NWA Roller Derby seeks help replacing stolen equipment

A picture showing some of the skates and equipment that were stolen.

Courtesy photo

Some jerk stole a ton of equipment belonging to members of the NWA All Stars roller derby squad, and the team needs some help from the community to try and replace it.

The squad was in San Antonio over the weekend, where thousands of dollars worth of skates, protective equipment, and other gear was taken from their locked rental van.

Courtesy flyer

“This is a huge heartbreak for us and especially those individuals,” states a note posted online Monday. “This hardship will affect our upcoming games and possibly the rest of our season. But we are fighting and plan to be skating again as soon as possible.”

The team is scrambling to try and raise money to replace the equipment, and is asking others in the skating community to keep an eye out for the person who may be trying to pawn it or sell it online.

Rollergirl Michelle Hedegard said the organization has already received help in the way of donations through a website set up to raise money to replace the equipment, as well as from other roller derby teams and stores who sell equipment.

“We have a long way to go still, but the derby community is really tight,” she said. “I got teary-eyed with every phone call and email yesterday from people who were offering to help.”

Hedegard said she is hopeful that the group will be able to raise enough funds to replace the equipment in time for the next NWA Roller Derby bout, scheduled for July 21 at Starlight Skatium in Fayetteville.

“We don’t want to cancel anything until we absolutely have to,” she said. “We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Folks who would like to help out by donating money to the equipment replacement fund can do so at wepay.com.

The team is working to compile a complete list of the missing equipment, and will post it at nwarollerderby.com as soon as it’s complete.

Anyone who suspects they’ve located any of the missing equipment is urged to email info(at)nwarollerderby(dot)com with information.