WFTDA Holds 10th Annual Meeting

Representatives from the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s 243 member leagues gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the organization’s 10th annual meeting May 23-25.

The WFTDA’s position in the global landscape of the sport and the growth of men’s and junior’s roller derby were among the major topics that generated robust, productive discussion among the meeting participants throughout the weekend.

“The annual meeting is an important opportunity for the leaders of the WFTDA and our member leagues to get together for strategic planning and visioning, as our sport and the WFTDA’s role continue to grow and evolve,” said WFTDA Executive Director Juliana Gonzales. “Completing our tenth annual meeting is a major milestone. WFTDA membership left inspired and invigorated to take on the growth and challenges that will come over the next 10 years.”

Over the three days of meetings, the hundreds of skaters and officials in attendance had the opportunity to discuss WFTDA membership requirements, provide feedback on alternative tournament structures that can accommodate the growing non-U.S. membership, and brainstorm better internal procedures for conducting the business of the WFTDA. The weekend also featured a number of seminars offering ideas and resources for representatives to take back to their leagues.

"The Board of Directors was left with a lot of direct feedback on actions to take for the future," Gonzales said.

The meeting provided the first opportunity for league representatives to meet the association’s two newest staff members in person, Marketing and Communications Manager Jenna Cloughy and Director of Broadcast Operations Erica Vanstone.

Thanks to the support of many fantastic volunteers from hosts Sin City Rollergirls, the meeting proceedings went seamlessly and meeting attendees were able to focus on the important discussions at hand. In addition to daily plenary summits and full days of breakout sessions, attendees were able to bond on the track during a scrimmage and off the track at social events the host league helped coordinate.

The WFTDA would also like to thank Atom Wheels, Bruised Boutique, Riedell, Sin City Skates, and Viva Las Vegas Skate Company for their contributions that helped representatives bond and keep informal conversations going on between meetings. Donated items were also used in a raffle that raised money for travel scholarships for non-U.S. leagues attending the meeting.