I feel this post is important because when I told a family member that someone close to me played roller derby and that I was going to try to become a ref, they responded with “Isn’t it only women who are brutes that play?” I was taken aback a bit by this comment but then I thought about my own misconceptions about the sport before I started to learn myself.
So who plays roller derby? Preschool teachers, college students, stay at home moms, counselors, college professors, accountants, former hockey players, wives, baristas, floral designers, former figure skaters, bar tenders, photographers, teenagers, 20 year olds, 30 year olds, 40 year olds, 50 year olds, bus drivers, the popular one, the quiet one, the wallflower, the loud one, vegans, carnivores, omnivores, servers, lawyers, doctors, scientists, nurses, Americans, Canadians, British, Australians, Finnish, etc. You’d be surprised who plays.
Perhaps the best thing about roller derby is that most, if not all, of the organizations are member run. Members of a league are ask to pay monthly dues and purchase yearly insurance to be able to skate in their respective leagues. On top of that, most leagues require some sort of volunteer time from its members to assist in the operation of the league. They do their own recruiting, training, promoting, event planning, community outreach, marketing, fund raising and much much much more. Even the main sanctioning body, WFTDA, is a grassroots organization that was built from the members up. Many leagues practice and play at local roller skating rinks, ball hockey arenas or even out doors if an indoor facility isn’t available. With the growth of the sport, some teams have even been able to move into derby specific venues. Queen City Roller Girls (QCRG) recently moved into a 15 million dollar facility at the Riverworks entertainment venue in Buffalo, NY that was built for the purpose of roller derby and nothing else. ROC City Roller Derby recently moved into their own space in Rochester, NY.