Roller Derby is for Everyone (360G-OCF-A504213)

Roller derby, though still in its infancy, is one of the fastest-growing sport celebrating both athleticism and inclusivity. First played over 80 years ago, the sport has experienced a global revival since 2001, with the UK now boasting more than 200 teams. Oxford Wheels of Gory (OWG) is a group of local men and women, passionate about the sport and currently fielding an all-women bouting squad. Played by two teams of 14 skaters, five players from each side take to the track at any one time. Though the basic aim is for one designated player to score points by passing the opposition, the game requires strength, strategy and, above all, teamwork. It is a full tilt, full contact, female driven open and inclusive physical sport that attracts women (and men) from all walks of life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OId6gTd2LCM Roller Derby is an incredibly open and inclusive sport which is welcoming in particular to LGBT+ and non-binary/intersex community who are typically isolated from other community sports (https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/agenda/article/2016/09/16/how-roller-derby-has-proven-itself-be-most-inclusive-sport-around). In addition this the sport of roller derby is almost unique in that it is entirely open and accessible to every body type. (https://www.treblemaker909.com/where-do-you-fit/). OWG is open to all genders and welcomes all roles, both on and off skates. Whoever you are, and wherever you came from you are welcome and valued in OWG However the main barrier to greater participation is that it is still quite an expensive sport to play for the most part, as the equipment can cost a fair amount. In Oxford it is particularly difficult to retain new members in our league because of the cost of buying equipment for those on limited or fixed incomes is prohibitive (£200 in most cases for basic kit) in a region recently named the most expensive place to live in Britain, but which also has one of the most deprived areas of the UK. OWG is a local roller derby league and we are trying to grow our number and introduce this transformative sport to as many new members as possible, and plan to run 2 rookie courses this year (rookie courses are a crash 6-8 week course where new skaters are taught the fundamentals of both roller skating and the sport of roller derby). We are currently incredibly limited by the amount of equipment we own. We offer this course for £30 per person (for 6-8 sessions), but provide all skating and protective kit for free. Therefore we can only house 10 new members at a time (depending on their requirements and foot size). In addition to this these new skaters must, through necessity, purchase their own kit within 3 months of finishing the course because the items they had borrowed are needed for a new cohort of fresh prospective skaters. This leads to a big drop off in members who want to skate, but their finances simply won’t allow it. We plan to use this grant to run the two courses in the Oxford area in 2019, to provide a greater range, newer and safer kit to potential new members, allow for a longer lend of kit for new members to spread the cost of buying their own. These funds will also allow us to offer 4 subsidised spaces on the course for interested parties on low or fixed income. We have wanted to expand our rookie course for years, but the league itself cannot afford to increase our kit reserves as we are entirely self-funding through subs and member payments. Our project proposal ‘Roller Derby is for Everyone’ plans to use the funds for a series of things: Buy some new skates in the most popular sizes (5 and 6 UK) for our new rookies to borrow on a short to mid-term basis, reducing the up front cost for all. 6 pairs @ £100 each - £600 Purchase additional safety equipment (helmets, elbow pads, knee pads and wrist guards) 5 Elbow pads @ £10 - £50 5 Knee pads @ £20 - £100 5 Wrist guards @ £12 - £60 2 Helmets @ £40 - £80 Hall hire for an additional portion of our practise space to allow us to accommodate more new skaters on the course safely 12 extended sessions at £40 (for an additional 1/3 of hall space) - £480 Publicise the courses wider through leaflets, posters and an online sponsored social media campaign to attract interested members from as wide a cross section as possible: 2 sponsored social ads @ £25 - £50 500 flyers @ £50 - £50 TOTAL PROJECT COST: £1,470 In kind the league will: Offer 4 reduced income spaces (£10 rather than £30 for 6-8 weeks) on the upcoming rookie courses Staff all coaching, recruitment and publicity roles with existing league member volunteers. The ability to not only attract through advertising a larger cohort of interested parties from a wider range of backgrounds to our next rookie intake events this year, but also be able to provide better and safer kit for a longer amount of time will allow more members of the Oxford community to take part in this amazing sport, and spread the cost of getting their own kit over a longer period of time, and allow us to grow as a league and offer more spaces and support to incoming new rookies. Overall we hope to offer 17 places for each course, including the four fixed income subsidised spots, a total of 34 individuals over the course of the project. However this additional equipment will allow us to offer more spaces in the coming years, effectively doubling the number of potential new recruits over the next 5 years to reap the many benefits of Roller Derby.