Insight into the Love and Passion for Derby Fest

Insight into the love and passion for “Derby Fest” So this derby fan got the extreme pleasure of catching up with Guns N Rosie from PCRD over the weekend, during Skate Victoria’s The Great Gender Defender…so I took the opportunity for a quick chat about Derby Fest! Paradise City coming off the back of a win against the VRDL Queen Bees. What will you take away from this weekend do you think? It was a fantastic weekend, I love skating with my team and its really great preparation leading into Tropicarnage Cup.So, tell us a little more about Derby Fest – where it all began in that brilliant mind of yours? It was an idea I had over dinner one night, I mentioned it and Dad was like, yes lets do it, I was really surprised how excited he was about the idea. Dinner turned into planning Derby Fest. It really all came down to not being overwhelmed with logistics, and trusting local leagues and the Australia Roller Derby community would support an event like this. There was no doubt the idea was awesome! Because I was so excited I wanted to attend myself. Do you see something like Derby Fest taking off like Rollercon has? That would be my dream come true, I would love for it to grow into an event that everyone wants to attend in Australia. I would still keep the values that I started with, quality coaching, capped class sizes and manageable queues. I am really passionate about Derby Fest and would love to grow sustainably. Ladies and Gents allowed? Absolutely and don't forget Juniors too! All-star line-up coaches: Stefanie Mainey, Smarty Pants, Brawllen Angel, Swish Carabooom, Sarah Hipel, Wild Cherri. What can we expect? A freaking amazing time! So much knowledge in one space over 3 days. You can expect to leave with you mind expanded with new ideas, skate skills, game play, strategy and of course new friends and great memories. Expect to be inspired and excited for the forthcoming year of Derby. I can highly recommend a Smarty Pants coaching session for wannabe coaches – she has some pretty amazing teaching techniques. Has something like Derby Fest changed the way you view the sport? I think most sports have events like this. As Derby grows we will see more access to developing our skills. I think Derby Fest can happen because as a community we all want to improve together, share, support and connect with each other on a national and international level. That's what's so fantastic about Derby. Are you expecting an international crowd? Or mostly home-grown heroes? I would like to see mostly Australian Roller Derby players as that is who the event is for. If we grow and develop Australian Roller Derby what’s to say we cant be the best in the world. It would be great to see some more local leagues support the event, as it’s so close for them. But I’m very happy to see so many skaters from all over Australia attending, I hope to see a few New Zealand skaters and who knows we may see some other International skaters as well. What about for non-skaters / NSOs and the other important folk of Roller Derby? There will be a ref and NSO clinics every day plus of course the challenge bouts in the evenings. You can cheer on your favourite skaters and team or help out on track. Plus non-skaters are more than welcome to attend the classes as spectators. Every day features a load of off-skates seminars and don’t forget there are Derby stands to check out too! (Ed. Such as our gracious blog host, Extreme Skates Roller Derby) Super-Early-Bird Tix still available, what happens if we miss out? Yes they are till the 31st of August, if you miss out it not the end of the world its just a price increase to $295 instead of $245. Derby Fest is great value, 3 full days bootcamps, 3 tracks and challenge bouts and it’s for all skill levels. With 6 incredible coaches. 1 of which is the team USA Co-Captain and 1 is the team UK captain. You really can’t go wrong, your going to get your monies worth. Anything else we should know? It takes a lot of time and energy to put on a event like this, I have no big financial backing, its just me doing what I love and sharing it with you all. If Derby Fest is supported by the Derby community it will grow into an awesome yearly event, so we can all learn and get better at the sport we love and play. So if you want to have cool things in Australia like Derby Fest that happen every year you need to buy your ticket, tell your friends, make sure someone from your club is going so they can get all the info and drills and bring it back to the club, share my FB page and generally do what we are all good at, talking Derby ... Fest! See you all there.