Thursday, February 9, 2012

Fire Destroys CNYRD's Home :(

Members of CNY Roller Derby and The Quadfathers woke up this morning to a haze of smoke filling the air in most of the city of Utica. We were informed around 6am that our practice facility, The SportsPlx, had burned down overnight. Here is a link to some of the news coverage. We are scrambling to wrap our heads around this disaster, but we wanted to get word out to our fans and friends that, most importantly, no one was inside the building when this happened and no injuries have been reported as a result. As always, a big thank you to the brave folks at the Utica Fire Department and Utica Police Department, many of whom have been league supporters, on making sure that this tragedy did not spread to neighboring buildings or injure any onlookers.
Link
Our hearts are broken. We have been lusting after the SportsPlx as a practice venue since our founding in 2007, and just recently our dream came true and we were finally allowed to call it home after a long an stressful search for adequate winter practice space. Central location, pre-installed sports floor, and plenty of room. It was a dream come true and we had sincerely hoped to start the process of grant writing in order to purchase the property ourselves.

Here's a before shot from the floor:
And here are some 'after' shots taken minutes ago:


Unfortunately, there was great loss in terms of property. The league(s) kept most of our belongings there for easy access at practice. We did not yet have insurance on these items. As we attempt to get together a comprehensive inventory, some of the big stuff included loaner skates and gear sets for 20+ people, the customized DerbySkinz helmet panties for nearly all of our teams, an EMT bag with a full supply of medical items, our custom made Scoretronics jam clock, all of our bout production supplies, our league's vinyl banners, most of our non-bout event supplies, at least one skater's entire gear kit, and we're sure there's more we're not thinking of yet. Thankfully our SkateCourt floor was not on-site.

Our first priority is finding practice space. We are asking anyone in/around Utica that knows of a space available which is at least 100'X63' open span to contact us right away at info@cnyrollerderby.com or 315-313-4269 We have a specifications sheet we can send you to see if what we do will work in your space. The most immediate need is from now until early April when we can go back to our summer space in Rome, NY. But if we find somewhere which suits us a year round lease is always an option.
Offers are already coming in from our sister leagues for our skaters to share practices with them as we figure this out, and we appreciate it greatly. Please keep them coming if your league is within reasonable driving distance and will have us as guests, or if we could rent some time at the facility you use.

Our second (although no less important) priority is to fund raise and recoup what we can from this tragedy. Donations of money, gear, anything, will go a long way.
You can use this donation button to donate directly via Paypal, or send manually to onlinesales@cnyrollerderby.com








We will be undoubtedly organizing some fundraisers in the coming months, but we have one coming up on Feb 18th which we would very much appreciate your support for:



If you would like to reach us by mail, please address to:
CNY Roller Derby
PO Box 8827
Utica NY 13505

Again, thank you for your support in this difficult time. The outpouring before we could even announce anything has been astounding and heartwarming.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

New Website Coming Soon!

We've been working for months on a slick new website that will be unvieled soon....until then, you can stay up to date on CNYRD news via this blog.

Our old email server is also no longer active. You can send all league inquiries to info@cnyrollerderby.com and they will be forwarded to the correct party.

Stay tuned for our 2012 Season Schedule and the new website!!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Gory Gobbler: CNY Red Hots vs Oneonta Derailing Darlings Friday Nov 18th

Are you having derby withdrawals? Missing your favorite Central New York Roller Derby girls now that we are in the off-season? Then come to Oneonta on Friday, November 18th to watch the CNY Red Hots take on the Oneonta Derailing Darlings. The CNYRD Red Hots is a pick-up team of some of your favorite veterans from last season, transfers from other leagues, and many newbies fresh out of boot camp! This is your chance to watch up-and-coming players like Quicksey Trixie, Stella Overdrive, Kompact Risk, Major DisChord, Toe Tagger Body Bagger, Kell’s Fury, and Connie Vict make their CNYRD league debut!
This promises to be a fun bout. The Oneonta Derailing Darlings are a newer league, formed in 2010, and this is their home bout debut. You really don’t know what to expect with so many new skaters on both teams. Will there be more falls? More fouls? Will the teams be evenly matched? Who will be the star jammers? It’s anyone’s guess, and that’s why it’s worth the drive!
The bout will take place on Friday, November 18th at the Oneonta Derailing Darlings’ home at Interskate 88 (5185 State Highway 23, Oneonta, NY 13820). Doors open at 6:30 pm, and the bout begins at 7:15 pm. Tickets for children 12 and under are $3, and tickets for adults are $10. Bring in 2 canned goods for $1 off admission and the warm feeling that comes with knowing your donations will benefit the Family Service Association’s food baskets. Your ticket includes automatic entry into a door prize raffle, admittance to the open skate session after the bout, and drink specials at the after party. The after party will be at My Father’s Place (5690 Route 7, Oneonta, NY 13820).


You can RSVP via the Facebook event page HERE.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Recruitment Night!! Wed Oct 26th, 7:30pm

It's that time of year again... Central New York Roller Derby is recruiting! This event is for new and potential recruits to come see what roller derby is all about - watch some demos, buy some merch, and meet some amazing people. Come one, come all! Sign a waiver, rent skates and necessary gear for $5 and skate with us, or just spectate for now, but we promise that won't last long ;)

Guys - you're in luck! The Quadfathers are also looking for new skaters to join their ranks - roller derby is not just for the ladies! Don't be scared, our shorts are much shorter than theirs... usually.

We are also recruiting referees, men and women! If you think you'd look great in stripes, or maybe you love to boss people around, become a ref!

The next newbie class starts the following Wednesday 11/2 from 7-10pm, so don't miss out on this chance to get acquainted beforehand! Don't wait - we won't hold another recruitment night until next fall. Come strap on some skates and be your own hero!

Classes run for 12-16 weeks on Wednesday nights from 7-10pm and Saturday mornings from from 10a-12p. Fees are $30 per month during the training. We have a wide selection of rental gear available for a small fee, but they are first-come first-served.

Contact recruitment@cnyrollerderby.com for more info.
See the Facebook event page and RSVP to let us know you're coming HERE!



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New Practice Space!

CNY Roller Derby is excited to announce that after a long search and nail-biting wait, we have the practice space of our dreams right in Utica!
At least until April 2012 (and we hope for the foreseeable future!) our home base will be the SportsPlex building at 496 French Rd in Utica. The building sports a 165' X 65' Mateflex synthetic sports floor, and is nice and clean and accessible for our skaters.





Keep checking back for updates on other activities and events in the venue.








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Monday, October 3, 2011

Tough Cookie Bake Sale, Saturday October 8th



On Saturday October 8th, CNY Roller Derby will host its 3rd semi-annual Tough Cookie Bake Sale. We have SOOOO many talented bakers/cooks/etc on the league that this event has become a food lover's delight!
The bake sale will take place at The Other Side, 2011 Genessee St, Utica (next door to Cafe Domenico), and will start at 11am. We'll stay open until the food's nearly gone, so come on down and get some goodies!
Prices range very inexpensive - from multiple items for $1 to the more 'gourmet' items that are $1-2 each. Come fill up a big tray for your office or just grab a snack on your way out and about.
There are usually multiple vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, and other specialty offerings. Items will be clearly marked for dietary restrictions.
The bake sale benefits CNYRD as we go into our off season to help afford practice space and fees until April. Your support is highly appreciated and it all goes to help the league keep skating (plus you get yummy stuff to boot!)

Also, please support our loyal sponsors, Cafe Domenico (right next door- coffee, drinks, that cold glass of milk to go with all the cookies you're going to eat....), the Green Onion Pub (right across the street, full service bar with great atmosphere), and The Uptown Theater (also right across the street- great prices on new movies).

We will also have league merchandise, such as t-shirts, stickers, keyrings, and lots of other league stuff for sale. We will also have the Tough Cookie Cookbooks for sale showing many of the recipes from past bake sales.

There will be recruitment information available for all those looking to get into roller derby. We have a class starting THIS MONTH, so please feel free to come meet some of our members and talk about your plans to start skating!!

So come for the bake sale, load up on goodies, sign up for our new skater class, buy a t-shirt, grab a coffee to prevent the food coma, see a matinee, and have a drink at the bar to round off the afternoon. All within 20 yds or each other. Cant wait to see you there!

Please RSVP on our facebook event page.





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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

2012: Save the Dates!!

Central New York Roller Derby is pleased to announce the dates for our 2012 home bout season. Make sure to mark these dates on your calender for a chance to see all your favorite CNY skaters as well as many new faces. More information to come as 2012 approaches.

April 7
May 19
June 2
June 30
July 14
August 11
August 25

2011 marked the introduction of home team play where CNY skaters played against each other as members of the Blue Collar Betties, Rome Wreckers and Utica Clubbers. The Utica Clubbers finished as the 2011 CNYRD home team champions. Who will win in 2012? 2011 also marked the first full season as a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) and the newly named travel team, the CNY All Stars, competing in sanctioned play. The CNY All Stars finished the season with an 8-1 record overall and 3-1 in WFTDA sanctioned play. Watch in 2012 as the CNY All Stars continue their quest to qualify for the East Region Playoffs.