Gearing Up for Roller Derby: Savings On the Gear You Need to Get Back on Track

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been presenting incredible challenges for the roller derby community’s ability to get back to playing the sport we love. We know that roller derby businesses and leagues have been hit incredibly hard, financially, and as we have planned our recovery path, we’ve tried to find ways to help.

For our WFTDA leagues, we recently launched our Recovery Fund Microgrant program, which has received over $5,000 USD in donations so far. We’re excited to share that we’ve been able to distribute several microgrants to WFTDA members this month, and we’re continuing to accept applications through the end of December 2021. Apply here or find out how to contribute to the fund here.

As we approach the new year, our eyes are on the future, with roughly ⅔ of our WFTDA members reporting being able to get back on track or planning to be back in operation soon. The WFTDA Competitive Task Force is putting the finishing touches on a proposal for game play that will be discussed soon with WFTDA Membership. Join us on the WFTDA Online Community for those and other important discussions at https://community.wftda.org/.

This is a hopeful time after such a challenging pause in game play, and we know that our roller derby business partners, including skate shops, merchandise sellers, and manufacturers, have been working hard to stay afloat.

We also know that, with leagues returning to play as areas open up, many new and returning WFTDA athletes and officials are looking to replace worn out gear. To help, our friends at S1 came up with the idea for “Gearing Up for Roller Derby,” a community-wide sales event with dozens of derby businesses, skate shops, and manufacturers around the world.

We’re excited to partner with S1 and other businesses to offer you discounts on all the gear you need to get back on track. S1 has put together a series of discounts on helmets, knee pads, and wrist guards through its network of skate shops—but the savings don’t stop there! We’ve pulled together partners who can offer discounts on scrimmage-wear, mouth guards, wheels, and more!

From November 22-December 3, 2021 use the hashtag #GearUp4Derby on your favorite social media apps to search for dozens of clothing, gear, and service discounts from across the derby community. We’ll also have a full list of participating companies and available discounts at wftda.com/gearup4derby.

If you are a business interested in participating and partnering with us, please contact us via sponsorship@wftda.com or using the form at https://wftda.com/connect/. Find more information about partnerships under https://wftda.com/partnership/.

See you on the track!