Bloomington Roller Derby brings back Skate the Rainbow Pride mixer

Bloomington Roller Derby brought Skate the Rainbow back for a third year at Frank Southern Ice Arena, stretching the Pride mixer into a full-day slate of five flat-track games, junior bouts and off-track programming. Doors opened at 8:30 a.m., tickets cost $20 and the action was set to run until about 9 p.m.

Indianapolis Junior Roller Derby joined Bloomington for the first two junior games, giving the day a youth opening before the adult mixer took over. The event could include skaters as young as seven and as old as 65, and parent-child pairings were common, with children skating early and parents joining the adult games later. Purple Fury called the league’s event “a mini Pride festival,” and the extra pieces around the track matched that description with food trucks, temporary and permanent tattoo artists and interactive booths.

Bloomington Roller Derby, founded in 2021 to bring the sport to Bloomington and neighboring communities, is a nonprofit, skater-owned recreational league that welcomes skaters and supporters of all genders, sexual orientations and skill levels. White’s goal is to create “an accessible, accepting space where people can grow without being apologetic.”

Frank Southern Center has accessible restrooms, designated spectator seating for wheelchair users and others needing mobility assistance, and parking for 140 vehicles plus six handicap spaces. The center has no ice in summer, and the city will make improvements before reopening in the fall after a season that ended early in March because of an ammonia leak. Skate the Rainbow had already been established as an annual fixture, with the 2024 Pride mixer ending in Blue’s 175-146 win over White. Bloomington is also keeping the rink active later in the month, with Rainbow Rink Skate Night scheduled for June 28 from 7 to 9 p.m.