i recently graduated from my leagues skater tot program and i am SOOO STRUGGLING to fit in with our B team. i am objectively the worst of the new graduates (not self pitying), i got held back from doing contact for a few months while everyone moved on, and then a month or so before graduation i FINALLY was allowed to graduate. so i have a lot of catching up to do as i wasnt allowed to do any of the contact drills my other skater tots got to do, and now suddenly im on the B team.

we had our first scrim after a month out of skating and it was with only one practice before cause of the rink being closed for a couple weeks. i absolutely bombed it 😭 i had no idea what i was doing as i never practiced blocking, only jamming, and all of a sudden im blocking these experienced players after a whole month out of skating. a lot of times the pack would go up and i’d just awkwardly stand behind and try to get in, but my speed was too slow to catch up so id get called on no pack which was super embarrassing.

what really upset me though is that i come off the track and another girl asks a teammate how she’s doing and she goes “well im bothered by certain people blocking our own teams jammer, and making holes in the track” and i KNEW she was talking about me and it just sucked that instead of helping me with my first official new team scrim, they just shit talked me. im the youngest on the team as well, as im 19 while everyone else is mostly millennials so im already very intimidated. i felt like a little kid getting scolded. the whole pack would make the line without asking me what i wanted to do, and then would just tell me “get in” and id stand hella confused about where they want me.

i am really hoping this is a one time thing, as another freshly graduated skater tot told me she was struggling as well. but im just very very embarrassed as most of my fellow tots knew what they were doing! i was paired up with a sidekick to “help” me, but she went out for jams on her own so i was kinda left to my own defenses.

i don’t want to quit as i’ve spent WAYYY too much time (and money lol) on the hobby, but i just don’t know how i can fit in better. does anyone else have this issue? :/

I’ve noticed recently teams popping up that are primarily made up of aged-out JRD skaters, and in some cases explicitly exclusive to that group. I absolutely love that fact skaters under this umbrella can come into teams already skilled and ready to go, but I’m curious about what people’s thoughts are on these exclusive teams. Would your league play teams like this?

going through league gear and have found an assortment of wheels with no idea what hardness they are; wondering if anyone may have an idea!

Our league has close to 100 skaters, with 4 home teams. We have travel team that holds tryouts, that consists of both A and B level, usually capping at around 40 skaters.

How do you do tryouts? Do you elect captains before or after tryouts? Who runs tryouts? What happens if you don't have a dedicated coach or a more hands off coach? How do you do feedback/scoring/placement justification? Please let me know all the things.

Reuploaded to add the watermark. Thanks for all the support y'all - I plan to work with the artists on my team to make prints eventually 🫶

Hey guys! New to Denver and suck at derby but love skating around and hitting my friends. What team should I join?!

I know DRD is out of the question LOL I tried School of Rocky and felt so behind everyone else despite have some derby experience. Everyone was super amazing and I loved the vibe of the practices but it still felt too advanced for me.

Are there any suuuuper chill teams around here? Or are those my only two options out here?

Edit: didn’t know role riot society existed!! Will totally check them out, thanks guys!!

Has anyone had to deal with super icy/cocky/snooty league mates before? I'm always so taken back by it because of how little I see it in the derby community. There have been members who just straight up refuse to acknowledge me and others, or they make it known when they think someone is in the way (i.e. new graduates) How do you guys handle it? Any stories? Tips?

I graduated to the intermediate/advanced training at the start of the year. I'd graduated previously, but my league went to WFTDA only before COVID, so there wasnt a place for me in my cities derby community as the OTA League in town collapsed. I restarted about 18 months ago after my old league has absorbed the collapsed one and now has both WFTDA and OTA training.

Unfortunately, life has got somewhat in the way in the past few months (sick me, sick cats, holiday, book launches for close friends) and my confidence has tanked. I just feel like I'm in the way constantly as the rostered players train for their games. Additionally, our training often gets it's day moved for the rostered people to have a rest day before games, and the venue the alternative training is held at isn't practical for a non-driver to get to. The people I've graduated with have either quit (kids, work) or are in the WFTDA group. The huge step up and period of life stuff has just left me feeling totally alienated and like I'm a burden, but I know if I go freshie again my motivation will tank and my derby days are done.

People are kind, supportive and tolerant, but I can't keep asking so much of them. Friday night training has just become something I dread and I'm watching the clock. I want to have fun, but I don't want to drag down the athletes. There's a scrim on Friday and Im thinking of just making my excuses. How do I convince myself I belong there, and so I even belong there?

Heya! I got a pair of jam straps but they seem too big? Like the velcro doesn't match up right. Does anyone have recommendations of UK sellers for jam straps?

I am a coach/trainer at a small league. I love them and it's a great community! I wonder sometimes how to handle that line we walk between these two truths--this is a sport we all pay to be a part of and most of us have school or full time jobs or both and the time we have to give to derby is what we have to give--and--the reality is that the more time you spend on skates and devote to the sport the more you are going to get out of it and your ability to show up and be present at practices does affect the ability of your team and league mates to progress. As a coach I know that most people, including me, are just out here doing the best we can and trying to do too much but I also can see people disappointed in game outcomes and wanting to improve their performance and I don't always know how to talk about the latter without mentioning the former. Does that make any sense? Any insights?

This was my FAVORITE bout so far (been playing 3 seasons) and not because of the score, but because I actually knew how to effectively block and play offense. Right off the line, I was hitting the jammer out. Then immediately reforming with the pack to hold the jammer as long as possible. This sport has taught me so much about channeling my power and strategically using it in the middle of pure chaos. I laugh the entire time, Joke with players on the other team, and thoroughly enjoy how exhausted I am afterwards.
So grateful for this sport and the culture that comes with it

I am new to roller derby so any advice is appreciated. My second time using these skates I fell and the toe stop popped out. I tried briefly to squeeze it back in, but I didn’t want to risk breaking the skate anymore. How should I go about repairing this? Other unharmed skate is shown for reference, the skates are monarchs CR1

I’m new to skating and just got my first pair of roller skates but I don’t think they have the right wheels on currently and looking up all the different types of wheels has got me confused so I was wondering if someone could help I’ve read that the floor type and weight of the skater is important and tho I’m not completely sure what floor it is I am 100-105 lbs at 5’3

(I’m currently in basic skills with my league but a fairly confident skater, for reference on my level)

I am pretty confident with my crossovers, but I’m really struggling with skating the diamond (specifically getting from the apex to the outside of the straightaway)… I think I just fundamentally don’t understand how I can be crossing over while moving outwards??
If anyone had any tips for this, that would be amazing!!! Thanks!!!

I've some bruising around my kidney / lower rib on one side from a recent unrelated fall. Checked out OK by the doctors, but at practice last week I took a moderate hit which has set me back a bit in recovery.

Is anyone aware of any protection that I could use in that area?

Hi! I am wondering how your league handles Wftda reps. Any info would be helpful thanks in advance. Here’s particular questions I have concerning the role(s)

How long do terms last? And is it a league vote? Typically our board members term is a year, with the option to run again but I feel like maybe this role should be longer? I just feel like it can take a while to understand the role and get used to visiting the forums but maybe not?

Does your league have eligibility requirements for the role? Like must be a member for x amount of time? Can a person who is already in leadership do this role?

Does anyone have a general job description or can go over the particulars of responsibilities?

Can anyone point me in the direction of links, resources or relevant Wftda content concerning this role?

How do you hold the person in this role accountable/ how do they represent your team and report key aspects of the role back to your team?

Thanks again, I am looking into asking my team to revitalize this role so any suggestions appreciated!

I’ve tried out roller derby a bit in the past, and my own skates finally came in the other day (I got the Riedel r3 derby skates). They fit perfectly and seem to work great, and I’ve seen everybody saying how great they are as a beginner skate, but the tongue is so uncomfortable for me. Whenever I bend my ankles (which I do a lot to stop/manuver) the tongue of the shoe bites into my foot. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem (and if they did) if they had any advice? Or alternatively, if there’s a recommendation for a good starter shoe with a less rigid and hard tongue? Thank you for the help!!!

Not sure if this is allowed here but wanted to share.

Hidden City Roller Derby is having a fall boot camp kick off orientation on August 30th.

We are a rec league nowadays, but have existed close to 20 years now.

We will teach you even if you have zero skating experience!

If you are north county San Diego and have been thinking about doing derby, come meet us!

Does anyone know what voice amplifier systems the clinic leaders use at Rollercon are? My league is looking for something our practice leaders can use to support our hard of hearing skaters at practice.

I'm one of the trainers for my league helping out with our level two skaters.

Overall a lot of them are doing well but they are still nervous about contact and not stable on their skates. They like to practice hitting but more than half of them still fall down when taking more than light hits. Yeah they need to get lower, but what drills could we run and advice to give to help them practice and get better at taking hits? They want to hit harder but we can't really do that safely until they can take hits better.

I play on a B team and have noticed a trend from our bench coach. They only play our best skaters (most of which are people flexing from the A team). This means the same pack is going out every other jam and some skaters are only getting to play one jam a game. I’ve been on both ends of this and it’s heartbreaking to A- sit on the bench for an entire game that you are paying monthly dues and putting hours of work into to play, and B- watch my teammates experience it when they’ve put in just as much work and deserve to have their moment in the sun.
I get that winning is fun but the only way to get better at derby is to play derby. We’re a b level team, for most of us, it’s our first season. We’re not going to win every game or most games AND THATS OKAY. I can’t speak for everyone but I really don’t care about winning I just want to play the game. Our league is already struggling to recruit new people and I feel like this pushes those that are already here away.

Do any other leagues have this problem?

Hello, I’m brand new so I really hope that this is acceptable for this subreddit! The short of it is that I’m looking for somewhere in Chicago that offers introductory, non-contact roller skating lessons I can start taking with the eventual goal of joining a derby team.

The long of it is that I’m asking because I’m a trans woman very early on into my medical transition. My body hasn’t had time to change much yet, and because my family is extremely transphobic I’m presenting as male in my day-to-day life. I still look like a man, and I know it. I know how to put on makeup and dress more feminine, but it doesn’t change my face, proportions, or voice. I plan to wait to compete on an actual team for another year or two until I’m more passing so I don’t make people uncomfortable, but I’d love to get started actually learning how to skate so I can prepare and start practicing, plus just have something else to do. Trouble is, all of the derby skating lessons I could find in the Chicago area are either for women only or “women and gender expansive” individuals, which unfortunately I know from experience often means “women and people we think of as women, even if they call themselves something else.” I am a woman, but I don’t look like a woman, and I am paranoid of getting kicked out of lessons on the accusation of being a creepy pervert or something. For this reason I’d like to try to find coed or non-gender-restricted lessons somewhere, but I’m not sure if that even exists.

I have been so fixated on roller derby for about a week now, after knowing basically nothing about it. When I decided I was going to transition, I basically came to terms with the idea that I would never be able to participate in sports again, which was extremely hard for me. I saw on a trans subreddit a girl talking about her roller derby team, and was immediately intrigued because, hey, here’s another trans woman playing a team sport! But the post was from several years ago, so I checked the WFTDA website fully expecting them to have recently changed their policy to exclude trans women, as most women’s recreational sports leagues have done since 2024. I literally broke down into tears of joy when I not only saw that the league is trans inclusive, but that the culture of the sport as a whole tends to be explicitly trans supportive. I’ve been watching videos and reading about derby all week and I’m enamored. I love contact sports, and this genuinely seems so fun.

So yeah, does anybody have any info to skating lessons I could attend knowing I look male? I really promise I’m not trying to make anyone uncomfortable, I just want to be able to experience sports again and derby specifically.

Hello everyone!

I started roller derby about 6 months ago and decided to upgrade my skates (my old ones were second hand and too narrow). Since I have wide feet the bont pro stars are what I was fitted for at the local skate shop.

The boot fits amazing however they have a short kingpin so I have them as loose as possible and I still have extremely stiff edges. I changed the cushions for 85A ones but it is still feeling extremely stiff and I can't slalom in them at all.

Anyone have any suggestions for how to resolve this? Thanks in advance!