Welcome To DerbyLife: A Letter *From* The Editor

Since I started playing roller derby four years ago, I’ve been on dozens of trips for derby—some where I travel to a different town, and some where I travel to a different state or even a different country. And no matter where I go, I’m always so thrilled to meet the skaters, refs, support staff, and fans. I have felt universally welcomed by these skater sisters (and brothers) across the world, and have made some of my best friends through the sport.

Whenever I meet a new person who plays, refs, or watches derby, she wants to talk to me all about my experiences and her experiences with the sport. We share stories about how we started skating, celebrate moments of triumph, and commiserate about the heartbreak of defeat, setbacks, and injuries. I have found common ground with men and women, 21 year olds and 48 year olds, people of different races and religions and professional classes. Love of derby seems to transcend all those specifics.

The more derby people I meet and talk to, the more I want to meet and talk to. And since derby is such an internet-savvy sport, what better place to connect far-flung people than online?

This is a really exciting time for derby. Last year saw the first international teams competing at the WFTDA regional tournaments. This year, we’re about to see our first truly world-wide tournament, the Blood and Thunder-sponsored World Cup. Skaters from New Zealand can watch skaters from New York skating in a bout in Manhattan online, and skaters from all over the world are learning from each other by watching each other play in person and online, participating in boot camps, inviting coaches from other leagues to teach, and traveling around visiting each other leagues’ practices.

DerbyLife’s mission is to connect skaters, refs, support staff, fans, and everyone else who loves derby to each other, and give them a place to share, celebrate, and learn from each other. We hope to replicate that feeling of meeting another skater for the first time every single day on your computer.

The site will feature articles on every imaginable subject related to derby. Some of our first articles talk about how a new mother found derby, rules for mascoting, what to eat for great performance, and how to take care of yourself if you might be injured (and how to know whether or not you are!). We’re looking to include writing, photos, videos, and other content from people all over the world, with all different perspectives. If you’d like to write for the site, drop us a line: [email protected].

We’ve got a lot of big ideas, exciting ideas, that we can’t wait to develop. This is only the beginning – there are lots more features to come in the next few weeks, so stay tuned. If you have any suggestions, we’re all ears! We want this to be your site. Your place to hang out. Your place to talk derby to derby people.

Are you going to RollerCon? Cool! We’ll be there, with some special giveaways, so stop by and say hi! We’ll be at the regional tournaments, too. We’re friendly people, and we like making new friends.
A short list of the wonderful people who have made this happen can be found here. If you see ‘em at an afterparty, buy them a drink. They’ve worked very hard to create something that we think is pretty special. I hope you’ll agree.

-Em Dash, Managing Editor