Meeting the British Roller Sports Federation to talk Roller Derby!
This weekend I got to attend a meeting the the governing body for all roller sports in the United Kingdom. The BRSF (British Roller Sports Federation) is the umbrella over all aspects of skating here in the UK. Roller Hockey, Artistic, Street/Leisure, Speed Skating, all aspects are part of the BRSF and it was great to be involved in bringing a new facet to the organisation...Roller Derby!
The president of the BRSF had recently been to his first bout in London at the recent London Roller Girls match, he had tried to go with an open mind and wasn't sure what to expect as certain people had spoken disparagingly about the scene as a whole. However, he was blown away by what he witnessed! I spoke at great depth with him and he told me that the skill, organisation, entertainment and professionalism all made him see our sport in a new light, and one that makes him really keen to get all the UK leagues and our own organisation the UK Roller Derby Association (still in it's infancy) to become part of the BRSF.
The meeting itself was SEVEN hours long! as there was so much to cover from the different federations present. Everyone had a lot of input and we learnt a lot from the heads of the federations that have been down a path we are presently travelling where receiving funding, getting your sport recognised and getting everything safe and legal for your players is of paramount importance. Being for 18+ only we manage to side step a lot of the problems other federations have as they have to go through rigorous child safety checks when dealing with minors which is something to think about for the future if ever we get to the stage of having junior/pee wee derby leagues!
Myself and Betty Machete attended as referee/player representation for the whole of the UK and everybody seemed interested and pleased by us making an appearance to represent our arm of the skating world and although some peoples knowledge of derby may be only as much as a few "fight compilations" on youtube with time and effort we can show those people exactly what were about as the existing leagues grow and get stronger everyday and new ones pop up all the time. One of the signs of this is certain UK skate shops now stocking derby skates, Black Widows, 265's etc not just an array of Bauers and "fun" pink disco quads! and this cuts down on the lead time for our newbie's having to wait for international shipping (and groaning when they see the import duty) on those precious boots that have had to sail across the ocean to our shores from your part of the world.
It's great to think that one day Roller Derby here in the UK will be a well known and established sport here in the UK and local councils etc with be queuing up to provide venues for the local populations fix of girls on wheels unleashing hell on a Saturday night. A way off yet, but at least were on the way to getting there!
The president of the BRSF had recently been to his first bout in London at the recent London Roller Girls match, he had tried to go with an open mind and wasn't sure what to expect as certain people had spoken disparagingly about the scene as a whole. However, he was blown away by what he witnessed! I spoke at great depth with him and he told me that the skill, organisation, entertainment and professionalism all made him see our sport in a new light, and one that makes him really keen to get all the UK leagues and our own organisation the UK Roller Derby Association (still in it's infancy) to become part of the BRSF.
The meeting itself was SEVEN hours long! as there was so much to cover from the different federations present. Everyone had a lot of input and we learnt a lot from the heads of the federations that have been down a path we are presently travelling where receiving funding, getting your sport recognised and getting everything safe and legal for your players is of paramount importance. Being for 18+ only we manage to side step a lot of the problems other federations have as they have to go through rigorous child safety checks when dealing with minors which is something to think about for the future if ever we get to the stage of having junior/pee wee derby leagues!
Myself and Betty Machete attended as referee/player representation for the whole of the UK and everybody seemed interested and pleased by us making an appearance to represent our arm of the skating world and although some peoples knowledge of derby may be only as much as a few "fight compilations" on youtube with time and effort we can show those people exactly what were about as the existing leagues grow and get stronger everyday and new ones pop up all the time. One of the signs of this is certain UK skate shops now stocking derby skates, Black Widows, 265's etc not just an array of Bauers and "fun" pink disco quads! and this cuts down on the lead time for our newbie's having to wait for international shipping (and groaning when they see the import duty) on those precious boots that have had to sail across the ocean to our shores from your part of the world.
It's great to think that one day Roller Derby here in the UK will be a well known and established sport here in the UK and local councils etc with be queuing up to provide venues for the local populations fix of girls on wheels unleashing hell on a Saturday night. A way off yet, but at least were on the way to getting there!
posted by Chet Wisconsin - Referee at
1:39 PM
3 Comments:
I'm traveling to London this coming April and can't wait to meet the London Rollergirls and swap stories and hits (oh yeah I'm bringing my skates!!).
It's awesome that derby has started to take off in other countries. Who knows maybe some day there will be a derby world cup.
Chet, that is great news! Good job! I wish I could speak out and help roller derby as a whole, particularly women's flat track roller derby, get some backing here in Canada. Hmmm, maybe I can... Georgia, who has the contacts for Rollersports Canada where we talked to them about Insurance?
Yeah, I asked, I'll talk to them too!
Raven, when are you coming? have you said 'ahoy' on our forum? i'm sure we can organise a good old fashioned knees up! be great to skate with you!
Kitty DeCapitate
LRG
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