Update on the Abu Dhabi Roller Derby

Don't ask me why I'm suddenly obsessed with overseas roller derby leagues, in particular the Abu Dhabi Roller Derby. I guess it's because Abu Dhabi and Dubai are these ultra-modern cities in the Middle East. After hearing some news stories on how American bankers and stock brokers are flocking there due to their booming economy, I've become intrigued.

Anyway, in a comment left on a DNN story about the growth of roller derby, Sweet N. Lowdown herself explains the bumps in the road of getting an overseas league going.

In all honesty, we haven't been able to do much yet because of the weather. It's extremely hot and humid here along the gulf this time of year. As a result, much of the population makes themselves scarce by going on extended summer holidays (myself included), leaving the place looking like a ghost town. In essence, we're incapacitated until the Fall.

We do have some interest from potential skaters and a couple other prior derby vets but here are the challenges we're facing:

1) Culture (duh)... While the UAE is one of the most progressive countries in the Middle East, we are still, well, in the Middle East! There is indeed a huge expat population but even so, I don't see this happening without the local support of the Emiratis. In fact, the laws here are laid out so that no expat can start a business in the UAE unless they get an Emirati to sign on as a partner... I will say that when I've gone out on my own just skating in circles or along the Corniche, small crowds of children and Indian and Pakistani laborers tend to gather and watch. This is probably attributed to the fact that my tattoos attract attention EVERYWHERE here, that I'm female (women are generally started at), and that I'm skating on quads. I'm a curious novelty.

IF we are able to make this happen, I am convinced that it will have to be PURE sport. We're already strange enough here without crazy get-ups or sideshow characters. Uniforms will have to be very modest, of course. I'm not even sure that our monickers will translate. The expat community would "get" them but if we want to reach out to the rest of the population, I think the names would either go totally over their heads or even quite possibly offend - something we of course do NOT want to do.

2) No derby "nostalgia factor" exists here. The Emiratis didn't grow up watching the banked track derby on Sunday mornings. In fact, most don't even know what quad roller skates are. Likewise, there are relatively few American expats as compared to the Europeans and even Canadians. Most are British.

Inlines are big here, but I am the ONLY (I repeat ONLY) person I have seen skating on quads other than my fellow expat derby girl, Dandy Rough. As a result, there are no local shops to buy quads and most everything of course has to be brought over or shipped, which can get expensive.

3) Much of the minimal interest we've found from potential skaters has come from Dubai. Dandy Rough and I live in Abu Dhabi, which is about an hour and a half away. I'm not going to lie, it's a tough commute with mostly sand from here to there. Not to mention, I don't have a car.

4) Being part of an expat community means that people are always coming and going. This is not a place where people generally stay for more than a couple years. By the time we train skaters, they could be ready to move on. This is a similar situation that we faced with Dominion, being at the heart of a huge naval base, but exponentially multiplied.

5) We have yet to find an indoor facility for either practices or bouts. I did find one outdoor location that might work, although we don't exactly have official permission to set up a bout there. As you can imagine, this is a pretty big obstacle. (I'm curious to hear what the Hawaiian leagues did about this - I had heard you were facing a similar situation with lack of venue space.) The weather makes skating outdoors unbearable for several months of the year. We also have very frequent dust and sandstorms which, needless to say, does not allow for skate-able conditions. Even when it's not sandstorming, you should see how completely filthy my skates are from just a few sessions outside. It's really very gross.

So these are a few of the challenges we're facing. I write this all because I know that these obstacles are conquerable and I know that there must be other leagues out there who have faced at least one or two of these same challenges and may be able to offer some advice. We really want to do this. As daunting a task as it is, how many times in your life do you have the opportunity to introduce something as fabulous as roller derby to a new culture. I see us like missionaries bringing the Word to all those naked (er, um, covered) tribal people! Seriously though, if we can pull this off I really think we could claim a small part of history that might actually BENEFIT this region. And that, my friends, would really be something special.

If anyone has suggestions or advice, please feel free to reply to this post or email me at jasminiature@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Sweet N. Lowdown

see you at ECE! though not skating

You rock chica!