Fund Raising With Fun

A friend of mine, Elektra Q-Tion, recently wrote an awesome blog entry about fund raising, roller derby, and Jello wrestling that inspired me to write a new entry of my own about ways to be more family friendly in what your league/team chooses to do for fund raising. I'm a retired roller derby ref (due to injuries) but have watched some local leagues change how they raise money to support their leagues. The days of Jello/mud wrestling, bikini car washes, and wet T-shirt contest have to end.

The roller derby league host and coordinate the events I list below. It is the skaters/refs that are wearing a league jersey, do the judging, present the awards, and benefit from your support. Visiting their merchandise table and getting a memento wouldn't be a bad idea either. Sometimes they offer discounted tickets to the next bout.

Chili Cook-off
Coordinate with a local county park for space. All competitors get a 10 x 10 area to set up a table and have electric outlets to prepare their chili. They pay a $20-$30 entrance fee and must give samples to all participants (especially the judges). Spectators are only charged $1-$5 admission to walk around and sample all of the chili available. The winner is awarded a $50-$100 gift card, recognition in the league program, and season tickets to all roller derby bouts. I recently placed 5th of 80 entries in one.

BBQ Pitmaster
Same info as the chili cook-off, but is about ribs or burgers instead of chili. BYOG (Bring Your Own Grill).

Hot Dog Eating
Coordinate with a place to host the competition. Find a local hot dog restaurant to help sponsor it (they might sponsor the league too). Competitors pay $5-$10 to enter the contest and have to eat as many hot dogs in one minute as possible. Winner gets a T-shirt, recognition in the next bout program, and 2 complimentary tickets. Our last local winner ate 31 hot dogs in 1 minute.

Pie Eating Contest
Similar to hot dog eating one, but is about pies instead of weiners.

Pet Wash
People pay an admission (under$5) or make a donation, and the skaters wash their pets (dogs, cats, hedgehog, etc).

Coloring Contest
Children under the age of 12 participate. They donate $1 per entry and get to color (with Crayons or markers) a picture with the most inspired theme that they can dream. The winner gets their image scanned, posted on the league website, 3 complimentary tickets to the next bout, and recognition at half-time.

That is all I'm going to say for now. I have more events that I could share but I don't want you to scroll down too much. Bottom line, support your local roller derby league.