Derby is for everyone - Access In this counter culture sport

Though roller derby has a long and storied history, it is said that the most recent re-imagination of roller derby is the fastest growing women’s sport in the world (at least until the 2020 pandemic). And it didn’t get that way by accident. Indeed, the roller derby community has had to actively address accessibility with a series of conscious choices made by individuals and by our governing bodies.

Start by just looking at the track. The derby most people think of is the banked track version of the 70’s. While certainly challenging to skate on, the logistical and cost challenges that were associated with competing on a banked track severely limited where roller derby could be played and who could participate. Though banked track operations still exist, for the most part, modern roller derby is played on a flat track bordered by little more than rope and tape and assembled in a matter of hours. Derby of the past was played in giant arenas with huge crowds. Derby of today is held in almost any facility big enough for the track. You will see bouts held at anything from skating rinks, sports arenas, conference centers, community gyms, run-down warehouses with leaky ceilings and no air conditioning (looking at you Big Easy Roller Derby) … you name it, if it has a decent floor, it can host a bout.

This shift has led to an explosion of grassroots leagues all over the world, making derby much more accessible to those who would like to try. But as transformative as switching to the flat track was for improving access for modern roller derby, the sport still faces a number of challenges stemming from numerous barriers to entry and the high physical, time, and financial costs to participate.

In roller derby, team members are actively involved in the recruitment and training of the next generation of skaters. To become a rostered skater, there are a lot of skills to hone, a lot of rules to learn, and at least a few tests to pass (at least in some leagues). So that interested would-be skaters aren’t going it alone, many leagues offer a training series at low or no-cost. The one I went through was called Freshmeat Bootcamp. This is important given that, although there are scattered youth leagues that get children excited about derby from a young age, the next generation of skaters generally come to the sport as adults, with jobs, and bills, and families to juggle while participating in derby as a hobby, and I was no exception.

Before I rolled in to my first day of derby in the thick of an especially frigid winter in 2018, I hadn’t skated in 20 years and I was definitely in need of some regular exercise. And over the course of several weeks, veteran skaters coached me and the other Freshies, as they are lovingly referred to, to learn key derby skills like how to fall small, pack it up, lateral, cross over, and a dozen other things. Each of these veteran skaters were my role models. There was the enthusiastic jammer Deja Boom, who showed us how to get around the track fast so that we could pass the dreaded 27-in-5 benchmark (27 laps around the track in 5 minutes-now no longer a requirement). And Madea K Jefe, who with the patience of a statue, worked with me one-on-one for 10 straight minutes as I struggled to figure out how to transition from forward to backward skating. All the words of encouragement from (the late) Thunder Kitty kept me going when I thought I could do any more. Even being knocked out of bounds by Stiletto Flame and her infamously strong hip checks taught me important lessons on the track. Without their teachings and those of countless others, I would definitely not be where I am today as a skater.

And while we are talking about skaters, it’s worth taking a good look at them. You will see all shapes, sizes, colors, ages, gender identities, and athletic abilities tearing it up out on the track. When I showed up for Freshmeat Bootcamp I was in absolute awe of the ways the veteran skaters moved. I hadn’t skated in 20 years. I was a wobbly baby deer on skates barely verticle for most of that whole first practice. This is a common story for most every skater on a derby team today. Most of us come to the sport with very little experience. Many of us are out of shape. But skates are a great equalizer and we all start off in pretty much the same spot (and that’s usually on the ground). Then, over time, we get better until one day we are tearing it up on the track with the best skaters we were so in awe of.

It’s also this heterogeneity of players that is exactly what makes many derby line-ups so successful. A beautiful combination of talls and smalls makes jamming an absolute nightmare because the strategies that are successful against one body style are often ineffective against another. Similarly, a tiny jammer might seem like the obvious choice for squeezing through tight holes or skirting the track boundary but by leaning on a wall from above, a tall jammer can make trying to hold the line miserable for blockers. And when you find yourself on your butt after having literally bounced off the blocker whose sturdiness you underestimated just because they are small, you will absolutely regret it. It’s said that every body is a derby body and it is that openness to the contributions of competitors regardless of shape, size, experience level, and athletic ability that has made modern roller derby so accessible for thousands of skaters. More on this topic in a future post.

Now all those skaters, no matter who they are, sport a ton of safety gear. Obviously, the most important is the helmet for protecting your brain. Then there’s the bulky knee pads for falling down small. The elbow pads and wrist guards that protect your arms and hands. The mouthguard to keep your pearly whites intact. The optional (critical!) crash pads to absorb some of the shock and limit the bruising when you inevitably land on your ass. And of course, the skates themselves. A typical Freshmeat gear package together with a bag to carry all that stud in can cost upwards of $500 and that’s a big upfront cost to shoulder on a sport you may or may not like doing. To help with this, many leagues offer gear for low or no-cost loan. And while this gear is almost always used and almost always rank, it’s availability addresses a critical need and supports accessibility of the sport.

There is an ongoing discussion on the ways leagues can accommodate folks to support their participation and make roller derby more accessible. For instance, for those whose jobs don’t align with traditional business hours, some leagues offer practices during weeknights and on weekends. For skaters for whom childcare is a barrier, other leagues have opted for an open practice format where guests are welcome. Carpool systems allow folks with limited access to transportation to get to practice and bout sites. This was important for my first league where we had a decent group of undergraduates on the team. And perhaps most importantly, hardship funds or at least flexibility on dues payments are often in place to help skaters not have to choose between paying bills and doing something they love.

Importantly, work towards making our institutions more accessible is never complete. A willingness to seek feedback, listen to the needs of our teammates, reflect on our processes, and implement new policies to support continued participation in our sport is critical to our growth as athletes and as humans. In Part 2 of this series, we will cover at least one way researchers are addressing accessibility in science.