The Junior Roller Derby Association recently released it’s rankings of youth roller derby teams and Sun Valley’s own Los Anarchists are currently ranked 3rd in the world. The travel team will compete July 26-28, 2019 at the 2019 Champoionships in Loveland, CO. The team competed in national championships last summer in Philadelphia and earned a bronze medal in addition to having a number of skaters compete on the world champion USA-West team.
Los Anarchists Junior Derby league, established in September 2017 by parents of junior skaters, is a non-profit entity that is associated with the Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA). They have their own facility located in Sun Valley, called Anarchy Hall, which provides a location for practice, tournaments, clinics, camps, fitness classes, and public skating.
The league has 50 active skaters and caters to all ages, genders, and skill levels. The travel team primarily consists of 14-18 year olds who compete at the highest level of international junior roller derby. The local competitive team, called LA Revolt, primarily consists of 10-16 year olds, most of whom aspire to join the travel team. The league also has a beginners team, called The Anar-Kitties, which primarily consists of 5-12 year olds who are learning to skate and play roller derby. The league is lead by four coaches who have decades of experience coaching roller derby.
Because the league is run by parents for junior skaters, they aim to teach more than the sport of roller derby. There is a strong focus on personal responsibility, peer leadership, inclusion, and community partnership. Skaters are welcomed and supported by their peers and adult leadership. They participate in community events such as CicLAvia, San Fernando Street Festival, Sunland Fourth of July Parade and LAPD community events. This year they also hosted a blood drive in partnership with Cedars Sinai.
Each summer the league hosts Camp Anarchy, a 5-day event that includes skating instruction, roller derby training, fitness training, nutrition classes, games, art classes, and a camp-wide roller derby scrimmage. This year’s summer camp is planned for June 17-21 and August 5-9.
The players get to meet a variety of other competitors through tournaments. This season the Los Anarchists Junior Derby league has hosted many visiting teams including West Coast Junior Knockouts from Ventura, San Diego Junior Derby, Kalamazoo Killer Beez from Michigan, Seattle Galaxy Girls, Jacksonville Junior Derby from Florida, V Town Derby Delinquents from Visalia, Hidden City Derby Girls Beachside Bratz from Oceanside, San Diego Tremors, SoDak Attack from Sioux Falls, Rocky Mountain Rollerpunks , Denver Major Turbulence and FOCO Spartans all from Colorado.
For more information contact losanarchists@gmail.com, call 323-609-3320, or check out videos and photos of their fun events on their facebook page
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