Auld Reekie Roller Derby’s All Stars have stormed their way through this year’s season, ending on an absolute high: ranked 15 in Europe and 43 in the world, and with an invite to battle it out at this year’s European Continental Cup.

This is an enormous achievement for the All Stars, and they wouldn’t be there without the hard work and support of the entire league. Auld Reekie Roller Derby are a true community sports club – we are entirely not-for-profit, and entirely DIY – everything Auld Reekie is by our members for our members.

Through our training, coaching and by encouraging hundreds of people to participate and excel in our sport, we empower our members to better themselves physically and mentally, and to contribute to an inclusive and welcoming space. We strive to create fearless, formidable travel teams to compete locally and internationally at the highest levels. We are passionate individuals who work together as part of a positive, unique and revolutionary movement.

This year’s Continental Cup is in Helsinki, Finland – and it turns out, this is a pretty expensive place to get to!  For tournament registration, accommodation and flights for the whole team including bench crew, it is likely to cost us £5000.

Being not-for-profit means any income we generate from membership fees, games, merch sales and fundraising is ploughed straight back into the running of all levels of the league. Unfortunately, we do not have enough surplus to cover all the costs of getting the whole team to Helsinki. We believe in making our sport accessible and inclusive at all levels, which means we will never ask anyone to self-fund team travel.

We are asking for your help in raising £1000 of the £5000 needed for this trip, to allow all of the team to compete at the level we have worked so hard to reach.

In line with our ethical spending policy, we plan to ringfence money to offset the carbon emissions from our flights, which according to the Climate Care Carbon Calculator will be around £100.

Any donations will be very gratefully received. Thank you for your support!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

by Gaussian Retribution

In 2015, I lost the use of my hands. Constant neuropathic pain left me unable to type or write, limiting my ability to work. If that wasn’t enough, I had to give up every hobby: knitting, felting, origami, biking, and martial arts.

When I had had enough of audiobooks and drinking vodka through a straw, I had to learn to get back to work. I resumed my PhD program in informatics by learning to dictate code and papers. I even worked through math problems by dictating each equation using specialized scripts and a speech recognition program.  But getting my life back on track wasn’t just about finding a way to finish my PhD. I needed hobbies, ways to be active, and that had always meant martial arts. I had done Krav Maga, grappling, and Brazilian jujitsu at various times in my life. Now I couldn’t punch or grip, but I still craved a contact sport.

As a child, I would’ve laughed if anyone suggested that I would enjoy a team sport. I hated the pressure in school sports, I hated feeling judged for mistakes that affected teammates, I had no friends and struggled in social situations. I couldn’t catch a ball – in fact, I was terrified of projectiles of all sorts.  I would run from a badminton birdie! If that wasn’t enough, I’ve always thought of myself as a person with terrible balance. I’m lumbering and awkward, I look funny when I run. I can’t dance and I’m slow. Why would I ever put on skates, when I’m already so injury prone?

But in 2016, I was desperate to move my body and none of that seemed to matter. I knew one ball-free contact sport that could accommodate my limited use of hands: roller derby, where the rules severely limit hand use anyway. I registered to skate with Auld Reekie Roller Derby (or Girls, back then) and went shopping for gear.

Fresh meat was nothing like school team sports! When I was small, overwhelmed by the fear of potential monsters lurking in dark spaces, I moved all my bedding over to my closet and began to sleep there. For eight years, I slept fearlessly in the knowledge that I was the only monster in the cupboard. With my lifelong terror of all flying objects, I experienced the same transformation. So what if I couldn’t catch a ball? Jumping or flying around the track, nothing would catch me.

And what about socializing? Well, what about it? I was strange. So was everyone else! Every weirdo who ever put on skates was there with me, and any awkward silence was immediately filled with chatter about plate angles or the perfect trick to master a hockey stop.

As for my physical awkwardness, I had to change how I viewed my body. I’m not malcoordinated and unbalanced – I’m always working on my balance! I choose exercises that work on bursts of energy and agility. If it takes me a little longer to master some new footwork, if I’m a little faster to fall, I remember the things that I’ve learned faster than anyone else. My flexible hips made side-surfing easy for me from the start, making some transitions simple.