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Roller Derby has had a very long feminist history, starting in the early 1900s. Roller derby was popular at different times, and in different incarnations and was almost always a race on some sort of banked track.
The revival began in 2000s in Texas.
Banked Track gained notoriety from movies like Whip It, but there are only a few banked track leagues in the US. We are lucky enough to have one of the banked track leagues right here in the PNW, Tilted Thunder. Banked Track Roller Derby is similar in some ways to Flat Track, but has its own rules due to the nature of a banked track vs a flat track.
Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Association (WFTDA) also came out of this revival in Texas, and because it is easy to set up a track, the sport grew tremendously. WFTDA, MRDA, and JRDA all play under the WFTDA ruleset.
In 2006, Junior Roller Derby was started in Seattle and Arizona, and JRDA was formally created in 2009.
In 2007, The Men's Derby Coalition was created, and is now known as Men's Roller Derby Association (MRDA) and is open gender. They play under the same ruleset as WFTDA.
In 2011, Roller Derby was recognized by USA Roller Sports (USARS) and they developed their own ruleset.
When I first started learning about roller derby, I LOVED watching documentaries and learning about the history of the sport.
Understanding the origins of modern roller derby, as well as the history of the sport can help you to understand how this full contact, unconventional, feminist sport became what it is today.
Hell on Wheels
Hell on Wheels
Hell On Wheels tells the story of a group of Texas women who band together to resurrect roller derby for the 21st century.
Hell on Wheels, to me, is a must-watch documentary about the origins of modern flat track roller derby. It gave me a lot of perspective as someone who came into the sport late.
The folks I knew who played roller derby in my area were not the sorts of folks I identified with. It wasn't until the sport had been around for ten years that derby progressed from this early incarnation into the sport I love and work so hard to support today. It also helps to understand that this version of roller derby is what a lot of folks still think it is today.
This documentary can be found streaming on various sites. Watch Hell on Wheels (2007) - Free Movies | Tubi (tubitv.com)
There are a number of other great roller derby documentaries, such as In the Turn, Roller Derby Till I Die, and even one about Rat City: Blood on the Flat Track. I've watched quite a few, but Hell on Wheels really sticks with me since it is how we got WFTDA and the modern revival of roller derby.
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