'High heels on killer wheels', Wollongong & Northern Leader / Kiama Independent / Lake Times

Thanks to Jenna Thompson!

WIRD Promo Video September 2009

Tricks to an amazingly successful WIRD Trivia Night 2009

WIRD Trivia 2009 was such a success that we are already discussing it as an annual event. All up we made just about $2000 profit, all of which will be getting funneled back into the league! We were all a bit freaked out in the lead-up but the night went awesome and I'm gonna share some of our tips with you.



As you can see, the first job was getting all those names on that Supporter's board! There was a lot of trawling, begging and cajoling for prizes, which we did pretty much before anything else. A fair chunk of the major supporters already knew one of us, but we still did a lot of chasing. Everyone in the league had a go at this job.



Getting set up took about 2 1/2 hours. One of our girls runs a decorating business so she jumped in and handled the decorations (with much help from some vollies). She had all the fabric bits and whatnot and just went at the place. Hot!





Our merch and baked goods table was a great success. The shirts, socks and stickers had all been whipped up over the few months before and the cakes took days of sweatshop labour (thanks Shelby!!).



Thankfully we also had a brilliant vollie step up to the technical challenge. Curly also schmoozed us together a promo video which will go up here soon. Technically, the night went off without a hitch. Even the drink being spilled on the mic cables while I stood there holding both mics went off without a hitch (cos of the cables being taped to the floor. Yay for guys with gaff tape.





As you can see, we had a pretty full house. We'd been a bit worried that WIRD girls would be bored but there was plenty to do for everyone all night!



Besides the cover charge, merch table and raffle, we tried out a couple of innovative money spinners which really seemed to work. Below is our paper plane comp ($1 per sheet of plane paper) which ran into several rounds. We also had an arm wrestling comp (which will be much more organised next time!), a roll your gold coin to the bottle of booze game, and a vase full of water with a lemon floating in it - if you could float a coin on top then WIRD would buy you a drink (WIRD brought no drinks!)





All in all it was a giant success and we are all looking forward to next year!

Like usual, if you'd like more detailed ideas or outlines of anything, feel free to drop me a line at wird.shena.nigans@gmail.com

'What is this Roller Derby?'

With WIRD's Trivia Night only seven days away preparations are in full swing. There are groups sweating away to get things sorted and my contribution right now is these shiny new informative doovies to scatter on tables.







As always, take what you need to help make your own league. :)

'Girls can't wait to skate', Illawarra Mercury

Thanks to Bree Fuller @ the Illawarra Mercury and Sylvia Liber for the pics

Successful first training at the Sports HUB

Marking out the track according to the WFTDA specifications and using a rope template which I whipped up after spotting one being used by SRDL. Not sure if ours conforms to their design as it was reverse engineered from a quick glance from a distance and some careful untangling of the WFTDA track plan. Our measurements have been converted to metric, though this isn't helping with us learning what 10 feet looks/feels like. Our track came out a bit dodgy last night and I suspect we need more practice.



The new venue was amazing! Staff were very helpful and it was great not having to worry about hitting walls or door handles. The new surface did play some havoc and our trainer took care to keep reminding us about how to handle the floor and which muscles to really push with to get traction. If nothing else, skating on plastic will drive home the mechanics of skating.

WIRD's First Grading

A few weeks ago one of our training committee put together a grading package for us. Drop Bear did a whole bunch of research and put together the following system based on some conversations she had with other trainers and other gradings she had looked at. We pretty much all passed 'Red' on the day and will be testing every two months or so.

RED STAR (beginner)
Fitness: 20 push ups and 20 sit-ups
Skills:

• T-stop, plough stop, and a turn around toe stop
• Single knee fall, a double, and a 4 point fall
  
• Able to be able to recover from a fall and keep going
  
• Jump while skating, hop from one foot to another while standing still- to each side, and forwards and backwards
• 5 minutes of continuous skating in correct stance, able to smoothly do cross overs in each direction

ORANGE STAR (intermediate)
Fitness: 30 push ups (20 of these on toes if possible) 50 sit ups and a 60 second body bridge (aka: plank).
SKILLS:

• 5 minutes of sprinting aiming for 30 laps of the track
• Snake pace line drill (pace line with an arm's length between skaters where the person at the back snakes between skaters and takes the lead)
  
• Do all falls and be back up and skating again within 3 seconds
  
• Fall big (like from a big hit in a bout) and be up and skating again in 3 seconds
  
• Skate for one minute and squat when the whistle goes while maintaining motion, ten second break, and then skate in a squat for another full minute

GREEN STAR (bout ready)
Fitness: 50 push ups, 100 sit ups and a 60 second body bridge and side bridges
SKILLS:

• 5 minutes of sprinting aiming for 30 laps of the track
• Double-snake pace line drill (not sure but suspect this means two people snaking through a pace line)
  
• 30 minute endurance pace line
• Do all falls, be up and skating in good form within 2 seconds (in line with new WFTDA Minimum Specs - Aug 2009)
  
• Fall big (like from a big hit in a bout) and be up and skating again in 2 seconds

Successful grant application

The Wollongong City Council cultural grant which we applied for back in late April was successful. WIRD have been given $1500 towards our 'Steel City/Skate City' event planned for the first quarter of 2010.

It was a bit of a shock as we had been informed we didn't get it and so when the envelope was opened at our Merch craft day I was in such a state of shocked awe that it took me a few minutes to realise this news equalled me having written a successful grant application. I then jumped around like some kind of loon.

Check us out.

Next up, sporting grants.

WIRD's 2009 Membership card

With offers of support flooding in, including offers of discounts to skaters, I decided it was time we had some proof of membership. Whipped these up and got them voted in - it was decided to print them on purple paper and go the whole hot laminating road from there.

We are also attempting to formulate a two-tiered member structure to cover social/associate members. I'll let you know how this progresses.

Recently our focus has come back to the Code of Conduct and so I tossed that little blurb on the back of the cards. I am also in the process of memorising the CoC.

Get your red hot Roller Derby on YouTube

Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby has made it to the (small) big screen!

Check out our channel WIRDVideos.

Realised about ten minutes after I uploaded our first clip that it really could have been WIRD TV and that would have been hot. Alas.

Shiny new venue

A new venue has become available and because we are non-profit we can get into this amazing space for just a little more than we are paying now. The Sports HUB at the University of Wollongong is three connected competition size netball courts with a mezanine level running all the way around the top. The floor is semi-sprung plastic and looks a little odd. It is square tiles of plastic with a thin seam between them.


I was a little wary that the plastic might be too slippery and so organised for Drop Bear to come along with me and try the floor out. It was amazing and great and not slippery at all. Takes a little longer than usual to stop and takes a bit more push. But as you can see slides are super easy.



And it marks up pretty easy and sounds a bit loud but the marks came off with the edge of our finger so should definitly shift with some wet tennis balls (thanks SRDL).



The whole league is booked in for a trial on Tuesday to make sure the stopping thing isn't a problem for anyone before we book in there for training sessions. It is a lot of fun to skate.

Certificate of Appreciation for donations

These will be going out to people and businesses who have supported WIRD's upcoming Trivia night. Spread that special derby style of lovin'.

Making executice committee meetings make sense

WIRD have an executive committee meeting coming up and I've been compiling some material so we can all have a stronger understanding of what our job is. Six months into our incorporation and the structure of the league is really starting to come together. Meetings are hectic, but I imagine this is typical.

Roles on WIRD's EC

President – Job is to provide leadership and a figure head, act as official representative, sign off on official and financial documents, report to EC and general meetings
Vice President – Support president to provide leadership, sign off on official and financial documents, act as president if president is indisposed
Secretary – Maintain records and correspondence, store official documents, hold official seal
Treasurer – Maintain finances, sign financial documents
Coordinators– Coordinate activities in their area (Newbie, Training, Merchandising, Fundraising, Media, Website) recruit assistance for their area from among the general members, report to EC and general meetings, prepare submissions for voting at meetings (a submission is a clear outline of your idea with prices and costings and enough information for the meeting to vote – if it is detailed it is best to get it to meeting attendees with time to look over it)


Meetings Etiquette

'Meeting etiquette is really just a matter of manners and common sense.
Here is the top 10:

1. Don't arrive late or leave early. Arrive on time (or early) and leave only when the meeting is finished.
2. Make a careful reading of all items well in advance of the meeting. Make note of the items you would like to speak to and what you plan to say.
3. Don't make personal attacks or rehash issues that have already been decided.Learn how to accept Board decisions graciously, even if your view has been overruled.
4. Stay away from discussions about irrelevant information and stick to the agenda.
5. Never agree to decisions or action you don't understand, always ask questions and insist on answers when you need clarification.
6. Do not ignore potential or current conflicts of interest that you think have arisen or may arise in the future. Take appropriate action to ensure you and your Board are protected from possible or real conflicts.
7. Don't speak without listening or interrupt people when they are talking and ensure you give the views of each Board member respect and consideration.
8. Never underrate the contribution you can make – attempt to make an active contribution to all debates and discussions.
9. You can't assume knowledge. Answer any questions meeting participants ask, even if they appear naive.
10. Do not discuss confidential or sensitive information outside of meeting and respect all confidences afforded to you in your role.
    

Read more.


And in moments of doubt we fall back on the safety net of the:

Executive Committee Members’ Code of Behaviour

1. Involve members in the planning, leadership, evaluation and decision making related to Roller Derby.
2. Ensure that equal opportunities for participation in sports are made available to all members, regardless of ability, size, shape, disability or ethnic origin.
3. Ensure that equipment and facilities are safe and appropriate to the ability level of participating members.
4. Ensure that adequate supervision is provided by qualified and competent coaches and officials capable of developing appropriate positive behaviour and skill technique.
5. Avoid allowing events to become primarily spectator entertainment. Focus more on the needs of the participants rather than the enjoyment of the spectators. To focus on ‘sport over spectacle’.
6. Distribute and enforce the Code of Behaviour regarding players, officials, spectators, coaches and the media.
7. Encourage Members to realise their potential and athletic abilities.
   

'Whip It' movie cross-promotion organised

After a quick discussion about the movie it was suggested we might tap into the potential publicity of this movie. We approached the independant Gala Cinema at Warrawong and they are very excited about doing some cross promotion around October when it is realeased.

Amazing how Drew Barrymore knew we were gonna be starting our first season around then.

WIRD Trivia posters and flyers

'Group get skates on', Wollongong Northern Leader

Much thanks to Jenna Buchanan at the Wollongong Norther Leader.

Also available here.

Oak Flats Skating rink too much of a success

Following onto WIRD's amazing word-of-mouth and social networking advertisement of the Oak Flat Rink, tonight's first session was so dramatically successful that by the time we arrived twenty minutes after opening they were at capacity. Myself and a few of the other WIRD girls alternatively pleaded, begged and cajoled but were unable to get in the door. Luckily a handful of us got there early and handed out flyers.



Can you feel our pain? Make it worse and check out the Oak Flats Roller Skating Rink!

WIRD Media release

Who wouldn’t want to play Roller Derby? Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby is welcoming experienced skaters now.

Since their first skate in February 2009 the Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby girls have been training hard to bring this radical sport to life in Wollongong. WIRD, as they’re known for short, have been hitting carparks and bike paths preparing themselves to be the biggest thing in Wollongong roller skating history.

Wollongong is no stranger to skate sports. This region has produced state and national skate champions across a range of disciplines. Now we are home to the fastest and toughest league of skaters who are preparing to compete in the hottest and meanest all-girl sport ever – Roller Derby!

Roller Derby is sixty minutes of brutal competitive athleticism, where two teams of roller skaters battle it out for points, glory and adoration. Modern Roller Derby embraces excitement and spectacle as players frock up, slip on pseudonyms and revel in the freedom of eight wheels and truckloads of safety gear. A global body sets the rules of the games, referees enforce them, and tricky skaters pay the price for breaking them with a trip to the penalty box. Roller derby has taken the world by storm and WIRD will be representing Wollongong as the NSW and Australian competitions pick up. They expect to be holding public bouts by the end of the year.

The WIRD ladies sweat and grunt it out for a few sessions a week, pushing themselves to the limits to become Wollongong’s Derby girls. Building team work, healthy athleticism, empowerment and safety for all participants is core to WIRD’s mission and training focuses on endurance and agility.

Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby currently has fourteen skaters, but would like to have more. WIRD are looking for experienced skaters to join our ranks and are welcoming anyone who can skate safely, stop and turn. Male skaters are also encouraged to join up as referees and officials. If you’ve been itching to get your skates on again then drop them a line at wird.freshmeat@gmail.com and catch the Roller Derby virus.

Photo shoot with Martin Lucic

After Martin worked out that the only way to get a good group shot was either make it an action one or risk yelling at a bunch of derby girls we all got on fine.

Asked to be Door B**ch for SRDL

Have been specifically asked to handle the door at the upcoming SRDL Grand Final.

May have done a better job than even I realised.

Recruitment poster

We've decided to piggyback on SRDL's recent media exposure and attempt to snare ourselves some new members. There will also be some media releases going out over the next few weeks to try and stir up interest.

[edit 25/7/09 - controversy erupted this week when the above poster was mistaken for a commercial campaign by the local university's marketing department. Some quick diplomacy (and the author's student number) set the situation to ease and resulted in a whole new set of connections for WIRD]

SRDL move bout 2 of their season to a shiny new venue

My first volunteer role at a SRDL was also my first ever live game of Roller Derby - I was penalty tracker, which meant I got to sit on the sidelines ('suicide seats') with a clipboard while Refs screamed the numbers of penalised players at me. It was very confusing, took me ages to work out '10&10' was a skater's number - not that number '10' had copped two minors, and gave me an amazing chance to get up close to the game.

For my second go as a Vollie I offered to go a bit more back-of-house, a tiny smidgen undercover, and volunteered to be on the door. Upon arrival I saw a mass of girls all standing next to two empty tables and was hit with the question: 'Will you handle money?' Ah ha - currency shyness! I've handled my fair share and so didn't have a problem saying yes. I very quickly realised, though, that this was a bigger job than I thought. Roller Derby makes good business sense, I realised as I collected money and stamped wrists. And there will always be the politics of dealing with committee-based organisation.

In my usual fashion I kinda took over, did all the little jobs I saw that needed doing, used my initative and scared the hell out of some less boucy people. Customer service is all about the smile, and there's not that much difference between collecting glasses in a packed nightclub and wrangling people in and out of a roller derby bout.

The day went of wonderfully, the new venue was amazing, and the Screaming Assault Sirens stomped all over the CBD'viants. It really hit home to me that Roller Derby really is a sport when I looked up from my table to see a guy in shorts and a singlet, eating a pie with sauce and drinking beer out of a can!

This time the rumours were true!

A real actual skating rink will be opening these school holidays out at Oak Flats! According to Google Maps it is about 2 minutes walk from the train station.

I'm just a little bit excited.

Gordon Knyvett image slideshow

Thank you, Gordon Knyvett!

Biggest turn out yet

Last night we had 11 members on skates, on the track. Shelby Unkonshus counted back through the training book and this is the biggest turn out we've had yet. Kay Ottick was coaching and so we did a whole lot of pack work, some chunks of agility work, and there were no major injuries.

Photo shoot and whatnot on Sunday and then we're putting out the 'WIRD needs experienced skaters now' press release.

WIRD's Hot New Site

Our site has been polished up and reinvigorated by the amazing Drop Bear, webmistress extrordinaire!

www.wird.com.au

It just gets better and better.

WIRD Media Info Pack

Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby Mission Statement Wollongong and Illawarra Roller Derby league (WIRD) aims to develop a group of committed and passionate skaters, in order to establish the competitive sport of flat track roller derby in the region. We are a non-profit Association, run by the skaters for the skaters, and dedicated to making roller derby an accessible and inclusive sport. Safety, athleticism and teamwork are highly regarded values for WIRD as we structure an empowering and enduring experience for the quad skaters of Wollongong and the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia.

WIRD was founded in January 2009 and is an incorporated not for profit association

Our skaters are in developmental training and expect to be ready to compete by late 2009

The League is run by the skaters for the skaters and all money raised goes towards league expenses

WIRD welcomes support from the local community and aims to strengthen bonds within the Wollongong and Illawarra skating community


WIRD FAQs

What is roller derby?
Roller derby is a fast-paced skate sport where women compete for points and glory. It is played on a flat oval track between two teams and players wear quad style roller skates.

How is roller derby played?
A game, or bout, is broken down into two 30 minute periods, with each period divided into two-minute point-scoring segments called Jams.

Each team has five players on the track, with two of these filling special roles while the remaining three are called blockers and make up the pack. Skaters can be swapped out or change positions between jams.The skater at the front of the pack with the stripe on her helmet is the pivot blocker. It is her job to set the pace for the pack, keep up communication between her blockers and act as the last line of defence to stop the other team scoring. In special circumstances she may take on the role of point scorer.

The point scorer is known as the jammer and is identified by the stars on her helmet. She races the opposing team’s jammer and points are scored for each legally passed blocker. The hardest part of her gig is getting through the pack, good teamwork and communication can mean the difference between a fast lap and a slow crawl in the middle of the pack. The first jammer through the pack without any penalties can be made lead jammer which gives her the right to call off a jam before the end of the two minutes.

Isn’t roller derby a pretty aggressive game? Aren’t you worried about getting hurt?
Old school roller derby competitions and popular movies have represented roller derby as a violent and aggressive ‘fake’ sport where rules are ignored, hits, blocks and fights are staged and players’ safety is given little to no consideration. WIRD does not play this kind of roller derby.

Modern roller derby revolves around healthy athleticism, fair competition and the value of good teamwork and community building. A globally recognised body, the Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby Association, sets official rules for the sport. Breaches of these rules are punished by a trip to the penalty box, while violence, maliciousness and blatantly unsafe behaviour can be punished by ejection from the game, season or league.

The potential for serious injury exists in roller derby, as it does in many sports. To counteract this WIRD skaters wear a full complement of safety gear including: regulation quad roller skates; a multiple impact helmet; a fitted mouthguard; wrist guards, as well as elbow and knee pads. Players are also trained to skate, stop, and fall in ways which minimise the risk of injury to themselves or other skaters.

Where do WIRD skate?
As you may already know, all of the skating rinks in the Illawarra have been closed down over the last decade. This made things a little tricky to begin with and WIRD started out skating in carparks but since April 2009 have moved to training in a Community Centre hall.

One day WIRD intends to compete in the WIN Entertainment Centre though until then we are exploring several potential venues for bouts.

WIRD skaters can also be found skating in a variety of carparks and on bike tracks around the region. They appreciate happy greetings and cheers of encouragement if you see them out and about on their skates.

Who do WIRD skate against?
WIRD is still in developmental training and has not yet split into teams. When competition commences we expect to start with two teams playing a season against each other and then move onto playing other teams in the state.

There are currently six independent leagues in NSW and the Act: Sydney Roller Derby League; Canberra Roller Derby League; Newcastle Roller Derby League; Western Sydney Roller Derby League; Byron Roller Girls, and Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby.

All of these leagues are at different stages of development and there are plans to commence state-wide interleague competitions when all leagues are skating at the same approximate standard.A national inter-league roller derby tournament cannot be more than a few years off and by the time this starts WIRD intends to offer some serious competition to the roller derby skaters of Australia.

When can we come watch WIRD compete?
WIRD will begin short bouts or scrimmages for family and friends towards the end of 2009 and will be holding a gala event to launch our season in the first few months of 2010.

How can people get involved with WIRD?
WIRD is currently accepting female skaters who meet the ‘Basic Skills’ component of the WFTDA Minimum Skill Requirements to train as derby skaters. We also encourage male skaters to join up as referees and officials. Potential skaters will need to be referred by a WIRD member and are encouraged to join our Facebook group, attend a Meet and Greet (check home for more info) or email our Newbie Coordinator.

From August 2009 we will also need volunteers to assist with staging bouts, promotional activities and general riff raff. To jump on the volunteers’ list email wirderby@gmail.com.

Great Venue Experience

Yesterday Neena SheMoan, Drop Bear and I headed off to look over another venue and chat to the manager about our skates vs their floors. Couldn't be more different to the slightly creepy trip a few weeks ago. Neena had made the contact for our rollerskating retrospective next year and it's also shaping up as a nice potential bout venue. We've already sent these guys copies of references from venues given to other leagues in Aus and this meeting is a chance for us to show the guy our skates and pads and check out the courts.

Neena got there a bit early to keep us covered and was drinking coffee from the kiosk when we arrived. Good PR move by her - our queen of subtle! By the time our contact turned up we were all there, huddled around, looking a bit derby and gawking at the beautiful acres of polished wood floors. I love those floors. The were covered with netballers and basketballers and so we didn't actually get to skate on them but the look perfect and have a lot more room around the track than we are skating with now.

So anyway, the venue wants our first skate to be in front of some floor specialists who will judge our impact from our impact. Amazing and rational. We're getting a date organised and then will have a special training sess while the floor dudes observe. Socks over the kneepads for this one!

All round it was a great meeting, we were excited, he got excited. Derby deserves floors like those!

Great venue response

"Dear WIRD,

"Following our recent Board Meeting we would like to invite you to meet with the Board at 6.30pm, prior to our next meeting on July 6th to demonstrate your sport and perhaps overcome any concerns we may have regarding damage to our floor. Please let us know if these arrangements are suitable to you."

Lessons learned from this: Sometimes a bad experience can give you the oomph to make a great one; charming people for derby is so worth it; and nothing beats a good letter.

It's a beautiful floor!

It's a beautiful floor!

WIRD's first roster

Submitted to the master roster at http://www.twoevils.org/rollergirls/

Cyclone Tracy - 739

DropBear - 505

Hoopanova - 369

Janis Drop’em - 80085

Kay Ottick - 818

Neena Sh’Moan - Three

Penny Nartsy - 187

Shelby Unkonshus - 138

She'Na Nigans - 909

Stadium request

Re: Request to use stadium for Women’s Roller Derby bouts

Dear Board, Thank you for taking the time to consider our request. Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby (WIRD) is developing the radical and empowering sport of women’s Roller Derby in Wollongong in 2009.

In case you don’t remember the game from its heyday in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, I’ll give you a quick run-down. The game is sixty minutes of furious action as two teams of skaters compete for glory and points. It’s played on old style quad roller skates with a full complement of safety gear. Players push themselves to the limit for the fun and competition – which makes it a great spectator sport!

Roller Derby has been having a revival all over the world. There are eighteen leagues operating in Australia, and five in NSW and the ACT. There are movements towards establishing both state and national competitions for this amazing sport. We intend to make WIRD leaders in this national competition! The community building aspects of this sport, as well as its promotion of health and fitness for all participants make it a perfect fit for the sporting community of the Illawarra.

WIRD has been in training since February 2009 and currently have thirteen active skaters, insurance, an indoor training venue and a dedicated and experienced training team. We also have a whole lot of hard work in front of us. Recently a group of our skaters attended a two-day derby camp with Sydney Roller Derby League, bringing home a whole new bunch of skills. With these skills, our brutal determination and the ongoing training we’ve hooked up with Sydney Roller Derby League, it looks good for us to be holding our first public bouts around October 2009.

We would be interested in using the **** Stadium as a venue for our bouts. These games will take place once a month and we would like to begin these around October or November of this year. For the events we will need at least one court, the lights and some seating for approximately four hours. We expect between thirty and fifty spectators for these initial bouts and we will have between fifteen and twenty skaters.

I understand that your floor is very valuable and that you may have serious concerns about our skates damaging the surface. I would like to attempt to set your mind to rest on this matter as I understand that some skate sports could do a lot of harm to your soft floor.

The skates that our players wear are leather and rubber, similar in composition to hockey shoes. Our Code of Conduct requires all skaters to ensure that all metal parts on the skates are in good condition and that no bolts extend past the edge of the wheel and the Coaching team check this regularly. The wheels themselves are indoor roller skating wheels made of reasonably firm rubber. The lighter coloured wheels would be very unlikely to leave any marks on your floor and we can make that a prerequisite for skating at the venue. Aside from this, the toes of the skates are covered with leather toe guards which prevent the laces or toe of the boot scraping the floor. All players also wear knee guards, elbow guards, wrist guards and helmets. There is a significant amount of sliding on the knees and so to prevent damage from the knee pads our skaters wear legwarmers over the pads. Many of our members are also purchasing white knee pads for this reason. Finally, players are not allowed to wear any sharp jewellery, studs or even jeans with rivets while skating and we are covered for $20,000,000 public liability insurance.

If you have any questions at all please don’t hesitate to contact me. If you would like, I can also arrange for some of our skaters to come and show you their skates and possibly demonstrate some knee slides on a small corner of the floor.

I thank you again for taking the time to read our submission. To provide you with information to make an informed decision, please also find attached copies of references from sporting venues provided to the **** Roller Derby League and *** Roller Derby League and our League’s Code of Conduct.

Yours sincerely,
She'Na Nigans

(If you are in Australia and are looking for references from derby friendly venues, please drop me an email at wird.shena.nigans@gmail.com)

WIRD sponsorpack

I've never made a 'sponsorship pack' before - no that's a lie, I made a sponsoship pack about 6 weeks ago but I hated it and we needed something that could be photocopied.

It's folds as a booklet, has a tear out form for them and one for us, and some grainyesque pics.

Email me for a pdf.

Terrible venue experience

Trotted off today to check out a venue with a couple of the training committee. Despite all our preparation, great outfits and cheerful smiles, it was a horrible horrible experience.

I won't go into details cos I'm nice, but I'm pretty sure we won't be using this venue. I don't think there is anything we could have done differently.

In an attempt to soothe our bruised egos we stopped at another potential venue on the way home, and despite being told 'no' immediately we sweet talked the lovely office lady and she offered to put a proposal before the board at the next meeting.

Time to get writing!

Shelby Unkonshus - new Freshie contact

Shelby Unkonshus has decided to cash in on her extreme love for all things roller derby and has taken on the mantle of WIRD Freshmeat Coordinator. She will fielding all your excited enquiries at her brand sparkling new email: wird.freshmeat@gmail.com

WCC Cultural Grant Application

1 Name of Project:

Steel City/Skate City: Wollongong’s Love Affair with Roller Skates

2 Name of Project Coordinator:
Neena She'Moan, Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby Project Coordinator

3 Project summary:
Steel City/Skate City will showcase the diversity and quality of the region’s rollerskating history and enliven the city by re-establishing its once strong skating community. This research project will culminate in a multi-disciplinary skating exhibition and the launch of the project’s website, an ongoing resource for the residents of Wollongong.

4 What is the purpose of your project?
Steel City/Skate City will reinvigorate the rollerskating culture which previously flourished in the region as well as helping to establish a network for those hoping to revive skating in all its forms. Rollerskating has suffered a gradual decline over the last two decades, with rinks closing and previously strong clubs disintegrating. The Illawarra had a particularly vigorous skating community, with rinks in almost every town (including Thirroul, Woonona, Towradgi, Wollongong, Dapto, Albion Park and Oak Flats), several national and international champions and successful teams of speed skaters who trained and competed on outdoor netball courts, car parks and roads. With a severe lack of infrastructure or training space impacting on every skating organisation in this region, there seemed to be little future for skating in the Illawarra. Recently, however, there has been a renewal of interest in these sports and a beam of hope for these lapsed communities.

Rollerskating in all its form is currently undergoing a revival in Australia. In consultation with many former and current skaters from the region, as well as governing bodies for skate sports, Skate NSW and Skate Australia, Wollongong Illawarra Roller Derby (WIRD) hopes to help revitalise our skating community. The Steel City/Skate City website will act as an online gathering point for clubs and disciplines, present Wollongong’s distinctive and exciting character and history to a global audience, and continue to be a valuable ongoing resource for the skaters of today and tomorrow. The demonstration of skating, hopefully to be held at Berkeley Netball Courts (a former skating venue with considerable meaning for many of the region’s skaters), will be a significant cultural event, attracting a diverse and exciting audience mix as well as providing a renewed access to these sports.

5 How did you identify a community need for, and/or consult with the community about this project?
While developing WIRD as a league we became aware of the Illawarra region’s former vibrant skating community, and came to realise there was a need for this community to be reinvigorated. We have been contacted by the children of roller derby players from the 1960s who played for Towradgi (who were wondering if we were planning a reunion) and competitive speed skaters from the 80s and 90s who remember speed skating comps at the Berkeley outdoor netball courts and wanted to know whether they could just skate with us. WIRD members appearing at events such as the Thirroul Seaside Festival and Wollongong Youth Week’s Big Machine Festival at Fairy Meadow Skate Park have been approached by numerous people wanting to know where we have been skating and asking if we know where they can get in touch with former skating friends and organisations. WIRD took this as both a consensus that skating should come back and a plea to help make this happen.
The online push for a revival of skating has been dramatic. When Skate NSW posted a request on their page asking for interviewees and skaters to participate in Steel City/Skate City they received five replies in one day, all of whom they passed right onto WIRD, and more emails are arriving every day. Also, at the time of writing, the Facebook group ‘Bring back a Rollerskating rink to the Illawarra area’ was one week old and already had 103 members. This clamouring cannot be ignored – Wollongong wants their rollerskating back and WIRD are determined to help them find it.
6. Who will be involved in your project?
Delivering:
The members of WIRD will work under the direction of Neena She'Moan to conduct the research and coordinate the demonstration. She'Na Nigans, a freelance writer and researcher, and Kay Ottick, a former competitive speed skater, will undertake the majority of the research, with these services provided as ‘in kind’ support. A professional website developer will be contracted to develop the website and it will be maintained for two years by WIRD.

Participating:
Confirmed interviewees and participants for the event include: Debbie ****, a speed and artistic skater who has run two skating rinks in the area and competed on a national level as well as Debbie’s two daughters who will demonstrate artistic skating; John ***** & Sandra *****, roller derby skaters from the 60s who played for the Towradgi Toranas (and possibly their daughter Dorothy who was captain of the female team), who will provide interviews, newspaper clippings and photos; and the skaters of WIRD who will demonstrate the newest evolution of this old sport. Further resources already offered include pictures and memorabilia relating to speed skating, super 8 footage of roller derby being played in Coniston and videos of local artistic championships. We aim to have 6-12 participants for each discipline and a broad visual and narrative history of each to exhibit.

Attending as audience:
From former skaters and supporters of skaters wanting to explore the history, to youth drawn to the spectacle of roller derby, Steel City/Skate City promises to attract a particularly diverse audience. Spread out over the afternoon and evening, there will be opportunities for participation by families, young people, and former and future sportspeople. Skaters and supporters who have moved away from the region have expressed interest in attending, as have roller derby skaters from Sydney, Western Sydney and Newcastle. This event also has the potential to become an annual event and an ongoing tourist attraction and increasing Wollongong’s significance as a cultural destination.

Journo student sticks her head in

Word is spreading and WIRD were approached by Emma, a Journalism student from UOW, to be the focus of a media assignment. I'm sure she learned as much from the process as we did and in the end she came out of it with a mostly shiny piece and we had a bit of practice talking to a camera.



And here is an eye in on Emma's experience of the day.

SRDL Blocking Clinic

About half the league (8 skaters) headed up to the first day of the clinic and six of us stayed over night and then attended the second day. It was brutal and we all got our fair share of bruises. The most important things I learned from this camp were:

• When booking backpacker accomodation in Newtown be sure to specify that you want a female-only dorm - even when the number of people you are booking in is the 'maximum' per room
• When blocking keep your elbows in -paper plates can help you remember
• A 'JBlock' is the deadliest thing you can do on skates - and great!
• Getting drunk with derby girls means GETTING DRUNK WITH DERBY GIRLS
• Duct tape on knee pads rubs off and leaves marks on the floor - marks which are instantly identifiable as yours
• Killing 8 hours in Newtown isn't as easy as it seems
• 'Claymation' doesn't mean happy
  
• and, driving back to Wollonongong would be easier with food in our stomachs

SRDL really want us 'bout ready' - YAY - we are totally roller derby girls!

Indoor training!

WIRD has their first indoor skate at **** Community Centre. We are paying $20 per hour, have Wed night and Sunday arvo booked and can skate as late as we like (within out two hour booking) without the lights being turned off, needing to go home to pee or dying of thirst.

Our first skate is pretty crazy - but we really need the practice before we head off to the SRDL blocking clinic.

First Exec Com meeting @ Mc Donalds

WIRD AGENDA EXECUTIVE COMITEE MEETING

1.Sort out ex comittee poistions - what they all mean, who is doing what, when.

2.Formalize training arrangements - times, days, can we set up one sess per month as 'open' where newbies, family, friends can come watch? This should prob not be advertised on web (unless it's a email for an invite thing) as we don't want to end up just putting on free entertainment.
2.1 Training guidelines – what is expected from trainers, what is expected from skaters etc
2.2 Payment each training session (regardless if it costs for a venue or not)
2.3 Bank account setup and suggested automatic deductions per week
2.4 Attendance book for training, who attends, times, what training contained, how long, any incidents etc

3.Newbies (fresh meat packages)just a suggestion – bag, shirt, rules, badges, patch -say $50.00.optional.
3.1 Decide when the cut off starts for new fresh meat skaters - and how 'experienced' a skater needs to be to join.

4.All financial members to provide contact numbers and addresses and a weekly schedule of availability for the next 6 mths if possible. This is to seize opportunities to get together for meetings or training.

5.Grant application Neena was talking about – where is it at.

6.Talk about sponsorship and setting up a sting campaign.
6.1 Talk about fundraising and try to get a committee set up for this. Should we tie merchandising and fundraising together at this stage?

7.Organise our Annual General Meeting - this is part of our legal obligations and has to be before the 30th June as our financial year ends on the 31st Dec. There is an outline of this stuff in the constitution. We need to give one months notice and an agenda. Shouldn't be too hard. If we have enough people to fill the exec committee without contesting then we should be okay - if it does need to go to a vote we will need to find a 'returning officer' whose not too tied up in who gets what spot.

Insured!

$20,000,000 public liability insurance.

All of a sudden this all seems very real.

WIRD @ Thirroul Seaside Festival

Thanks to Toby K for camera work and Drop Bear for putting this video together.

Thirroul Seaside Festival

WIRD has been invited to strut their stuff for the crowd at the Thirroul Seaside Festival. We started talking about it a while ago but really only got one kinda rehearsl in before hand so I'm a tad nervous. The plan is that the girls will skate around behind me on the 'stage' (it deserves the '*') and I will give a spiel about derby and WIRD, calling in individual skaters to explain things.



Ha. Mostly went according to plan. Some pre-show stress sent me into a tent where I gulped coffee, sweated and generally worked myself up. I get very nervous. No reason. One of our girls got tossed on her butt, I got roused on for tapping the mike on my helmet, and after the gig we rubbed up against the crowd, handed out business cards, and forced a fireman into posing for pictures with us.

WIRD Helmet Panties

Skate Aus membership

Today is the day we've been working towards for ages - we've got 10 members, are incorporated, and now we've sent off our Skate Australia memberships. Cost us $50 each and $150 for the club and for this we get insurance, a discount at Rebel Sport and a link on the Skate Aus site.

And we can skate indoors!

Big Machine Skate Festival - Fairy Meadow

WIRD was asked to rock up to the Big Machine Skate Festival as part of Youth Week but unfortunately only got 12 hours notice! In true WIRD form we rustled together a bunch of girls and rocked up to try and (unsuccessfully) impress the youfs. Our charms worked much better on the organisers, St John's Ambos and other assorted adults.




We totally made our presence felt and then took over the skate park for a brief while. Note: I can skate and use a megaphone at the same time - good to know.

WIRD's new logo competition

This was my attempt - didn't think a lot about screen-printing. But hot!

And this was the only other entry (and winner) YAY! Thanks to Wolf.

WIRD Inc.

After having the Constitution and Code of Conduct approved by a vote, and getting five people to sign a note giving me permission to act as the public officer, I shunted off to Fair Trade to make us all official and whatnot. They didn't need to see the signed permission but the guy did point out that saying you one but not having one is fraud.

WIRD is now officially non profit, can now apply for Skate Australia membership and insurance and move our skating indoors - YAY!

(If you're struggling to put together a Constitution and Code of Conduct drop me a line at wird.shena.nigans@gmail.com - ours is modelled on several we were sent in the early days and we want to keep spreading the virus!)

Illawarra Mecury

Thanks to Brett Cox @ The Illawarra Mercury

Spread the derby virus!

The virus is totally starting to spread and there is a huge chunk of girls who turn up to skate with us. Still feel a bit like vomitting every time I start getting ready for training. I sooo want roller derby to happen and live in fear ofsomethingtiny and insignificant screwing it all up.



We've got a handful of really good skaters showing up regularly which is exactly what we need.