The Roller Derby World Cup and a borderless future

Vol. 69 (nice)

IN THIS ISSUE: ESSAY | NOW READ THIS | TAKE ACTION | IN PERSON | FINAL FRAME

It’s no secret that I love the sport of roller derby. I’ve been involved since 2012, when I finally worked up the courage, time, and money to try out for my local league. My time as a skater has involved high highs and a few incredibly low lows. I’ve worked my ass off, suffered injury, competed for precious roster sports (and often missed the mark), helped train new skaters, served as volunteer General Manager and PR head for my league, traveled, went into credit card debt, and made great friends along the way.

I’m a decent athlete–or ”a pretty OK” skater, as we like to say in a sport filled largely with people without traditional sports backgrounds. 

Meanwhile, I also took up a side hustle: Announcing. Turns out my backgrounds in theater and radio lent themselves well to talking about sports on a mic. And interestingly enough, it has been through announcing that I’ve been able to participate in some of the most incredible roller derby events, including traveling internationally to participate in the 2018 World Cup in Manchester, England.

Run approximately every four years since 2011, the Roller Derby World Cup (RDWC) is an independently run tournament that began as a way for different countries to showcase local roller derby talent and help cultivate the sport, particularly outside of the U.S., where it was founded. Derby has since grown exponentially worldwide, with leagues across six continents, and some of the fastest growing participation in areas outside North America. 

But aside from the country-to-country competition, one of my favorite things about the RDWC are the borderless teams. To me, they represent the radical dreams and possibilities of roller derby, sports, and society more broadly.

In 2018 the tournament saw the inclusion of Team Indigenous, made up of Native American, First Nation, and Polynesian skaters. I remember it being a surprisingly heated discussion, whether they would be allowed to compete or not. Roller derby is not immune to the same isms as the rest of the world, after all. But thanks to the efforts of indigenous skaters, TI took the track and made space for a different way of thinking about sports. 

I remember being spellbound when I saw TI athletes wearing traditional regalia from their respective Nations, plus roller skates (to be clear, not to compete in - but to represent off-track). The pride was palpable, and I was deeply moved hearing from friends who skated with TI about the incredible bonds built and shared between people from indigenous communities across the globe. 

The example set and trails blazed by Team Indigenous helped lead to the exponential growth of borderless teams and the creation of the No Borders Collective, too. At the most recent 2025 RDWC in Innsbruck, Austria, even more took the track to represent and compete: Team Indigenous Rising, Black Diaspora, Team Desi (South Asian), SALAAM Roller Derby (Southwest Asian and North African), Fuego Latino (Latinx diaspora), and Jewish Roller Derby (Jewish diaspora). 

Not only are these teams an opportunity for folks who often find themselves in the minority in roller derby spaces to find and build community, they represent what I (and many others) see as the radical possibility of sports--and humanity. Who says we have to form teams based on artificially imposed borders or governments? Even for some of the country-based teams, there’s a palpable sense that white and Western/colonial ideas should no longer constrain any of us. Team Australia, for instance, opted not to use the Australian national anthem before their games. Instead, they played and sang along to “I Am Australian,” with lyrics in Pitjantjatjara language.

“This decision reflects our acknowledgment of the deep and painful history of colonisation and its ongoing impacts on First Nations peoples. We recognise that the official anthem does not represent all Australians — especially those whose land was never ceded,” the team wrote about the decision.

“As a team, we are committed to using our platform to honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, amplify First Nations voices, and work toward a more inclusive and just future. We recognise our privilege and carry the responsibility to be part of positive change — both on and off the track. This decision also reflects the deep multiculturalism in our country that is much better represented by our chosen song.”

Not only that, but the other big themes of this years’ RDWC were pro-trans and pro-Palestine, including SALAAM walking out during the parade of teams with a giant Palestinian flag, to thunderous applause from the thousands gathered to watch; and a pro-trans march through the streets of Innsbruck, led by RDWC participants.

Roller derby has a lot of work to do to live up to all its stated ideals. But it’s showing–through words and actions by borderless teams and skaters and volunteers who represent the diversity of humanity, including trans and gender non-conforming people–other possible ways for us all to live and work and play together. It’s a world that respects and celebrates differences and similarities alike, and finds creative, healthier ways to compete and share space.

Sports can be a mirror of our current broken society, and/or they can be a place to fight for a better world. I’m very much here for the latter, and proud to be part of a sport and community that largely seems to feel the same way.

Now Read This.

“ACLU raises alarm on ICE detention by Wisconsin counties” (ACLU Wisconsin)

Open records requests have revealed that at least three Wisconsin county sheriffs, in Ozaukee, Brown and Sauk counties, have made recent deals with ICE to house and transport detained immigrants, increasing detention space for Trump’s deportation initiatives.

“'Exactly What We Would Expect': Climate Scientists Weigh in on Deadly Texas Flooding” [Common Dreams]

"The tragic events in Texas are exactly what we would expect in our hotter, climate-changed, world," Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysics and climate hazards at University College London, said Saturday. "There has been an explosion in extreme weather in recent years, including more devastating flash floods caused by slow-moving, wetter, storms, that dump exceptional amounts of rain over small areas across a short time."

“Is there still time to be hopeful about the climate?” [Daniel A. Gross for the New Yorker]

“Some people feel like, if you exceed it, it’s all over, and you can just give up.” But the difference between a narrow miss and a big one, she went on, could be hundreds of millions of lives. It could mean whether or not the places you love continue to exist. At well below two degrees, coral reefs struggle to survive; at two degrees, they may simply go extinct. “All I can really come up with is, like, Don’t be a quitter! Why are we giving up on the future of life on Earth so fucking easily?” Johnson said. “Where is our tenacity? Where is our fortitude? We can do hard things.” 

“As the waters rise” [Margaret Killjoy]

What we need are systemic solutions to the changing ecology of our world, if we’re going to do anything to mitigate global warming or even to just survive as a species in our changing climate.

We need to build resilient communities. Our communities need to have social infrastructure that fosters resilience, like local assemblies and decision making, like mutual aid, like conflict resolution, like webs of trust.

“Two days talking to people looking for jobs at ICE” [Yanis Varoufuckice for n+1]

Granting that the banality of evil, as an explanation, has itself become banal, it was hard to know what else to make of all this. The US is filled with “pretty nice guys” who are ready to inflict, who have already inflicted, senseless and life-shattering violence on innocent, impoverished people.

“Zohran Mamdani and Mahmoud Khalil are in on the joke” [Hanif Abdurraqib for the New Yorker]

I am not drawn to action only because people have suffered or are suffering; I am drawn to action because I am distinctly aware of every inch of humanity from which suffering keeps people.

“The Dane County Jail scrambles to back up its case for eliminating paper mail” [Scott Gordon & Dan Fitch for Tone]

Dane County Supervisors are now considering a contract that would bring the dehumanizing practice of mail scanning to the Dane County Jail, and put the county in business with a scandal-wracked vendor. Currently, elected officials are weighing the decision without being able to evaluate the Dane County Sheriff’s Office’s (DCSO) claims that the jail needs to eliminate physical mail in order to keep out drugs and other contraband. They are missing some key information: Reliable data on how much contraband enters the jail, how much of it gets in through the mail, and any evidence that mail scanning has reduced harms in other jurisdictions.

“The Enshittification of American Power” [Wired]

Ever since Trump retook office in January, in fact, rapid enshittification has become the organizing principle of US statecraft. This time around, Trumpworld understands that—in controlling the infrastructure layer of global finance, technology, and security—it has vast machineries of coercion at its disposal. As Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, recently put it, “The United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony.”

Take Action.

Gaza is starving.

This is an intentional, genocidal decision by the Israeli government and its allies. Enough food to feed everyone is available in UNRWA warehouses, but Israel refuses to open the border crossings to let it through (and the U.S. refuses to pressure them to do so).

There are still aid groups on the ground in Gaza who are able to provide clean drinking water, medical help, and very limited food to residents trapped in this hell.

You can donate to them via the Sameer Project here.

Then continue to write, call, and otherwise pressure any/all lawmakers and anyone else with access to the levers of power to enforce an arms embargo on Israel and pressure them to open the borders and stop the genocide NOW.

Here’s some advice on where to start.

In Person.

I’ve got some gigs coming up that I’d love to see you at!

Friday, July 25 at High Noon Saloon in Madison

Performing with my band, LINE, as an opening act for our friends Kat & the Hurricane (also from Madison) and touring band Kiss the Tiger from Minneapolis. 8pm! Tickets and info here.

Friday, August 1 at the Cardinal Bar in Madison

It’s the regular edition of my Hot Flash early dance party! I’ll be joined by DJ Femme Noir. All throwback jams, from 7 to 9:30pm, and it’s free!

Thursday, August 7 at Gib’s Bar in Madison

I’ll be throwing down a fun, chill DJ set for the monthly “Cheers with Queers” night at this cozy watering hole on the east side, along with DJ Huck Sinn. Also free!

Friday, August 15 at Aubergine in Madison

Thrilled to be DJing a dance party as part of a fundraiser for GSAFE, in tandem with an earlier photo exhibit featuring trans high school athletes. The dance party will be in the Aubergine space, across the street from Willy St. Co-op East, and the theme is “athletic wear.” 8:15 to 10:15pm, $10-15 suggested donation, 18+. Facebook event here.

Final Frame.

There's a whole world out there in your backyard, if you stop and look. I was reminded of that yet again this past weekend when my sister, my partner and I went for a Bird & Nature Adventure walk at Warner Park and stumbled onto a tiny, magic fairy forest of moss and black trumpet mushrooms, among other things.

‘Til Next Time.

Free Palestine. Take care of each other. Queer joy forever.