The equipment distribution project:
This is DwB's first and most successful campaign. We collect new and used roller derby equipment and ship or send in people's luggage to leagues who have more difficulty accessing equipment. The purpose of this project is to help leagues expand recruitment and retention by making equipment more readily available.
In July of 2017 we had our first donation booth at RollerCon where we collected new and used equipment donations to be sent to Sailor City in Argentina where customs create obstacles in accessibility to receiving equipment.
Our next booth was at the 2018 World Cup in Manchester where we partnered with Quad Skate Shop and Strong Athletic and collected donations for Golden Coast Roller Derby in Johannesburg, South Africa.
We also worked closely with Smarty Pants and Texas Rollergirls to collect and ship donations to the Cairollers in Cairo, Egypt.
Double Threat Skateshop in London has also collected equipment on our behalf.
We have collected equipment in London as well to be sent to Hong Kong, and a number of other recipients.
In November 2018, Derby Without Borders was invited to have another donation booth at the WFTDA Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana. Here we were able to collect and send equipment to both Kyoto, Japan and Lima, Peru.
Travel Fundraising:
The other campaign Derby Without Borders has executed has been to aid in crowdfunding for 2 teams based in Argentina (2x4 and Sailor City) to offset some of the travel costs of attending playoffs in A Coruna, Spain. We were able to raise roughly $2,500 for each team who were both able to travel and compete in the tournament in September 2018.
Future Campaigns:
Coaching Resources
We have been working with an increasing number of some of the best roller derby coaches the world has to offer. Many of them have enthusiastically agreed to donate free coaching clinics in the regions we are working with. Derby Without Borders is looking to assist in covering the travel expenses of getting these fabulous coaches to our beneficiary leagues. Coaching is such a valuable resource in this sport and many of our developing regions do not have the same opportunities and access to coaching as other regions.
Boot Camps in developing regions to increase support and culturally competent accessibility
Derby Without Borders is also seeking to hold boot camps in developing regions to help support leagues that are struggling due to a lack of resources. These boot camps will focus on both on and off skates workshops including:
- Sustainable League Structures
- Recruitment and Retention
- How to coach yourself and others
(Minimum skills, roller derby basics, strategy and tactics)
The goal of these boot camps is to encourage sustainable structures in leagues and potential leagues so that skaters can create a league culture of their own that is reflective of both the values of roller derby and the culture of the regions they are in.