That’s right, we took a giant leap and landed ourselves a brand new practice space which we’ve dubbed the ‘Penthouse’.  It’s on the top floor of one of the Canal Place buildings in Akron, and what a dream come true to have our own practice space!

The adventure we’ve endured getting it ready to skate on has certainly led to some gray hairs.  From the minute we signed on the dotted line, the lack of electricity and lighting and a floor that was anything but skate ready have required literally hundreds of hours just to get to skate. We’ve degreased, power washed, sanded, scraped and asphalt, laid concrete- you name it, we’ve probably done it!  And it was all worth it.  Not only have members of our league taken on this huge undertaking, but several generous folks have donated their time, energy and resources to helping get our home ready.  And we are forever grateful each and every one of them.  A HUGE THANK YOU to  Joe Gibbs from Gibbs Flooring and his friend Steve for all the work on the floor, Greg Ray from Ray’s Electric for the electrical work, Tony, Pappy, Griz, Captain Celtlick, Iconoclast and several more of our Mr’s for all their hard work and dedication.  And to our beloved Coach Hector who has gone above and beyond what we could have ever imagined, Thank You isn’t enough to express our gratitude towards you.  You are so selfless and giving of yourself and time.  NEO is honored to have you and call you Coach.

It is our hopes that having our own practice space will enable NEO to significantly improve our game and bring all that many more thrills and spills to our fans.  To increase in WFTDA rankings and become eligible for tournament play is our ultimate goal.  The Penthouse is where we will be working our tails off in hopes of making our dreams a reality.  After three months of hard work on the floor we are finally getting to practice regularly in our new home.  The floor does the trick for the time being, but our ultimate goal is to be able to afford to purchase a Skate Court (the surface that the majority of tournaments are played on.)  We feel practicing on the same surface we’d be competing on would be a huge help in preparing us for the future.  Skate Court is very expensive and a luxury we can’t possibly afford at this time.  We are hopeful with fundraisers, donations and lots of hard work that we will someday be able to adorn our new home with the coveted skate surface.  If you, or anyone you know would like to sponsor NEO Roller Derby or has kick ass fundraiser ideas, please contact us at Business@NEORollerDerby.com.