Overview

Auld Reekie Roller Derby hosted a triple header as part of the Five Nations championships and I went along to review it for Euan's Guide. Roller derby is a fantastic sport and has inclusivity at its heart. It is very popular amongst the LGBTQIA+ community. The league hosting the game have an inspiring equality and inclusion policy that makes my heart sing, you can read it on their website here: https://auldreekierollerderby.com/about/equality-and-inclusion/ Roller derby games take place across the country and I highly recommend you to go and check out a game! So what is roller derby? Essentially it is a race between two skaters ('jammers') around a track. Each jammer has four teammates on track with them ('blockers') whose job it is to stop the jammer from the other team from passing them (as points are scored by jammers for each blocker they pass on the race around the track). It's a physical game, it's played on rollerskates, it's really fast, there is no ball, there are a lot of rules. But mostly - it's so much fun to watch. There were bleachers at this venue to watch the roller derby from. People who use wheelchairs (I counted a couple in the audience!) could sit at the base of the bleachers with their friends and the other supporters. There are announcers who keep spectators informed of what is going on and crack bad jokes. There was a cake stall, and craft stalls. A burrito van was in the car park for skaters, officials and spectators who fancied something more substantial than cake. There was chuck a duck (100 mini rubber ducks thrown at a target at half time to win a prize). It's a great family atmosphere. I have been torn writing this review, as whilst the roller derby community go to such tremendous efforts to create a safe and welcoming space for everyone, EuansGuide.com is set up to review venues. Unfortunately, I witnessed a young disabled person (who was not at the venue to watch the roller derby) get harassed by the venue's receptionist for having an assistance dog with them. This contravened the Equalities Act 2010, and was just, well.... mean. If I could give Auld Reekie Roller Derby 5 out of 5 stars I would! And I give the venue a "please try harder and get some Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training sorted out for your staff."

Transport & Parking

There are disabled parking bays right outside the venue, however, there is also football, swimming, a gym, and loads of other sports going on so you can sometimes be stuck driving around for some time waiting for a space to open. I always get there early to avoid parking disappointment. Although located just outside of Edinburgh, the public transport is abysmal and buses can be few and far between. Even ordering an uber or taxi can leave you waiting for quite some time. Most people I met had driven or carpooled.

Access

The roller derby is held within one of the large sports halls. There is a powered door at the front of the venue - but you will find the button to open the door to get into the facility is currently broken (as of March 2024) - there were a lot of people about and it is usually a short wait for someone to open the doors from the inside. It was easy enough leaving the venue pushing a button. Dalkeith Community Leisure seems to be part of the highschool on the same grounds. Therefore halls were wide, there were no steps to get to the roller derby. Lots of friendly, smiley derby skaters and spectators about to point you down the hallway to where the event was on.

Toilets

There was an accessible toilet to the left of you when you go into the main entrance. I didn't use it but note that the emergency red cord, that is extremely important for a disabled person (should they fall to the ground and need to reach it for help), was too short and not touching the ground! I left a Euan's Guide red cord card on the card. I hope the venue look into replacing the cord. There was a bin that could probably be moved to the right of the sink to make the toilet easier to use for a wheelchair user. Grab rails are present.

Staff

EDITED- the manager gave me a call and told me he was disappointed to hear what had happened. The team are now going to undergo Equality and Diversity training, which is good to hear. I look forward to returning and hopefully seeing an improvement. Sadly, whilst taking photos of the accessible toilet for this review, myself and my friend overheard the receptionist give a young person a terrible time about their assistance dog. It was distressing to witness a young disabled person being treated in this way. I felt I had to step into the situation to advocate on behalf of the young person and their rights. I feel some Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training would be very useful here. I want to be very clear that this incident had nothing to do with the roller derby organisers, skaters or supporters - as the roller derby leagues were absolutely lovely at creating a warm, inclusive and welcoming event.

Photos