Derby’s origins go all the way back to the 1930s when Leo Seltzer formed groups of skaters who would skate on a track simulating the distance of a cross-country trip from Los Angeles to New York. Over the course of these races, people began to knock into each other as faster skaters began to lap the others and tried to weave through them. Seltzer realized that these collisions garnered the largest crowd response and the beginnings of derby as we know it today were beginning to be forumlated.

The large pack was broken into two competing teams of five skaters, each of which had one “jammer” who would shoot through the pack and attempt to lap it. Through this genesis, derby became a full-contact sport with checking, elbowing, and fighting; and the crowd was loving it. Derby’s popularity grew to a sustained peak in from the 50s–70s and then started to decline in both television ratings and crowd pull. A couple attempts to resurrect the sport were made, including an inline skate version in the 1990s.

Many aspects of the sport are similar to the original version. The pack is still made up of five skaters on two teams, including a jammer who laps the pack to earn points, and we use four-on-the-floor quad speed skates rather than inlines. The sport has many rules and if you break them you either get a visit to the penalty box or a spin of the penalty wheel, depending on the severity of the offense.

The leagues of today play on a flat track versus a banked (sloped) track like in the past. This gives the new generation of leagues the flexibility to play in any space that is large enough and doesn’t have posts in the track area. This new batch of leagues that have formed all around the country are primarly skater-owned, all-female, and for the most part all the work that goes into forming and running the league is done by the players.

HOW ABOUT THE MINNESOTA ROLLERGIRLS, WHAT KIND OF LEAGUE ARE YOU?
Good question! Well, we’re all unpaid, amateur skaters who not only practice and bout, but do all the work to keep the league running. We also buy our own gear and uniforms. All of our volunteers (refs, announcers, and production staff) are also unpaid and they help us out for the love of the sport and our league. Like many of the all-female, skater-owned leagues around the country, we donate a portion of our bout proceeds to local charities, and spend time volunteering at events and fundraisers.

In addition to attending at least two of the three two-hour practices (in order to stay eligible for bouting), all members in the league are responsible for helping on one of the many committees that keeps the league running. Without the work of these fine ladies, the Minnesota RollerGirls wouldn’t be the amazing league that it is. In return, the league pays for our practice space and the insurance that covers our injuries at practices and bouts. There are many other expenses that the league pays, and this is why we love our fabulous sponsors!

As far as our demographics, we’re all 21+ but there’s no upper age limit, and we have several skaters in their 40s. Quite a few members have children. Professionally, we range from usability consultants and web developers to hairdressers and fashion designers to students and medical researchers. In other words, we’re a cross-section of the modern, successful, strong female population.

ARE THE WINNERS DETERMINED BEFOREHAND?
Are you kidding? Hell no! In the 70s, Roller Derby began to decline into a pro-wrestling style format where the fights were staged and the winner pre-determined. The derby of today is not like that. We practice together and respect each other, but when it’s bout-day, those friendships are put aside for pure competition. We do practice fighting techniques to avoid undue injury as much as possible during fights, but the fights themselves are not staged and the outcome is only determined when the final whistle blows. This stuff is as real as you can get!

DO THE SKATERS GET HURT?
You bet we do. Every fall comes with a bruise or scrape (we wear those like badges of honor), and many times we get hurt more than that. Some of the injuries suffered by Minnesota RollerGirls (a practice and at bouts): torn miniscus; torn PCLs, MCLs, and ACLs (who ever knew there were “CLs” other than the “ACL”??); broken ankles, tailbones, and collar bones; two spiral fractures on one leg; numerous dislocated shoulders; and all kinds of fishnet-shaped floor burns.

CAN AUDIENCE MEMBERS GET HURT?
Possibly, but it’s rare and would most likely be a bruise. Sometimes during bouts, we go flying into the crowd due to a fall. This is why there’s a four foot buffer between the track and the first row of trackside seating. It’s both for your safety and ours. That’s also why we insist (and enforce) that only 18+ can sit in the trackside seating. We know it’s exciting to be down on the floor where you can really see the action, but it’s also a little more dangerous. We also ask that when you’re sitting on the floor, you be especially mindful of your drinks. Our floor surface is already quite slick, and adding any sort of liquid to that turns it into the roller skating equivalent of ice, making it very dangerous for us.