BY JADA-MOON GRIDLEY

Over the past couple years, my friends and I were hitting Skateworld regularly—until the rink was shut down in early 2024. Every time I was there, I marveled at the incredibly rich diversity of the crowds and the impressive skills of many of the skaters there, taking particular inspiration from my middle-aged peers jam skating to the beat. I saw gleeful children being pushed around the rink in wheelchairs while I taught my child to skate, and an adorable elderly couple skating together on what looked like a date. I saw a guy built like a linebacker do about seven spins in a row with a full leg extension, embodying the spirit by both Baryshnikov and Bruce Lee. I saw parents holding hands with their preteens as they skated together. I saw some spills and pileups, and I watched everyone get back up again. Most importantly, I experienced families having a great time exercising together, learning new skills, building confidence, and forming real friendships.

My friend Laura Eklund and her family were at the center of our family skate night shenanigans, and our crew grew larger as more old friends joined—and as we made new friends at the rink. Week after week, I marveled at the progress the Eklunds achieved as they made use of their monthly membership, learning new tricks and turns.

Business was thriving at the rink, which had successfully made it through the Covid-19 shutdowns. But in April 2024, after Skateworld’s lease went unrenewed so the property owner could use the real estate for a different business venture, we mourned and petitioned. An entire community of skaters was displaced, and a source of good clean fun was lost in Tacoma.

Chris “M’Atom Smasher” Cooley—or Coach M’Atom, as the kids call her—is the founder of Tomorrowland Junior Roller Derby, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that practiced at Skateworld. With the support of a network of highly involved parents, she is leading the effort to build a new rink for us all. It is her organization’s fundraising efforts that compel me to write this.

Alongside my personal roller skating renaissance, I had the pleasure of facilitating both Tomorrowland Junior Roller Derby and the Dockyard Dames at Art on the Ave, where we created a derby demo space to showcase their moves. Laura brought my goddaughter, Zienna Eklund. You know how it is with goddaughters! One day you’re towing them on roller skates behind your golf cart while you give a cop a ride along down 6th Ave, and the next day, they’re on a roller derby team, filled with as much exuberance and motivation as you’ve ever seen from them. At least that’s how it was for us.

Zienna, now known in the derby world as Psycho Kitty, is on the Whizbangs team lead by Cooley, aka Coach M’Atom, part of the Tomorrowland JRD league. Cooley and her crew coach three different teams, with a total of 45 kids at present. For now, they’ve borrowed space in a local gymnasium and practiced outside to keep their league alive, but this isn’t enough.

“We need a permanent place to practice,” Cooley says, “to hold learn-to-skate sessions, and to have open/family-style skate sessions, since the roller rink is now gone.” Tomorrowland JRD has embarked on a journey to build a skating facility to house roller sports, including roller hockey and artistic skating, and to host community skate nights. “We are opening this facility for the community,” Cooley strongly emphasized, “not just roller derby. We want families to have a place to skate and keep the love of skating alive!”

I can roll with that. I asked Cooley what would happen if they don’t meet their financial goal as currently scheduled. “Funds will continue to be set aside toward the goal of opening our own facility,” she said. “Whether that takes two years or ten years, we will continue to fundraise until we can open a facility.”

Laura Eklund adds, “Oh, it’s going to happen. These guys are unstoppable. They are going to build a new rink.”

Here’s how you can help! By making a donation at tomorrowlandjrd.betterworld.org, you can get a screaming deal on future membership and VIP tickets to bouts, and you can win yourself some swag. You can also get your name on the permanent donor wall. Businesses that sponsor the rink project can receive a 5’x3’ banner with their logo and text, displayed there for a year or more.

The derby kids themselves have been working hard on a number of fundraisers as well, like a Skate-a-Thon, where I lost my shorts after a sponsee, Psycho Kitty skated 272 laps in one hour. A member of the Whizbangs team, Bonnie Rampage, elaborated:

“June 1st, we are doing the Duck Daze Parade. We will have a giant roller skate with us, and we’ll be encouraging people to fill the roller skate with cash donations. I know we will be involved in Summerfest too, and Art on the Ave.”

I asked her what a new skating rink means to her. “Absolutely everything,” she shot from the heart. “I found this sport, and I found friends that actually support me, and a community I love and that loves me, and a place where I feel safe and happy.” She also told me about a sneaker drive that the kids are doing as well as an upcoming rummage sale. You can donate gently used sneakers to any of the skaters at their events, drop them off at the Lakewood YMCA, or contact Tomorrowland JRD for pickup.

To hear these kids talk about roller derby in their lives, it’s clear that it is a lifesaver for some, and a source of joy and empowerment for all. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know some of the skaters from the Whizbangs team in particular, and they’re smart, creative, scrappy kids who have found passion for their sport and meaningful friendships with each other in the process. Please help to make a home for their teams—and the community at large!

If you’d like to help, go to: https://tomorrowlandjrd.betterworld.org/campaigns/help-us-build-new-roller-skating