WIRD Promo Video September 2009

'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. :)

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.

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'.

'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 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.

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!

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)

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.

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.

Illawarra Mecury

Thanks to Brett Cox @ The Illawarra Mercury

WIRD's First Photoshoot

I don't know if I have ever been as nervous as I was waiting on Flagstaff Hill for people to show up. Right up until hot girls started flooding up the hill I was absolutely convinced it would be me standing here all alone when the Mercury photographer turned up. I was fishnetted up, fully intending to strip down to my underpants in public and so frenetic that I could barely string a sentence.


The ladies of WIRD salute the local constabulary.


I threw enthusiasm around and convinced everyone to just have fun (while I freaked out a little more every second). I don't know if I will ever be able to put this much energy into anything ever again.


Multiple bridal parties chose today to have their weddings and we intruded on every single set of pics - mwah ha ha ha ha ha!


Feel a little bit dead but we got some damn hot pics!