography only with consent and only kid-back-to-camera.
2027 build: Annual fixture in May, becomes a recurring storyline.
Small, signed scarf capsule with one Triangle-based queer designer. Numbered run, sold through the Courage shop and one community pop-up. Royalty share to the LGBT Center of Raleigh.
2027 build: Scarf becomes the official Club Courage section scarf on opening night.
Three to four matchday posters by queer NC artists across the season. Sold for $20 to $25 with proceeds shared with each artist. Posters live as social content for weeks beyond the match.
2027 build: Becomes the visual anchor of every Club Courage home game.
Three to five short documentary pieces (90 to 180 seconds) about queer life in the Triangle, framed by Courage players who live here. No game footage required. Lives on YouTube, Instagram, the Courage site.
2027 build: Becomes the year-round content engine, with a new chapter per quarter.
One on-the-record, voluntary feature with a publicly out player, a publicly out staffer, and a Triangle community figure. Long-form, on Courage editorial, picked up by local press. No pressure, opt-in only.
2027 build: Becomes an annual editorial fixture.
Standing relationships with QNotes, INDY Week, Triangle Equality Coalition, and student LGBTQ+ press at NCSU, UNC, Duke. Quarterly briefings, not pitches. Trust before press.
Beyond Pride on the Pitch: a small standing partnership where Stonewall captains get group-ticket pricing all season and the Courage gets a rotating "Stonewall Match of the Month" highlight on social.
Jenn asked: "What are the beats in the off season (Nov to March) to remain active in the community?" Five months, five low-lift, low-cost beats. Each one feeds the Foundation Year. None of them require a stadium event.
Nov 20. One quiet, sincere statement. Co-signed with the LGBT Center of Raleigh. No merch, no boost.
Run a partner-led giving drive with the LGBT Center and a Triangle queer youth nonprofit. Players record short asks. Match-funded by the club up to a cap.
Editorial recap of 2026 LGBTQ+ work: partners, captains-in-training, faces of the Foundation Year. Sets the table for the 2027 section reveal.
Two features on Black queer Triangle leaders, told by Black queer Triangle writers. We pay the writers. The club hosts.
Women's History Month editorial leans into Courage players and Triangle queer women builders. Last week of March: tease 2027 Club Courage opening night without naming the section yet.
By the end of the call, we want a yes, a no, or a named follow-up date for everything below.
| Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Update strategy deck and creative system to reflect Foundation Year framing. | The Gaygency | +1 week |
| Draft Foundation Year detail plan: list goals, captain recruiting plan, partner roster, signed agreements timeline. | The Gaygency & NC Courage | +2 weeks |
| Pride on the Pitch — confirm option, sync with Stonewall Sports + stadium ops. | Abbey | +1 week |
| Drag + Drumline pilot — artist outreach, Capital Pride Band confirmation, creative direction. | The Gaygency | +3 weeks |
| Off-season editorial calendar Nov to Mar — topic owners, draft dates, publish dates. | Diana | +2 weeks |
| Confirm 2026 community activation slate (which two to fund). | NC Courage marketing | +2 weeks |
The original brief was not wrong. The original brief was just early. A permanent section, four July match takeovers, and a full June activation are all the right ideas in the wrong year. The Foundation Year buys us the right to do all of them in 2027 with credibility nobody can take away.
One Crest. Every Color. still holds. We are just being honest about what it takes to earn it.