Open Thread: Roller Derby Turns 75

Happy Birthday to Roller Derby!

A few thoughts...

Derby has a 75 year history, but the last ten, and ESPECIALLY the last FIVE years have brought exponential growth, due to many factors. The #1 factor (imo) is the strength of this community. But there are others...

The buzzzzzz about roller derby’s resurgence brought new fans. Early leagues were trailblazers, balancing self-promotion while trying to explain to local media that we were a real sport, not "strippers on wheels". The increased popularity led to a pop culture boom, which took on a life of its own (numerous books, documentaries, reality series, major motion picture, songs & music videos inspired by roller derby, DIY skate shops with customized equipment, start-up businesses for everything from magazines to clothing, crafts, jewelry, comics, upcoming video game)

Boosted by popularity of home game ticket sales, all-star teams can more afford to travel to play more competitive interleague schedules, learning new skills to bring back to the home league, and gaining notoriety for their league with rankings (official and unofficial) on a national scale.

The use of social media has also helped Derby grow (it doesn't take weeks or months to hear what other leagues are doing thru the blogosphere, newbie message boards and training videos on YouTube for beginner leagues, etc).

Simultaneously, the growth of athleticism and national competitiveness has been fostered by online information; teams can watch their competition’s bout videos to compare strategy and player positions in livecast tournaments and bouts here on DNN.

In addition, modern roller derby skaters continue to be challenged by boot camps, workshops, and official referee clinics. The rise of Junior Leagues for young skaters embodies the importance of upcoming talent (I only recently heard about the historic transfer of Luce Bandit from her junior league to Tucson Saddle Tramps, and now the Texecutioners when she decided to go to college in Austin!)

But the main reason derby has grown so much in the last few years is because of the strong community of skaters, officials, volunteers and fans! What's the tally now, 15,000 participants on the “name registry” from 348? roller derby leagues in 10? countries??? W-O-W

When the WFTDA held its first organized meeting (ChiCon) of 20+ leagues in Chicago in 2005, most of the participating leagues never imagined how prevalent the organization would become in less than 5 years. I am proud to have been a tiny part of this amazing recent history, where hard-working volunteers have a passion toward a common goal: the growth and sustainability of their sport.

Happy Jubilee to Jerry Seltzer, to the skaters from the 1930's to present day.... to everyone, banked or flat, leagues new and old, all skaters, all refs, NSO's, anyone who's ever attended a bout or fundraiser. Cheers to us! and to 75 more years...!!!