I am delighted to announce that we received 10 applications for the Board by the deadline and 1 application after the deadline. Below you will find a brief statement from each of the candidates. There is no upper limit for the number of directors on the board and with the amount of excellent volunteers who have come forward, member leagues and officials can vote to elect all, some or none to the Board. We did not advertise to fill specific vacancies as the current practice has been to agree job responsibilities amongst the Board members depending on experience and enthusiasm.

1. Lottie England, Manchester Roller Derby
I would like to express an interest in one of your vacant positions on the Board of Directors. The position I would like to be considered for is director of junior roller derby and safeguarding affairs. The role appeals to me and I believe my experience and education to date would make me a competitive candidate. My key strengths that would support the undertaking of this role include:

Four years roller derby experience that includes HNSO Hereford Poison berries, NSO Manchester roller derby, chaperone and safeguard representative for a junior level 3 skater and on skates official during the British Champs 2019 implimenting a recently introduced UKRDA initiative. Including comms with British Champs, tournament heads, head referees and host leagues alongside taking safeguard qualifications and sourcing independent insurance. Sourcing sponsorship an initiating introduction to funding both inside and outside roller derby.

As a result of the above I have already established positive lines of communication with external governing bodies regarding safeguarding i.e. Local councils, Sport England And NSPCC amoungst others. This, along with a recently obtained Foundation Degree in Health and Social care gives me a comprehensive understanding into what would be required to work with the derby community to streamline and introduce a safeguarding initiative.

2. Dr Jen Baxter, Tiger Bay Brawlers
I am writing to put forward my application to become a member of the Board of Directors. I have been participating in roller derby as a skater and coach since 2010 and have seen the transformation that our sport has undertaken in that time. I strongly believe that collectively we still have a lot to give and an opportunity to continue to grow roller derby as a progressive community supporting and empowering skaters, officials and volunteers across the UK. Like many members of our community, I have been an active member of our league from the outset contributing everything from financial management, to coaching to managing the challenges around code of conduct.

I am particularly interested in putting my name forward to contribute to the activities of the UKRDA, as I firmly believe the UKRDA has huge potential to be a driving force for roller derby. To give a brief background of my experience that I would bring to this role, I have extensive experience of running membership organisations. In my day job I am a senior manger at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, a professional engineering body with over 120,000 members. In my leadership and management role I have been active in the development of new corporate governance systems and the relationship between members and staff. This extends to expectations of behaviours, the development of new policies that support the levels of professionalism that we expect from our members. In addition to this one of my key roles is in communicating complex messages to members, but also beyond that to wider government and media and public audiences. I have excellent understanding of perception and expectations and how to manage unexpected situations.

As someone who has been part of roller derby in the UK for almost 10 years, I understand the community and I believe that combined with my experience in the progressive transformation of membership bodies makes me an excellent candidate for the UKRDA Board of Directors. I do not have a specific role in mind, but based on your advertisement, internal communications and membership relations or corporate governance and HR aspects may be most appropriate.

3. Michelle/Petti, Eastbourne Roller Derby
I would like to express my interest in a director role with a specialisation in governance (specifically within UK organisations and bodies). Having been in the sport for 8 years as a skater, director, official, trainer, public speaker and general organiser, I bring a wealth of experience in this sport to the role. I am aware of the difficulties UKRDA faces at present,, and I would like to work to help aligning UKRDA back with its core focuses of growth, expertise and recognition.

In my real life I am an Operations Manager for a global business. I am experienced as taking on tasks with multiple layers of complexity and stakeholders and breaking it down for continuous forward momentum. I am also aGDPR specialist within my role and have previously been working at a Board level of an FCA rgistered company. Basically I know how to play the business game well and would like to apply this again to roller derby at a national level.

4. Jon Arden, Brute #66, Kent Mens Roller Derby
Myname is Jon Arden, AKA Brute#66 from Kent Men's Roller Derby, where I am currently serving as the President, overseeing our application to join the MRDA 9we are already UKRDA). I also have the honour to serve as the Head Coach of Kent Roller Girls (UKRDA/WFTDA) so have, or am garnering experience in all the major governing bodies of our sport.

Outside of Roller Derby I have an extensive career in Event Management which haas given me a toolbox of organisational skills, health and safety, all of which I feel could be incredibly beneficial to the UKRDA moving forward. Since the opportunity to become a Director of th UKRDA I have thought long and hard about roller derby and in particular the UK roller derby scene. It has been an incredibly tough 18 months for UK roller derby and currently the scene feels particularly silo'd and fractured. I personally believe that the UKRDA has a responsibility to help bring the community back together in a wholly positive way. Were I to be selected to form part of the Diretors of the UKRDA I would seek to improve our relationship with three vital organisations:
a. WFTDA - we are lucky to have may high level WFTDA leagues representing the United Kingdom. But do we do enough to support them? currently we rely on leagues hosting their own tournaments in order to gain the sanctioned games they need to compete at the highest level. If we could create a UK Nationals tournament for the likes of RCRD, LRD, MRD, TBRD etc etc we would be helping these teams grow and progress further into international tournaments, as we have seen with the Scandanavian teams in recent years. To do this in conjunction with the WFTDA would be enormously beneficial for all involved.
b. MRDA - essentially we should be doing the same for MRDA that we do with the WFTDA. Encouaging and supporting SDRD/NWO/LRT etc
c. British Championships - while I am aware that the UKRDA has a relationship with BC already, I feel this should be the key relationship to improve. BC is essential for the continued growth of our sport , but as with the NRD debacle recently, it has shown that it lacks the power of a governing body behind it. I think there is scope for BC/UKRDA to merge officially and allow roller derby leagues from across Britain to know they have a governing body behind them.

Once roller derby in the UK becomes less fractured, the ability for us to better improve safeguarding, support smaller leagues, build grass roots and juniors and continue excellent work already started in the LGBTQ communities will be gretly improved and we can continue to grow the sport we all love.

5. Keleigh Shepherd/Maimed'oiselle, Rebellion Roller Derby
I would like to register my interest in applying for the roles of HR, Grievance and complaints handling, and/or safeguarding. I am experienced in both safeguarding and grievance/complaints/conflict resolution. I spent 4 years wokring on student halls of residence at the University of Derby as a Residential Assistant. I was often brought to different sites to help deal with grievences and mediation. As a GTO within the sport I have recent experience in dealing with grievances and mediation between parties.

I am an experienced crew head within the live events industry, a role that often requires dealing with HR and Grievances, especially if the crew is going on tour, as it requires a group of disparate people to mesh together and work as a team from the very beginning, often living in close quarters. this leads to a scenario where any issues are not caught and addressed can rapidly escalate and become problematic.

A large part of the role of an RA on student halls is ensuring safeguarding of any vulnerable adult and the genera student population, taking action where needed and keeping an eye where intervention isn't required.

6. Rollin Rat, Central City Roller Derby
I was the UKRDA Director for Officials until the recent AGM when my term expired. I have officiated roller derby for over 10 years across UK, Europe and the US, and am currently Head Referee for Team England Mens Roller Derby. I was the Tournament Head for EuroCup 2019 and Crew head or skating official at World Cups, WFTDA Recognised Tournaments and tournaments up and down the land.

In my previous tenure on the UKRDA Board I wanted to focus on the development of officials across the UK. I created the Officials Development Committee, focused on how we can best develop the great crop of UK officials we have. I am keen to see the Committee able to put our plans in place this year - resource limitations means that we werent able to set up the bootcamp(s) and other activities we intend to hold. I want to be able to move on with the aims, hopes and dreams I had when this was first started.

7.Hazel Mochan/Hazzard, New Town Roller Derby
Currently I am the UKRDA Rep for New Town Roller Derby and previously Team Manager for wmens Team Scotland Experience wise I have two years as management of the Scottish National Team as well as almost 8 years in various leadership roles within my own league (2011-Present).

My role with Team Scotland allowed me a wider look into the international roller derby world and as such I am Scotland's representative on the Roller Derby Nations Committee who are in the midst of working towards the next World Cup and upgrading their policies on national teams.

In my personal life I have many years of PR and social media management through my work as well as coaching others on behaviour and dealing with grievances in a professional situation. I feel that my experiences in these fields would make me a valuable contributor to the Board of Directors of the UKRDA.

8. Rebekah Campbell, Inverness City Roller Derby
I joined Inverness Roller Derby two and a half years ago and it sparked a passion for the sport, and the people which I hope never fades. Primarily I NSO around Scotland and also contribute as a committee member with my local team. I have the fire and determination to promote this sport and get as many people involved as possible. this means I'm often the member of our team to staff promotional stalls at events, manage our website and any contact which comes through that, and I will also be taking an active role in training our new members to officiate.

Outside of roller derby I have ten years experience in Faciities Management whcih involved a lot of liaison to carry out work, dealing with the public, and being responsible for contracts worth thousands of pounds. From this I have gained leadership skills, confidence in myself and my abilitiesm and a deep sense of pride in everything I do.

I can bring to the UKRDA Board my passion for this sport to survive and thrive, and to do that we need a national body with our (skaters) best interestes adt heart. Roller derby has changed my life, its given me a team I adore and would fight tooth and nail for.

9. Emma Coots, York Minxters Roller Derby
Roller Derby Background - I have been playing roller derby for 7 years. I have played and officiated in British Championships games for the last two years. I am a Board Member for York Minxters Roller Derby and have been Head of Sponsorship & Development and Head of IT & Media for the last year/18 months. I have contributed to the development of our League, recently securing national funding to enable us to develop the Yorkshire Terriors, our Junior team and facilitating recognition of roller drby and our League - York Minxters won Active York Sports Awards 'Team of the Year in 2018.

Reasons why I would like to be a Director - Like all of us, I love roller derby and want to see it grow and gain greater recognition. As a player I feel a responsibility to support that growth locally, and have been commmitted to the development of my own league. I would love to be an ambassador for our sport and believe that I have the skills and experience that would benefit UKRDA and subsequently improve the landscape of British roller derby for everyone involved.

Non-roller derby experience I can bring to the role - I am a Senior Policy Advisor within the Ministry of Justice; my role involves:
- Development and review of national operational policy for prisons
- Drafting of policy advice to Ministers
- Proofing/editing of operational policy
- Stewardship of the governance process for oprational policy
- Stakeholder engagment - eg representing our team with policy officials, recognised Trade unions and scrutiny bodies

I also have the following skills/abilities that I believe could contribute to the effective running of UKRDA for its members:
- Ability to communicate in a succinct, engaging manner both verbally and in writing
- Excellent drafting skills and attention to detail
- Ability and commmitment to maintaining awareness of current thinking and ambition with regard to both my work and roller derby.

10. Gem, York Minxters
I would like to apply for a director post within the UKRDA with an stated interest in Conflict and Grievances. I have been an involved member of conflict resolution from both a standpoint as a league member, board member and at a national level. My professional job involves information gathering, assessing risk, analysis and risk management. As a registered professional I am capable of understanding and underpinning confidentiality processes while safeguarding members of the public.

Overall I believe that contribution is necessary to ensure the longevity of the organisations within Roller Derby and I have a passion to ensure justice is provided throughout grievance procedures and would encourage us to move forward to a streamlined process that was in line with our International Governing Body. I am a dedicated longstanding member of the community and would ensure that I worked continually to improve our processes in a fair and equal manner.

Recieved after the deadline
11. Dawn Fletcher/Bob, UKRDA recognised independent official.

What can I bring to the UKRDA? Well, I've been involved in roller derby since 2010 as a skater, line-up manager, bench manager, referee, NSO, volunteer staff member, and committee member with a WFTDA-aligned team and an MRDA-aligned team. I've worked high-level games (world cups, champs, playoffs), rookie scrims, and plenty in between. I also have a PhD in men's roller derby. So, safe to say I have a broad experience and I can adapt to many roles, learning new skills quickly.

I'm also reasonably empathetic, favouring a solution-focused approach, and my experience allows me to see issues from a variety of perspectives. I am a good communicator and can write quickly and accurately. I try to be efficient and find systems that work effectively. I excel at administration and organisation.

Finally, and this may not actually be a vote winner, but I do try to be candid - I am very nosy and like to know what is going on. To justify this, I feel nosiness is an important characteristic for someone expected to have a good overview of the UK roller derby context. Given all this very generalness, I'm sure I could squeeze in and make myself useful somewhere.