History of Roller Derby

Our founding father, Leo Seltzer would jump out of his grave to see the resurgent of Roller Derby!! In 1935 Seltzer, an owner of cinemas and a host to dance marathons, came across an article about roller skating. He created a Transcontinental Roller Derby. It featured teams racing the equivalent of the distance from New York to California, or 3,000 miles all on a banked oval. The teams had to have at least one member on the track at all times. The first race was quite successful. Seltzer proceeded to take his team on the road to compete in Chicago, Miami, Louisville, and Detroit!  It was actually at one of the meets here in Miami in 1938, that a sports writer named Damon Runyon approached Leo Seltzer about the marketing potential for some large collisions or physical contacts that had occurred at the meet as opposing teammates tried to pass each other within the race. Runyon suggested he change some of the rules of the game that would maximize the contact between skaters including whips and hits into the outer rail. Seltzer had trademarked name Roller Derby and the sport eventually was broadcasted on CBS.

(source:  http://www.popcultmag.com/obsessions/fadsandphenoms/rollerderby/derby2.html)

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Roller Derby Today

Since 2005 Roller Derby has been making a huge comeback. Teams today follow the guidelines of  Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) the governing body for rules, safety, and ranking structure. Established in 2005 WFTDA promotes and fosters the sport of roller derby. They focus on facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportsmanship and goodwill among member leagues. We aim to be a part of this association to promote the sport of roller derby!

Derby News Network is also a great website for up to date coverage of WFTDA bouts and leagues from all over the nation.

To keep up with all the WFTDA leagues in the world and their rankings based on stats, visit Flat Track Stats.