A History of Roller Derby

“The roller derby that happened in the 60’s and 70’s is adorable and I love it. However, sometimes I feel it is given too much credit and should only be brought up as a foot note in roller derby history. Since it's birth in the early 2000’s modern roller derby has been a completely different machine than classic roller derby. It's more like we were inspired by the show they put on and a real sport was birthed from it.

 Back then it was more of an entertainment show brought to you by a man who paid men and women to be performers on skates. Now roller derby is a real sport with rules that can sometimes lean on it's entertainment background to draw fans but is mainly; it is a sport. It is run by I would say predominantly women, however modern roller derby is very much known for its inclusivity. Most leagues don't even call themselves women's roller derby anymore because we want to be inclusive of our non-binary, genderqueer, or trans gender skaters/members. 

Modern roller derby is a sub-culture now as well. It is a way of life. The interleague national level play has created this culture across the United States that we all share.

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association is the international governing body of women’s flat track roller derby representing more than 450 member leagues on 6 continents. The WFTDA sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition each year, and provides guidance and resources to the sport of flat track derby. That's Flat Track roller derby. Did you know there is flat and bank track roller derby? Bank track is that big wooden raised platform you see in the old '60’s performances and flat we placed that oval on the ground to play.

Arizona Roller Derby is the only WFTDA league in AZ and therefore the only league bound by their return to play rules. So we face unique challenges there other leagues won't. Non-regulated (recreational leagues) are returning to play earlier than us, some already doing it. That is going to make sustaining our player base and attracting new skaters harder until the strict guidelines for safety are met and we can start holding practices and competing again. We had to rent out our practice space to someone else to help pay the rent because of COVID-19. We have not been able to throw events, where we make our income, because of COVID. We suspended charging dues to all our members. We are and have been relying solely on fundraising to stay afloat.”

• Lindsey Kitchell, Skater, Arizona Roller Derby

The Arizona Roller Derby began in 2003 and was actually a founding member of the international Women's Flat Track Derby Association.

Arizona has a number of roller derby leagues each with their own teams, including:

Check them out online and via social media and make a plan to attend a bout when they get back on the track! These teams could use our support after a year of not being able to play due to COVID-19.