Part V of the State of Derby continues with USA Roller Roller Sports (USARS), one of the two largest organizations in modern roller derby (WFTDA being the other). The roller derby community has been waiting and wanting to hear publicly from USARS for quite some time. They have been a lightning rod for criticism, yet have opened the door for so many with their insurance program and are leading the way for those with Olympic aspirations.
Introduction
RDIT: Who are you?
USARS: Danielle Fairbanks, USA Roller Sports (USARS) Roller Derby Director.
Courtesy of USA Roller Sports
When and how did you become involved in derby?
USARS:Took position in March 2008.
What is your title or primary responsibility?
**USARS: **Coordinate roller derby program.
What is the name of your organization?
**USARS: ** USA Roller Sports.
What is the mission of your organization?
**USARS: ** As the recognized National Governing Body (NGB) by the United States Olympic Committee, the Mission of USA Roller Sports (USARS) shall be to develop, promote, educate and grow Roller Sports at all levels and to enable athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence in domestic and international competitions.
Roles
What is your organization’s role in roller derby?
**USARS: ** Primarily a membership organization at this time; however, USARS is currently working on a number of different programs for roller derby which will enable member leagues to continue development of the sport they love and provide avenues for official sanctioned domestic and international competition in the future.
How many teams (leagues) are in your organization?
**USARS: ** As of 6/2/11: 328 women’s leagues (80.4%), 59 junior leagues (14.5%), and 21 men’s leagues (5.1%).
Approximately how many skaters does this represent?
**USARS: ** As of 6/2/11 there were 11,078 registered derby members
What separates your organization from the other derby organizations?
**USARS: ** Existing derby organizations/associations tend to focus on particular groups, styles, geographical locations or levels of play; whereas, USARS is all-inclusive and invites all derby leagues (regardless of the style they play) to join. USA Roller Sports is the only organization in the United States recognized by the US Olympic Committee as the national governing body for roller sports in the US. USARS is also the sole representative of the Federation Internationale de Roller Sports (FIRS) in the US. FIRS is the only international federation recognized by the IOC for roller sports.
How does your organization compliment the other derby associations?
**USARS: ** Our approach is to look at the sport as a whole, in a very inclusive manner. We promote the practice of roller derby on all levels, ages, genders and geographical locations, with the understanding that individual associations exist or will exist to address the specific requirements that different groups might have.
What can other derby organizations do to contribute to the health of the sport?
**USARS: ** Work together (with other organizations/associations) to promote the sport.
Challenges
What’s the largest challenge your organization is facing currently?
**USARS: ** Educating the derby community and USARS members to help curb some of the misconceptions that currently exist.
What’s the biggest or most common misconception about your organization?
*USARS: ** That USA Roller Sports is an insurance company. USA Roller Sports is required by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to provide insurance to our members and the insurance is just that, a membership benefit [Editor’s note: emphasis added by respondent*]. Members in good standing are eligible for a number of membership benefits and the insurance is a big one in derby, but when an individual applies to join USARS they are not purchasing or applying for an insurance policy.
**What do you, as an organization, know you need to improve on?
…when an individual applies to join USARS they are not purchasing or applying for an insurance policy. -Danielle Fairbanks, USARS
USARS: More effective communication- it’s important to make sure the lines of communication are open with other associations and most importantly our members.
What from derby’s past has hurt or hampered modern derby the most?
USARS: The staged aspects (fighting, type of contact that was allowed, etc.) as many people that are not familiar with modern derby still have that perception of what derby used to be like and consider it more of a show than a true sport.
Derby is very unique in that local teams are responsible for recruiting and training officials in their region. While it isn’t a requirement for them to do so, having access to some level of officiating practically mandates this. What has been the largest challenge to “home grown” officials?
USARS: Teams often perceive officials as being biased and there is a wide gap for interpretation of the rules.
Future
What do you see as the biggest change happening for derby in the next 3 years?
USARS: Preparation for high caliber official, international competitions.
Over the same time frame, what big changes or improvements do you foresee in your organization?
USARS: Hosting USARS regional/sectional and national competitions to prepare for international competition.
Media/Culture
With 500+ teams, sellout crowds in various cities, several teams using full-size arenas, and increasing mainstream-sponsors, there’s a growing awareness and following of roller derby. Why do some teams struggle to get fans, while others, in less populace cities, have no challenge in selling out games or attracting fans?
USARS: It’s all about how successful the league is on marketing themselves to the community and their fan base- making a great first impression is very important.
Why can’t derby get on TV?
USARS: Incredibly expensive for broadcasts to be on big networks (national level) – need big time sponsors that are willing to shell out funds for this. Some of the perceptions that still exist about derby probably don’t help this either.
There are various tournaments inside and outside of the WFTDA. Yet attendance at these events is almost exclusively derby players, coaches, or other “derby insiders.” Is modern derby still not ready for primetime?
USARS: The struggle to be considered a legitimate sport by outsiders has slowed this some- increasing this perception and making the game a little more fan friendly would certainly help.
The current brand of roller derby has its roots as a sport for the players, not so much for the fans. Since we mentioned the sellout crowds and sponsors, do you believe the sport still “belongs” to the skaters?
USARS: At this time, yes.
Going back to Roles & Professional derby, do you think competitive and recreational teams can exist together in the same association? Why or why not?
USARS: Yes, there are just some areas that would need to be approached a little differently to make sure there was an avenue for each to pursue their own path.
There needs to be some type of structure for divisions based on ability. -Danielle Fairbanks, USARS
Why is there a tug-of-war between those who want to hold onto derby’s grass roots vs. those who want to “take it to the next level?”
USARS: Mainly, this stems from that “by the skater, for the skater” mindset and the fact that many don’t want to see that change and fear that the next level may alter this aspect of derby some.
Equipment & Business Development
Companies such as Reidell, PRO-TEC, Triple 8, etc., have benefited greatly from the rebirth of roller derby. Several individuals in the roller derby community have also prospered as roller derby entrepreneurs. How are these companies contributing to the development and promotion of roller derby?
USARS: It is incredible to see what some of these companies have produced for the derby world and without them, derby wouldn’t be where it is today.
Do these companies have an obligation to develop products specifically for derby?
USARS: It’s fairly obvious that some of them feel this way because they take the time to listen to what the derby community want and do their best to provide those type of products.
As roller derby continues to evolve, will not-for-profit teams have to change classifications (to for-profit) to remain competitive at the higher levels?
USARS: I don’t foresee this being the case any time in the near future for derby, and it probably never will be.
How does your association help individual teams develop their business plans, fan base, and attract advertisers/sponsors?
USARS: There are a number of different resources that are currently being developed that will be available online for existing leagues and those interested in starting a new league to utilize.
Disparity in Play/Set Season
As of now, there isn’t a set derby season. The closest is the tournament season which happens mostly through the fall. The WFTDA is currently the most widely used rule set. Some of the rules have allowances for venue restrictions. Example: 10ft ref lane. With new teams joining the WFTDA, these allowances won’t go away soon. The WFTDA hasn’t set a saturation point for membership, nor has any other derby association. Does your organization have a size limit or capacity? Why or why not?
USARS: USARS does not have a size limit or capacity for member leagues (or individuals).
Why or why shouldn’t the various associations define a calendar-based season?
USARS: At the amateur level, this could become very restrictive to leagues and skaters because they are doing it for the love of the sport and have to balance the league business and training with their real jobs and personal lives- may limit their opportunities.
Do the associations have a responsibility to their members and derby fans to place teams in different divisions based on ability? Would this be better addressed internally at the association level or should different associations be for different levels of play? Why/why not?
USARS: There needs to be some type of structure for divisions based on ability, but this is challenging because with so many leagues out there the criteria may need to constantly be revised so determining the initial requirements is not easy.
Pro Derby/Olympic
USARS is the designated FIRS representative for the Untied States… -Danielle Fairbanks, USARS
USARS: There is already an international federation for roller sports, FIRS. FIRS is the international governing body of all roller sports as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). USARS is the designated FIRS representative for the Untied States and has a member on each FIRS discipline committee as well as the Central (executive) Committee. In December of 2010, USARS made a presentation to FIRS on the rapid growth of derby and petitioned that they accept derby as another one of the federations’ disciplines and it was granted.
How would male or co-ed derby hurt or help modern derby grow in popularity or move towards becoming an Olympic event?
USARS: It can only help these efforts because to be considered for the Olympics, a sport must be practiced worldwide by both men and women.
How should the derby community as a whole overcome these issues?
USARS: Work together!
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Next: The State of Derby – Part VI: WFTDA.
Previous: The State of Derby – Part IV: MRDA.