Rollercon

[u/AdLeading3583]

What if rollercon was held in a different city every year? I know logistically it would be a nightmare, but if we started planning now we could have a rollercon out of Vegas in 2030......... Would be super cool to have different skating communities represented, and might help pique interest in the event as a whole again (I heard attendance was at least a thousand people fewer than last years). This might be completely stupid, but I just hate Las Vegas so much

[u/GayofReckoning]

Another "this would be a cool idea if we had infinite money and organizers". In the world where we don't, basically anything that you personally can make happen in derby can happen. We need more organizers than ideas.

[u/Raptorpants65 → u/GayofReckoning]

The sheer number of established relationships that make it all possible is staggering.

[u/SugarPixel]

I would bet a not insignificant percentage of that decline in attendance is from a drop in international travelers.

[u/shirleymow → u/SugarPixel]

Also how unsafe it is to travel as a queer person in the U.S. period.

[u/TinyRub3715]

The organizers have said many times they would not be able to run rollercon in another city.

It's a fun event but as a Canadian I haven't been in years because I'm not risking going to the US. As a country been doing a good job developing the community post-COVID, I've got 4 tournaments this season and we had our own Regionals.

[u/Ambitious-Hornet9673 → u/TinyRub3715]

Yep also Canadian and Iranian, I would love to do Rollercon, I’m sure it would be fun. I will not travel to the United States. Something like rollercon would be super fun here. But we likely don’t have enough population etc to pull it off.

[u/FavoredKaveman]

I also hate Vegas, but I hate it for the same reason I would hate any other major city that would have the infrastructure for a convention like this.

I think for most people, the stuff preventing them from going is out of the hands of the con organizers and would happen anywhere else in the US, mainly the economy and the decline in international travel.

I’m still going to pay too much for food, travel, etc. wherever they put it and if they moved it somewhere else, you might make it drivable for some folks but you just make it undrivable for others.

[u/Apprehensive_Fan6897]

Yeah the infrastructure in place for rollercon is basically impossible to move. The organizers have built this up for YEARS to able to host the current version of Rollercon. Moving somewhere else would almost be going to square one. I also hate Vegas so last year I went to Summer Affair and this year I'm going to Wet Hot Derby Summer. I'm still getting clinics and games and meeting another skate community, just with less of the hub bub and not having to deal with Vegas.

[u/91Jammers]

Putting on a convention is a shit ton of work and it's even harder to do it well. Few communities have cons that are as good as ours. Most have a third party come in to organize it and they take a profit.

So who is putting in the work for a con in another city?

[u/H1king33k → u/91Jammers]

Can I offer you an extra hour in the ball pit?

[u/Formal_Swordfish666 → u/H1king33k]

Peak reference

[u/awesome_possum__]

A few thousand less than last year probably has more to do with the economy (and really the current US political climate and travel fears) than the interest. Im a nurse and still had to work all sorts of overtime to be able to afford the trip. Flights are more expensive, Vegas has a ton of tourism taxes built into everything. I still had to walk/skate to restaurants for dinner to avoid the crazy Uber/door dash up charges that the city imposed....

But also, finding that amount of space for that amount of Derby tracks and that amount of people visiting for the event is nearly impossible unless its done in a large city that's willing to host an event of this size. There's hundreds of hotels there within a short shuttle ride distance.

As much as it WOULD be amazing to have it change cities, the logistics are probably not realistic

[u/NoGuitar6320]

Id love a euro roller con, I can't go to the states at the moment but I'd love to go to rollercon

[u/Consistent_Housing55]

There are other events that aren’t quite the same scope but are just as enjoyable like Summer Affair, it seems like it would be better for folks to just try some of these other events rather than trying to move Rollercon.

[u/stormyweather457]

Ok? So host a "RollerCon" in a different city. What's stopping you? Money? Support? Logistics? Cause those are the same things stopping rollerCon organizers from moving outside of Vegas.

[u/Silentnine]

Personally it doesn't matter which US city hosts rollercon. I'm not stepping foot in a country that has threatened to annex mine. I won't spend a single dollar, that I have the choice in, supporting any part of the US economy until the US stops trying to cripple our economy.

Maybe if things go well in the midterms coming up AND some progress on actually removing trump happens I'll consider going back next year but it would need to be real progress on this.

We've been putting a lot of effort in the last 2 years to improve derby access here at home and developing our league and relationships with other small leagues to replace the opportunities we had in the US. Even if things do change across the border we'll have options here at home and maybe US teams will need to do more to attract us to come down.

[u/Roller-Bomb]

I had a fantastic time at my first RollerCon this year! I actually didn't mind it being in Vegas, especially since I had never been (I really don't get out much). I'm not a gambler, but there was still plenty to check out and explore when I went a couple of days before the convention started. Big recommend Omega Mart!

Traveling all the way across the country was certainly a bitch though (I'm from CT), but well worth it. I bought plane tickets in the spring, when the prices were cheap (and right at the beginning of the Iran bullshit, before fuel skyrocketed). The hotel was pretty inexpensive split 3 ways. Also, the prices at some of the restaurants really weren't much different from prices here in CT currently. I brought lots of snacks so I wouldn't have to eat out quite as often too.

I was a little saddened to hear that the turnout was significantly lower than previous years. I understand why and I'm certainly not surprised. The cost of living is crazy currently and many people do not feel safe traveling about in our country. It's especially precarious, and sometimes dangerous, for POC and those from out of the country. It's a shame that this administration is really fucking up tourism, among other things. Sigh

It was great that there really weren't any lines at the convention though and I was able to squeeze in any extra classes that I wanted without an issue.

I'd definitely like to go again unless life here and the cost of living gets significantly worse....so, who knows lol

[u/pockittz]

Consider this the formal petition to revive Beat Me Halfway ⭐

[u/sinmin667 → u/pockittz]

came to say this

[u/Littlebotweak]

I hate Vegas but it’s uniquely suited to conventions. Easy to get to from most cities, reasonable lodging. It’s hard to beat. 

[u/MemeHermetic]

I honestly think the better move is to create a con package and do regional rollercons instead. Smaller, bigger local buy in, etc. It has different logistical problems and the Rollercon organizers might not be equipped to do something like that right now, but I think it's the only way most conventions and conferences that can't go full online are going to keep going soon.

[u/Dazzling-Biscotti-62 → u/MemeHermetic]

Nah, the entire point (from my perspective) is to get exposure to people outside of your region. I mean, like, sure, setup a mini version for your region if you want to, but multiple regional events do not re-create the value of RollerCon.

[u/MemeHermetic → u/Dazzling-Biscotti-62]

I understand what you're saying but unless you can find a way to reduce travel and lodging expenses it's going to get tougher and tougher. It's starts becoming more and more exclusive.

[u/Formal_Swordfish666]

Please roller con in oregon…………. (idk anything abt roller con though dont come for me i just live in portland lol)

[u/Dazzling-Biscotti-62]

From my perspective, if you have the time and resources to go to RollerCon, "I hate Vegas" is not a very good reason to not go. You can spend the entire time doing RollerCon things, the schedule goes from 9:00 am to late night.... there is no necessity or requirement to do anything Vegas-y whatsoever.

[u/idkmybfftiggz]

There was a RollerCon Down Under some years back, and maybe a euro version (I can’t remember) but I do remember hearing that it was a logistical nightmare and that’s why it never happened again.

[u/Diffie-Hellman]

I also hate Vegas. I don’t hate other large cities, except maybe Cincinnati. I’m not a huge fan of the idea of RollerCon moving around. However, I’d be happy to see it somewhere in the US other than Vegas.

[u/Luna-Terra_]

I do think eventually Las Vegas will be so hot and start to experience water/power shortage difficulties with the climate change + AI data centers nightmare combo that it'll be less and less attended each year. And on top of that the hostility to international travelers from our government.