RHJRD is the passion project of Kingston Derby Girls' co-founders Skate at Home Mom and LaVallee of the Dolls, along with KDG alumni skater Mr. Kristi.

Our inaugural project: a 12-week Intro to Roller Derby camp for girls ages 8-12, living in the Rideau Heights area. We will provide a unique, fun, accessible sport experience in Kingston's north end, starting in early 2018.

Derby is an incredible world - beyond providing the obvious physical fitness, it teaches sportsmanship, self-esteem, and a sense of community like no other sport. We want to bring all of this to kids in this community, but the cost of playing the sport can be prohibitive, so we want to offer this small-scale pilot project at no cost for participants.

There are many expenses associated with playing roller derby - we are already well on our way to accumulating the equipment that we need. Through crowdfunding and donations of gear, we are already able to offer 6-7 skaters the ability to lace up with us. We hope to get 10-15 skaters involved in this camp, and are confident that we will succeed in filling our "locker room" to make this possible.

Derby has changed all of our lives in one way or another and we want to bring all of the empowerment, skill and fitness that we got from playing this sport to kids that may not have the resources to participate otherwise. We all have a connection to this community in one way or another and feel strongly about launching Kingston's first junior derby venture in this neighbourhood.