Tampa Bay’s 1st Place Favorite Local Sports League/Organization
With sports leagues in cities across the country like Atlanta, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Colorado Springs, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, HotMess Sports has been “your home for LGBTQ+ sports” for over 12 years.
“Our goal is to offer an inclusive, safe, positive, fun and welcoming community for anyone wanting to be apart,” the organization’s website reads. “When you play in a HotMess Sports league, you can be your authentic self and have fun while doing it.”
This year’s WONDER Awards mark the first time the organization came out on top for Tampa Bay’s Favorite Local Sports League, a testament to its growth in the region. Across the country, HotMess Sports offers dodgeball, kickball, volleyball, cornhole, bowling, tennis, flag football, beer pong, basketball and more to LGBTQ+ and ally players.
Commissioner Marta Opsasnick previously played for HotMess Sports in Nashville for nine years before moving to St. Petersburg. She was contacted by her fellow athletes about starting a new league in the city and happily took up the helm.
She is responsible for scheduling, setting up new locations, helping leagues in other cities and managing her team, and says participating with HotMess Sports has helped her learn to celebrate being herself. When she began in Nashville, she was still in the closet.
“I found a safe community to be active with, to play sports with and to make lifelong friendships,” she recalls. It’s something she now works to cultivate for others.
Just this past season alone, Opsasnick had over 400 players involved in the league, which recently began offering pickleball. Depending on skill levels, each sport has different divisions for those who want more recreational or competitive play.
The league’s only rules are that participants must be at least 21 years old to play, and players must follow their code of conduct, which does not allow hate speech, rough or dangerous play or excessive drinking.
Opsasnick says that HotMess Sports receiving this year’s recognition was a nice surprise. “I feel very honored to be in this position,” she says.
Learn more about the league and how you can support its efforts at HotMessSports.com/StPetersburg.
To see all the other 2025 WONDER Award winners, go here.
