This article is one of the articles written for the first edition of the "Turbo Gadin" Zine, which you can find in print on the store's website!
As this first print edition is sold out, we decided to share this article in digital format to keep it alive :)
Photo source: Chicago Tribune
Roller derby has existed in the United States since 1920 in the form of endurance track races. At the time, it was the first sport open to both men and women.
In the 2000s, the first Roller Derby league was created by Texan women: the association was then called "Bad Girl Good Woman Productions".
The players do everything themselves and advocate a Do It Yourself philosophy: they coach themselves, organize their matches, do their own advertising...
"By the skaters, for the skaters"
Roller Derby was then played either on an inclined track or on a flat track.
In 2004, the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) was founded, unifying the rules of the game and making it easier to export the sport worldwide.
In the summer of 2009, the first French league was created in Bordeaux by Bullet Zébuth (still a player and coach for the Roller Derby Bordeaux Club).
Six months later, a new league was created in Toulouse, which was decisive for French roller derby: the two teams partnered to translate the rules, find equipment, organize meetings...
Then came Paris, Pau, Brest... This was the beginning of Roller Derby in France!
Photo source: Chicago Tribune
So... what is Roller Derby?
It's a team contact and speed sport, played on an oval track.
→ A match is divided into 2x30 minutes, each period is divided into "Jams" lasting a maximum of 2 minutes.
→ A team is composed of a maximum of 14 players, but only 5 are lined up per jam per team: 4 blockers + 1 jammer (indicated by a star on their helmet).
The role of the jammers is to get past the opposing blockers. The role of the blockers is not to let the opposing jammer pass.
For each blocker passed by the jammer, the team scores 1 point. The team that scores the most points in total wins the match.
All around the track are the officials (or referees), they wear black and white striped jerseys. They are there to ensure that the rules are followed (staying within track limits, not giving illegal impacts...), they indicate the beginning and end of the jam, and count the number of points scored by the jammers.
Not all hits are allowed in Derby: for example, it is forbidden to use one's head, arms or legs to block the way or deliver an impact. It is also forbidden to deliver an impact to a player's back.
Players are trained to play together, to skate surrounded by others, to deliver effective impacts without injury (in theory), to fall without hurting themselves and without bothering others (in theory), to accelerate and brake quickly, to change direction as fast as possible...
It's a sport that requires endurance and agility, but we are all capable of playing it! Some players started without ever having put on skates in their lives: training sessions are designed to teach the basics of skating and derby before playing matches against opposing teams.
If you want to get started, check out the clubs' introductory sessions!
In Bordeaux, there are 2 clubs: Roller Derby Bordeaux Club, which trains at Darwin, and SAM Roller Derby, which trains in Mérignac.
It's up to you to choose :)