CLICK HERE FOR A WONDERFUL INTERVIEW WITH TORONTO CAMPER LOW RIDE HER!

To provide a full-immersion training camp, free of distractions, where skaters of all skill levels, coaches, and referees can learn from each other and further the sport of roller derby.

Blood & Thunder prides itself on attracting the top coaches in derby, who are at the forefront of the sport's development, as our core coaches. We also invite well-respected local coaches to take part in our camps.

From our very first camp, Blood & Thunder has provided travel stipends for all of our non-local coaches, (or bought their plane tickets outright, in the case of our overseas camps), and covered the cost of their accommodations.

We have always encouraged our coaches to attend other classes when they're not teaching, in order to facilitate the dissemination of new drills and coaching methodologies. Needless to say, our coaches do not have to pay to skate.

We also like to get skaters involved in a teaching capacity. For those who have something to share, (whether it be a discussion group, yoga, or plyos, etc.), we offer discounted registration in exchange for their sharing their knowledge and ideas.

Each Blood & Thunder camp is structured uniquely, but we like to feature a public or private bout, which gives campers the opportunity to go through the experience of try-outs and play in front of their peers and/or a crowd.

And we like to give a little extra to our skaters! When possible, we organize lunch sponsors, so that skaters don't have to travel off-site, and interrupt their training, to find food. Skaters also receive limited edition camp t-shirts, as well as snacks and water provided by B&T, all free of charge.

In 2008, Blood & Thunder recognized the need to organize an intensive, large-scale camp that focused solely on training and drew the best coaches from around the country.

The San Diego Derby Dolls hosted our first camp at their Dollhouse that year and followed up by hosting again in 2009. With SDDD being a hybrid, (flat and banked track), league, coming to camp offered many skaters their first roll on the banked track, and B&T was thrilled to provide that introduction.

We had our first overseas camp in New Zealand in 2009, bringing the kiwis up to speed on the latest derby techniques and trends in play. Eager to learn more, they invited B&T back in 2010, with addition of a well needed and much appreciated four-day ref camp.

In 2010, we changed locations in the U.S., bringing Blood & Thunder to the Pacific Northwest via the Kitsap Country Fairgrounds in Bremerton, WA, which was spacious enough to accommodate three regulation-sized flat tracks, a classroom for off-skates classes, a dedicated area for our ref camp, and plenty of space for vendors and skaters to spread out!

Since 2009, B&T has hosted over 10 roller derby training camps all over the US, Canada and overseas.

Blood & Thunder is always open to invitations to organize camps! If you think your city or region would benefit from one of our camps, please get in touch at: camp@rollerderbytrainingcamp.com.

Here's what we're looking for in a host league:

• Access to a suitable venue. (We can deal directly with the venue if you provide the contact info.) Email us for price points and size/capacity information.
• The depth to provide assistance in procuring local sponsors, (food, health professionals, etc.), and provide our main volunteer base. (The host league gets first crack at our volunteer slots. Volunteers receive free or discounted registration, depending on how many hours they work.)
• A strong derby community that will draw skaters to camp, as well as a crowd to the bout, if one is held.
• An in-place bout production structure. (If camp includes a public bout, the host league will retain a negotiated split of the door take, bar take and/or any other profits from the bout in exchange for organizing it.)

Here's what Blood & Thunder provides:

• B&T pays for venue rental and for coaches' travel and accommodations.
• We select and invite the coaches and do the programming.
• We handle all registration and non-host league volunteer scheduling.
• We design, print, and pay for the t-shirts.
• We arrange sanctioning through WFTDA and/or USARS