Forest City Roller Derby

Just a friendly FCRD reminder that we are meeting for a community trail skate at 6:30 tonight!:) we will meet at storybook and go from there. We look forward to seeing you folks.

The FCRD crew gathered together for another fun outdoor skate! We have an always growing group of amazing people and it has been so nice getting to reconnect after isolation. Feel free to join us next Wednesday at Springbank park for another community trail skate. No matter the skill level or abilities feel free to join us at 6:30. We are a group of quirky, fun athletes, but we are also a community and safe space. A place for everyone we are FCRD

On the 29th of August a couple of our skaters gathered together to participate in this years Terry Fox run. While we were there we also grabbed a quick video showing our social distanced love for roller derby, the world, and each other. (Kyle Howarth Lauren Edge Afton Elise Dunlop Tay Kelly Natasha Campbell Boulderdash.) We are always looking for ways to support our community and joining this run is one small way we can. While we cannot physically come together as a community for this years run due to Covid. We encourage everyone who is able, to participate in this years virtual run. It is the 40th anniversary of Terry’s Marathon of Hope and cancer research cannot wait for covid to be over.

Hi everyone, some of the FCRD skaters are getting together for some off skates fitness as well as trail skates. We would love to see you come out, everyone is welcome no matter the skill level. Below you will find the planned dates and locations. We hope to see you soon! Schedule: Monday August 24 @ 7: off-skate workout at Silverwood Arena’s green space. Wednesday August 26th @ 7: community skate at Springbank

Some FCRD fun it was great to get together and get back on our skates. Please come join us next time! Skaters pictured here include Kyle, Chompsky, Lilith, Reaver, Smash and jammit Janet

The International Day of the World's Indigenous People is observed on August 9th each year to raise awareness, protect and promote the rights of indigenous people. We here at FCRD see this day as a reminder to educate ourselves and others on the barriers indigenous people face. More diversity and accessibility within leagues is not a want but a necessity, and it is pertinent that we work to dismantle the barriers that have been put in place. We love and support our indigenou...s skaters both within our own league and throughout the derby community. With these thoughts in mind we ask you to take some time to read a book by an Indigenous author. Read about the history, the cultures, and learn about the land you are on. Support Indigenous artists and check out this article: https://www.nytimes.com//roller-derby-team-indigenous-wome. Last but certainly not least go follow and support @teamindigenousrising ! See more

You may know it as the Civic Holiday, but in 2008 the Ontario government designated August 1 as Emancipation Day to commemorate the first Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe who passed the Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada in 1793 but all slaves were not free until 41 years later with the Act for Abolition of Slavery in 1834. Earlier this year Toronto-area Liberal MP Majid Jowhari introduced a motion in the House of Commons seeking an official national designation ...of Aug. 1 as Emancipation Day. There’s a public petition on the same matter. As a league, we recognize the ongoing struggles of BIPOC people's in Ontario and encourage you to support this motion. The motion: https://www.ourcommons.ca//majid-jowhari/motions/10646859 The petition: https://www.change.org/p/justin-trudeau-recognize-august-1-

Today is International Non-Binary People's Day!! We want to take a moment to recognize and celebrate non binary skaters, and people as a whole. To begin the term non-binary describes someone who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary folks may identify as being both a man and a woman or as falling completely outside these categories. Many non-binary people also identify as transgender, though not all do.... July 14 is recognized around the world as International Non-Binary People’s Day. This day shines a light on those who identify as non-binary, while celebrating the rich diversity of the community. With this in mind we wanted to share what non binary visibility within derby means to our league and our skaters. One of the unique things about derby. and one of our favourites is the inclusiveness of the sport. Derby is one of the only sports where there is a built in policy that protects trans, non binary and gender expansive identities citing that you can play where you feel comfortable. Eliminating the need to separate people based in binary identities. It is hard for non binary and trans folk to have to navigate life trying to fit into places they don't want to. So it makes all the difference that we have seen such amazing representation in derby on non binary and trans identities that are allowed to not only thrive in the sport but, be themselves. In derby when announcing the players they also announced the players pronouns this is so affirming to hear them using they them pronouns. Derby is a place where skaters identity as a gender expansive person is accepted as a whole, and that is one of the reasons we love derby so much. We also love Roller derby because it is not only a place where we can grow as people and a team but also as individuals. Forest city roller derby was previously know as forest city derby girls. This was changed in order to create a safer and more inclusive space for non binary and trans skaters. It is important to us that we highlight and remember this necessary change because it was such an important step to becoming more inclusive, and educated on gender variant identities. Over the years it has become more and more evident how important supporting non binary visibility is, and we love to see the changes within our own sport as well as others to make the sport more accessible. We can’t wait to see the advances sports and the world make in regards to non binary visibility. Let us know below what non binary visibility means to you?

Today derby leagues and rollers of all kinds participated in a Roll Out. The roll out was originally created by @skatefantacee, from there demonstrations took place in cities all over the globe with one idea in mind: Roll to erase Hate. People gathered on quad skates, in-line skates, bicycles, skateboards and more to show support and solidarity of issues BIPOC face daily. Cities like Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, Santa Monica, Limassol, San Antonio, Houston, Phoenix, Atlant...a (and more) participated in Roll Outs. Since FCRD cannot attend the international day of solidarity and roll out, we have decided to take this opportunity to celebrate and highlight some Black roller derby players that make this sport great! Baller Shot Collar: Skater with The Atlanta Rollergirls, as well as 2014, and 2017 USA roller derby Fitness professional and roller derby coach. Often touring around with Tuff Love Coaching, You can check out Tuff Love here: http://www.tufflovecoaching Baller recently did a podcast with Power Through the Fourth whistle talking about racism and call-out culture in the world of roller derby. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7cvMOigsE83nftJgppoZd1 . If you aren’t sure who Baller Shot Collar is we highly recommend checking out the WFTDA game archives to catch Baller crushing it on the track! Swift Justice! Hailing from the hard city of Detroit Michigan. Swift plays for Detroit Roller Derby (DRD)." I remember going to games when I was sixteen and watching the awe that is Swift Justice skate laps around the track! Swift Justice is another Black skater who absolutely destroys on the track. Members of our league have had the pleasure of watching Swift from the beginning of there careers. The last player we would like to highlight is well known throughout the roller derby community. It is none other than Freight Train! Currently playing where roller derby found its revival, Texas. They say everything is bigger in Texas and it is confirmed Freight Train is larger than life! We highly recommended watching WTFDA archives to catch her sweet foot work in action on the track! There are SO many talented Black skaters scattered throughout the roller derby community. We feel it is important, especially considering we cannot attend the roll out to share just a few of these amazing skaters with you. Whether you are attending the roll out or watching the WFTDA archives, we feel as though it is important to recognize Black skaters in our community. We will strive to create diversity in our league.

This is a very important read. Many of us find roller derby or skating to be a safe space, an inclusive space. It is something we are proud of. However, it is important to remind and educate ourselves on the history, and the valid feelings of minority groups. Here at fcrd we see you, we hear you, we stand with you.

Today we are celebrating community, diversity and coming together. We acknowledge that this is sacred land that we are privileged to live and skate on. We recognize the deep connection and the long-standing relationship between Indigenous peoples and the land of Southwest Ontario and of London. ... Indigenous nations that exist in our own London community include the Anishinaabeg, Haudenausaune, Lenaapeewak, Wendat and Attawandaron peoples. There have always been Indigenous peoples in the spaces we call home, and there always will be. We as a league are so grateful to be in a community that is both diverse and connected in many ways. We want to thank all of our skaters, officials (both skating and non-skating) all our volunteers and every single person that makes roller derby a possibility in this community. Pictured here are just a few of the amazing people that are a part of this league. Each of us have our own history, culture and experiences that we bring to each other to share and learn from.

Sunday June 21st was National Indigenous Peoples Day. A day for all Canadians to learn about and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures and achievements of all First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. FCRD wants to take a moment to express our regret towards the fact that we did not properly acknowledge National Indigenous Peoples Day on Sunday. We are not perfect allies, but we strongly believe in being a safe space for everyone. Roller derby is a predominately whi...te sport. We acknowledge the fact that there are barriers in place that make it difficult for BIPOC to access our sport. FCRD is doing our part to educate our league members on these barriers as well as striving to dismantle them to allow for more diversity within our league. A great article to read is https://www.nytimes.com//roller-derby-team-indigenous-wome A video to watch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=N9WU3_3caZI We love and support our Indigenous skaters both within our league and the whole derby community. Take some time to read a book by an Indigenous author. Read about the history, the cultures. Learn about the land you are on. Support Indigenous artists. While you’re at it go follow and support @teamindigenousrising ! 1st Image credit to @holysmoookes on Instagram 2nd Image credit to @astehtsi_designs