The UKRDA is proud to announce that it is now a full member of the British Roller Sports Federation (BRSF). President Nancy Spinatra (Sallyann Wright), and directors Slice Andice and Phoenix in Flames attended the BRSF AGM on Saturday 21st July where our organization was promoted to full member by unanimous vote.

Roller derby has been recognized as a roller discipline in the UK since the 14th February 2011, and UKRDA has been an associate (non-voting) member of the BRSF temporarily under the umbrella of the Federation of Inline Speed Skating (FISS) since that same month.

Speaking on behalf of UKRDA Nancy Spinatra said “We would like to thank FISS for essentially fostering us and allowing the UKRDA to become a part of the BRSF through their organization, giving us a small voice and enabling us to contribute while we waited for full membership. We would also like to thank the other disciplines for supporting us in our bid for full membership. We look forward to working alongside all the federations – both founder sports and new ones coming in; to share best practices, collectively lobby on the political stage and do what we can to grow rollersports and contribute to the BRSF being a successful National Governing Body in the UK.

In terms of the UKRDA, I would also like to thank those within our own organization who have been working towards this since our inception as a loose organization of volunteers. To have both our sport and our Association fully recognized when the sport has only been played in the UK for six years, and we have only been a formal Association for the last two of them is a mammoth achievement.”

What does this mean for rollerderby in the UK?
With full membership, the UKRDA is able to appoint a director to the BRSF Board and we now have full voting rights within the BRSF. This enables us to work directly with Sports England as well as international sporting bodies. Being a full member opens many more doors for us in terms of access to grant funding, and also allow us to collaborate more closely with other roller sports federations/associations in terms of sports policy. We will now also be able to look at insurance on a national level for all our members and their participants, and move ahead with other projects that in some part required our full recognition to be successful.

The UK Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) are pleased to announce that The British Roller Sports Federation (BRSF) has, on the 14th February 2011, acknowledged roller derby as an official roller discipline in the UK.

Arriving in the UK in April 2006, roller derby is a unique, fast-paced and fast-growing female-dominated sport. In the beginning, there were only a handful of active leagues, now just over 4 years later, there are currently in excess of 70 leagues nationwide.

UKRDA president and London Rollergirl Slice Andice said, “The 15 founder member leagues of the UKRDA have worked hard to help roller derby grow in the UK and are pleased to be officially recognised by the BRSF, who we look forward to working with, along with the other skating discliplines, to help grow roller sports as a whole.

The UKRDA exists to lobby for and promote the sport of roller derby in the UK, and being officially recognised helps UKRDA to achieve it’s aim to help drive the growth, expertise and recognition of the sport, whilst supporting and encouraging members to develop and grow individually into strong, athletic leagues.

The UKRDA will be opening up membership to all UK leagues in Spring 2011 and are looking forward to forging ahead on this historic path in the UK’s Roller Derby history.
A Q&A on UKRDA and it’s aims will be available shortly.