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Hey so I am starting roller derby boot camp on Tuesday… and I haven’t skated much for 20 years. (I skated a lot in elementary, but the rink burned down and I’m 28 now).

Plan on loaning equipment until I decide if this is right for me. But would it be worth it to buy a pair of “regular” roller skates (high heeled boot style) to practice on outside of boot camp while I’m learning again? There’s a pair on marketplace for $25, and I know I won’t find a derby style pair for anywhere that cheap.

Also, any tips, tricks, and encouragement are very welcome at this stage!

Hi, new to the community. I am returning to derby after a 3 year break. Any advice you can give me?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/183eo0M2mM5a3pNqF8fNi-zEd9iMWO8bKCpI3mUQjzX4/edit?usp=sharing

https://youtu.be/E2teTMdOLMw

Hello all, I've been really happy with the interest in the Derby Drills Collection spreadsheet that I'm currently making.

The "Submissions" page should now be live if anyone would like to submit their own drills that we can add to the list.

There's now also an "Instructions" page at the front of the spreadsheet for anyone that may need help making the spreadsheet's filters or links useable.

Enjoy!

Hello derby friends!

This week we sit down with the gorgeous and talented Britt Bradley to talk about her Wet Plate Photography project Jamnesia. You have probably seen her work coming out of the WFTDA Global Champs and now you can listen to her talk about her project, how she got started and future plans for her work.

You can find Britt Bradley's Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brittbradley/jamnesia/description

You can also visit her website here: https://www.brittanyrosebradley.com/

AND if you are feeling extra fancy, you can follow Britt on instagram @nitrate_fox

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Bg8xllX9m4hXDQGJdPD5N?si=qCrKbGiTQ86AmytI9jDsrg

Do you work in a sports bar? Do you wish you had more roller derby to put on the TVs? Well I made a playlist for exactly that reason. No team intros or MVPs, just the action!

Seriously though it's an 11 hour long playlist of roller derby filmed from the Jam Timer position (moving all around the middle) with more coming soon. Pretty cool stuff and perfect for those days when there isn't enough live sports to fill al 48 TVs. I even switch up the order of the bouts each day so your regulars will see something new each time 😀 ...and of course hitting subscribe is always very much appreciated ❤ Roller Derby For Sports Bars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsQs0Wkao90wEtqh_4sGKzRtEPz_dWvSn

I've recently started going to roller derby games as a spectator and kinda out of nowhere I've started getting super overwhelmed and its making it hard to watch the games.

It's all the noise and people, Does anyone else have any tips, cause I love watching and helping out my league.

I've tried wearing ear plugs, headphones with music and i try to take regular breaks outside, but it's still too much. What does everyone else do?

Hiii everyone!

As some of you know from my original post, I joined derby in 2019, and I was unsuccessful at passing assessments 6 times. I do not have any shame in my time line, but I agree with some of the commenters - my league’s assessment methodology and a rolling skills test. I will address my league at our next meeting.

My goal for this post is for anyone who recently joined derby or on their 4th or 5th tackling assessments - if you believe derby is your thing and/or enjoy being in the community - keep trying! It took me 7 times! Derby will always be there, Bd you shouldn’t let failure define you! BUT ALSO, address your league on their assessment methodology, suggest or rolling skills test or something else!

Hi! Im a junior who is coaching the younger kids on my team, they play at level 2 (ages 7-12) and i love coaching them but i do feel like its getting harder to come up with new fun drills for them to do.. I just need some inspiration! Thanks!

Hey! I am very new to roller derby, I started in October as someone who had never roller skated in their life but I've progressed really fast, or at least faster than I expected. First I wanna say English is not my first language so if I use wrong terms or something, sorry haha :D
I know how to be in derby stance and can hold it well enough... unless I am going backwards. It has not been really an issue until I learned to do backwards cross overs today and coach said I did them very well for first timer. But whenever I go backwards I notice I lean a lot forward and when doing crossovers that causes me to almost fall on my face because I sort of slip over my front wheels if that makes sense?
I noticed that if I look in front of me and not where I am going it does not happen so much but then I can't see where I am going which is bit dumb.

So i guess the question is how to improve my stance when going backwards?

I've only had these since October, I got them lightly used. Am I just too hard on them during practices? Can I fix this or do I need to invest in new skates?

I've already seen a few videos of illegal street derby, and I overall just love the early 2000s roller derby when everything was dangerous and less corporate. But does anybody know where I can find more videos of street derby?

So, I've literally done SH training for jobs multiple times, and I conveniently have a game tomorrow. Can I just do the training later, or is my USARS insurance not valid until I complete the training?

Hello everyone! I am an 18 year old female in Massachusetts (~30 minutes north of Boston) who has always been interested in learning how to skate with the intention of looking into roller derby. However, I have a few factors I wanted to go over with you all to see if they may be inhibitive:

1. I have a visual processing / coordination disorder. My diagnosis is Developmental Visual Spatial Disorder, and for me it is a solid combination of traits from autism and dyspraxia. The biggest challenges I face on the visual processing end with this diagnosis are issues with depth perception and being prone to bumping into things / falling in heels, which I no longer wear for this reason. I anticipate this would be a major reason why I should avoid skating, but I was wondering if anyone in the roller derby community has a visual processing disorder / knows anyone who might have a similar issue.

2. I am a part time professional musician. I am a full time college student which is done 100% online, but my "real job" involves me playing musicals at schools and performing / acting as the administrative assistant of a local orchestra. The health of my hands and arms determines whether or not I have a job, so I was curious if there is anyone else in the field / anyone who has any input on the frequency of hand / shoulder / wrist injuries in roller derby.

Thank you in advance for your input! This is all just me trying to gather information, I live relatively close to a roller rink and have a colleague who is an experienced skater so I'm considering going with her at some point to get a feel for it as an adult.

Edit: after speaking to people with experience I have decided skating probably isn’t for me. Thank you for all the input, but my particular disability would make something like this really dangerous.

I just need to vent.

I'm a new derby player (I learned to skate a little over a year ago). I've been in my head A LOT about derby (vs. any other sport or activity I've participated in) and I think it's because while I'm athletically strong (off skates), my skating skills are not good. They're not terrible but I can't do side surfers, I'm slow with my laterals, my crossovers are... awkward, and it makes me feel not confident.

When I do the derby thing, my teammates say I'm doing great, but I can't help but feel that I'm bringing the whole team down. I know it's in my head, and derby is for fun (we are a rec league), but I can't seem to shake it lately.

Would anyone be able to sure any mantras or what has helped you work through your insecurities?

Thank you!

What cool new things did you see teams doing? What are you excited to try out with your own team? What trends are you noticing in strategy?

Has anyone got good videos or better yet pictures, of a tombstone whip? Trying to make a gift for my teammate

I’m getting new skates and my feet are 2 different sizes. Left is a 5 and the right is a 4.5 in Antiks. I did try both sizes on in the AR2s and did feel some snugness in the left toe box when wearing the 4.5s but I’m not sure if it’s something that’ll stretch out enough to be comfortable. That is also when my feet aren’t starting to swell from like exercising. I do get a little bit of my foot sliding on the right side when I go up on my toe stops when wearing the 5s.

I’ve skated on Jet Carbons for the last few years and been wearing a 5.5 with booties and can still feel my feet shift some when I wear them which is why I’m concerned about getting the best size. I don’t want that to happen again with the amount I’m investing.

Any suggestions/thoughts are appreciated!!

Is tjerea list of MRDA teams anywbere? I play wftda amd used to MADE. Looking to drop in on some teams in my free time, thanks!

Tomorrow is my first scrim scram as a newer ref! I’ve played derby for a few years and will be reffing for a few months while I refrain from contact skating (rehabbing prior injury). I’m assuming I’ll be doing OPR.

I have the quick reference photo of the signals as my phone Lock Screen for easy daily review, but I’m still afraid I’ll forget them or freeze in the moment!

Any tips to help my confidence?

Hi all! So I’m a returning freshie planning on upgrading wheels during the off-season, right now I’m still on R3s with the stock canyon wheels. I usually skate on a sticky coated wood rink floor and weigh around the ~180lb range. Any suggestions or tips for new wheels and a better suited hardness range for me?

For those in Chicagoland, Reggies will offer FREE roundtrip shuttles to all Windy City Rollers home games.

I know the Long Island Roller Rebels sued over a transphobic executive order in March, the order was struck down in May, then in July an actual law was passed that was just as transphobic and shitty so the Roller Rebels sued again. I can't find any updates since then. Does anyone here know if the case is still ongoing? Thank you!

It’s looking like I’ll have an opportunity to play some international derby later next year, but I’m currently pregnant. I’d be 4 months postpartum at the time of this opportunity and am wondering how feasible it is to try to go for it, or if I should temper my expectations.

For some context, I am an experienced skater and by no means new to derby. And obviously hoping to have an active pregnancy, which is so far looking possible. But I am new to pregnancy and birth, as this is my first :)

Hi! I have been looking into roller derby lately and getting familiar with the rules. It seems rly fun but I’m not sure where to start when it comes to gear. There’s a lot of skate brands out there but I want to be sure I get good quality skates and the right style of skates for a derby. I’ve done a bit of roller blading before but I never got great with skates themselves.

Any advice for new players? Practice tips? How to find good leagues? Most importantly good sites or brands for derby equipment?

Thank you!

So derby is literally the only exercise I do. We are in off season til January. What are some easy (possibly light weight based) exercises I can do at home to help keep my body conditioned. Hypermobility friendly ones are great...hEDS here. I work FT and have 3 kids so I gotta squeeze it in whenever I can. Thanks y'all! 🛼