"On April 20th the B.A.D. (Bay Area Derby) Junior roller derby league had their first practice."-- winter johnson, 7th grade
Roller derby is a very popular sport in both the queer and women’s communities. It’s played on a track with roller skates and is a full contact sport. It was first started in 1935 in Chicago and grew in popularity during the 1940s. It was played throughout the states until the mid 70s, when most of the leagues shut down due to rising prices. It then started up again in Texas in 2003 as a more punk game that was meant to give women a space to be powerful and supported. Roller derby continued to grow in popularity into the early two thousands, prompting the starting of hundreds of leagues all across the globe, including junior teams.
Another big thing in roller derby is the names. Similar to stage names, these are not usually the names of the players. They tend to be puns or jokes based around their name, or roller derby things—such as Malice in Wonderland instead of Alice in wonderland, Snow Blight instead of Snow White, or Sleigher Moon instead of Sailor Moon. These names are an important part of the roller derby community and are really fun to come up with. Everyone has their own process for coming up with these names.
”I chose my name because as a little kid I really loved stories of Norse mythology,” said B.A.D. Seeds player Valkyrie. “In the stories there were Valkyries that were these really cool people who live in Valhalla and ride on horses with wings and they just sounded really awesome.”
On April 20th the B.A.D. (Bay Area Derby) Junior roller derby league had their first practice. The adult league for B.A.D. started in 2004 in the Bay Area and by 2011, it had split into 3 teams: the Oakland Outlaws, Berkeley Resistance, and San Francisco ShEvil Dead. These teams played without a junior league until 2022 when an East Bay parent, Alon Altman, a parent of two members of the B.A.D. seeds, approached the coach asking them if they could organize a junior derby league up in the East Bay. Alon’s two kids were already playing roller derby for the Peninsula Junior Derby team.
Alon’s kids' coach, Tarah Bishop said, “I was like yeah that's a great idea but I didn't know how to bring it about. Then KO and Emma Getcha stepped up as the administrative heads to get this nonprofit rolling.”
Based on what The B.A.D. Seeds said, the most important thing in roller derby is the community. The better relationship the team has with each other, the better the team plays.
“I feel like what I like the most about Roller Derby is the community, cuz it's a group of people who I really connect with and are very open and nice, and so I think that's the best part of it for me,” said a player on the B.A.D. Seeds team.
The league doesn't have fully operating teams yet, but does have practices every Saturday and will be at some upcoming B.A.D. bouts or games. If you are interested in joining the league go to Bay Area Derby Juniors and sign up.
Another big thing in roller derby is the names. Similar to stage names, these are not usually the names of the players. They tend to be puns or jokes based around their name, or roller derby things—such as Malice in Wonderland instead of Alice in wonderland, Snow Blight instead of Snow White, or Sleigher Moon instead of Sailor Moon. These names are an important part of the roller derby community and are really fun to come up with. Everyone has their own process for coming up with these names.
”I chose my name because as a little kid I really loved stories of Norse mythology,” said B.A.D. Seeds player Valkyrie. “In the stories there were Valkyries that were these really cool people who live in Valhalla and ride on horses with wings and they just sounded really awesome.”
On April 20th the B.A.D. (Bay Area Derby) Junior roller derby league had their first practice. The adult league for B.A.D. started in 2004 in the Bay Area and by 2011, it had split into 3 teams: the Oakland Outlaws, Berkeley Resistance, and San Francisco ShEvil Dead. These teams played without a junior league until 2022 when an East Bay parent, Alon Altman, a parent of two members of the B.A.D. seeds, approached the coach asking them if they could organize a junior derby league up in the East Bay. Alon’s two kids were already playing roller derby for the Peninsula Junior Derby team.
Alon’s kids' coach, Tarah Bishop said, “I was like yeah that's a great idea but I didn't know how to bring it about. Then KO and Emma Getcha stepped up as the administrative heads to get this nonprofit rolling.”
Based on what The B.A.D. Seeds said, the most important thing in roller derby is the community. The better relationship the team has with each other, the better the team plays.
“I feel like what I like the most about Roller Derby is the community, cuz it's a group of people who I really connect with and are very open and nice, and so I think that's the best part of it for me,” said a player on the B.A.D. Seeds team.
The league doesn't have fully operating teams yet, but does have practices every Saturday and will be at some upcoming B.A.D. bouts or games. If you are interested in joining the league go to Bay Area Derby Juniors and sign up.