July 14, 2011
Two WFTDA staff members will be visiting Australia later this month during training programs for skaters and officials, and will be available to discuss the benefits of WFTDA membership with leagues there. There is one WFTDA Apprentice league in Australia so far, the Victorian Roller Derby League (VRDL) of Melbourne. WFTDA hopes to expand its presence in that part of the world in the future, as there are already dozens of women's flat track roller derby leagues throughout the country.
WFTDA Executive Director Juliana Gonzales will be present during a skater boot camp that VRDL is hosting July 23-24. She is giving a presentation to boot camp participants about WFTDA and the resources it offers to its apprentice and member leagues. A WFTDA member league, the Texas Rollergirls, is traveling and leading the skater boot camp independent of WFTDA.
The following weekend, July 30 and 31, WFTDA is hosting the first-ever Officiating Clinic in Australia, in partnership with Skate Australia. The clinic will be in Gold Coast, Queensland. Registration information and other details are available at http://wftda.com/officiating/clinics. WFTDA's Referee Training and Certification Coordinator Sarah Hipel will also be in Australia for the officiating clinic.
As part of the trip, Juliana and Sarah also will be meeting with representatives of Skate Australia to discuss future collaboration on Australian derby and expansion of the WFTDA officiating certification program in Australia.
Real. Strong. Athletic. Revolutionary.