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Thousands of Derby Enthusiasts Take Over Vegas – RollerCon 2011

Roller Derby >

RollerCon 2011 starts this Wednesday, July 27 which means thousands of roller girls and guys from around the country are headed to the Riviera in Las Vegas for five days of networking, bouts, challenges, derby weddings, scrimmages, scavenger hunts, karaoke, dancing and, I’d imagine, a fair amount of partying. BPT staffers Connor, Sten, Colleen, Renee, Michael, Katrina and Sarah are down there representing and we’re ticketing the whole shebang! We love derby, derby loves us and we’re so proud to see how far it has come over the last decade.

RollerCon started back in 2004 when KC Bomber (LA Derby Dolls), Chola (Lonestar Rollergirs) and Ivanna (San Diego Derby Dolls) started talking about putting together a weekend where rollergirls could get together and do some drinking and skating. The first RollerCon took place in 2005 with a handful of attendees but by the next year, attendance was in the hundreds. This is indicative of the rapid rise of the roller derby revival, which quickly outgrew its grass-roots beginnings to become an international movement. Roller Con became an international gathering by its second year and in 2007 became co-ed as more men entered into the derby fold.

Check out this promo video from 2009:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFswMY__aLA]

Now, in its sixth year, attendance is in the thousands. There are four concurrent tracks, massive amounts of conference space, restaurants, bars, karaoke, a tattoo shop and the traditional 24/7 pool party that attendees have come to love, all happening under one roof at the Riviera in Las Vegas. It’s come a long way in six years and it’s been a blast watching the sport grow.

Are you going to RollerCon? We’d love to hear your stories of what is surely going to be an epic weekend. Feel free to post pictures and stories either on this blog post or on Brown Paper Ticket’s Facebook and Twitter. I have a feeling Vegas isn’t going to know what hit it! Party on derby-heads, you’ve earned it.