Santa Cruz in California is a place you have to go…..especially on Friday, August 29 (but if you can’t, there are alternatives, keep reading).
This is where much of mainland surfing began, years ago; and is about an hour south of where the world-famous Maverick competition is held.
It is also where 420 started – where people sit in an open space and smile and contemplate their navels.
The most casual campus of the University of California is here, and of course its teams are called the Banana Slugs, and their new athletic director Cliff Dochterman is a Roller Derby fan! (Invite him to your next game, Derby girls).
The town has great beaches and America’s best classic seaside amusement park…..it is 75 miles from San Francisco and just 32 miles from San Jose (the Bay Area’s largest city….bet you didn’t know that).
We used to play Derby there about once a month at the tiny Civic auditorium, and that is where the Santa Cruz Derby Girls skated, until the Kaiser Permanente Arena opened a few years back and now they consistently fill it with their great league play.
This league, which is ranked high among all leagues, has been at the forefront of so much in maintaining and growing Derby awareness in their community. They are part of almost all community projects and are featured consistently in local media (all of you should check what they have done and still do).
And two years ago they decided to work with the Red Cross with a blood drive, and they were so successful they become the model for the northern California blood drives with Brown Paper Tickets, the Red Cross, and the Roller Derby leagues. And last year the drives received enough donors to save 660 lives.
And this year the drive is under way with even more leagues (listed below), but on Friday, August 29, you can donate in Santa Cruz at Whole Foods, 911 Soquel, Capitola, from 8 am to 6 pm and of course the Santa Cruz Derby girls will be there, and many donating. As of this date, they have an amazing 52 registrations, and are hoping to break the Derby record of 60 sent a few weeks ago by Quad City in Livermore. What a great competition that saves lives!
Of course you want to go to the boardwalk, ride the classic rides, and take advantage of the beautiful weekend by the beach, and give blood….you may go to http://www.redcrossblood.org, enter “Derby” in the box and register for Santa Cruz or the other drives listed.
And hopefully this will become a national project next year with Brown Paper Tickets, Red Cross and all Derby leagues. Bob Noxious is checking on leagues, Val Capone (who else) has volunteered to be the Midwest project manager, and shortly we will let you know how to let us know your interest.
And here are the other Derby drives upcoming: Silicon Valley Roller Girls, Saturday, September 6, 9 am to 3 pm in San Jose; Faultline (ouch) Derby Girls, Saturday, September 20,10am to 3 pm, Hollister; Bay Area Derby Girls, Saturday, September 20, 10 am to 4 pm, San Francisco; Sonoma County Roller Derby, Saturday, September 20, Santa Rosa; Resurrection Derby girls – Saturday, October 18, 11 am to 4 PM, Cal Skate, Rohnert Park.
For exact locations: http://www.redcrossblood.org, “Derby”
Our goal is to save 1000 lives this year in Northern California….and am I donating? Of course, on September 20th.
RollerDerbyJesus.com 