Skating for Sarah

Sarah and husband Jason at a Roller Wenches game

Skating for Sarah

With fixtures cancelled due to coronavirus, a south coast roller derby team turned their disappointment into a fundraising opportunity instead.

At the start of 2020, the The skaters covered the equivalent Portsmouth Roller Wenches distance to Amsterdam, where they were looking forward to played in 2015, and then completed celebrating their tenth anniversary a ‘virtual tour’ of the UK, logging and travelling to Germany for a match distances between the locations of against the Munich Rolling Rebels. other teams who shared the same But when the world imploded due anniversary. to the pandemic, lockdown meant Over £1400 was raised by covering training sessions - and spending time a total of 3207km, and the money was together - was no longer allowed. split between the PHA UK, Southsea

Determined to stay positive, the Skate Park and PAPYRUS (Prevention girls decided to take on a ‘virtual’ of Young Suicide). fundraising challenge instead, Team member Katie Beerling (known collectively travelling the equivalent as ‘Buns of Anarchy’), lost her sister distance (1,127 km) from Portsmouth Sarah Cains to PH in January 2019. to Munich in the month leading up to She said: “Sarah was diagnosed in their anniversary. 2005 and was able to have many more

The rules were simple - to cover years of enjoying her life with her the km individually in any way they family thanks to her treatment. could, including skating, running, PHA UK support and advances in walking, rowing and cycling. Within medication meant that she was able to ten days the distance had been met and do more and enjoy the time she had, determined to (literally) go the extra mile, including seeing her son grow up. the girls continued their virtual travels. It was hard for me knowing that I

“The Wenches took a hard situation and turned it into a positive outcome, very much like Sarah did. ”

could skate and be active, but that Sarah couldn't. She did enjoy coming to our bouts and hearing about games though. And she adapted to what she could do rather than think too often about what she couldn't.

This fundraiser was a great event, bringing us together as a team (even when we had to be apart) and achieving a common goal and motivation for exercise. The Wenches took a hard situation and turned it into a positive outcome, very much like Sarah did.” .