This past weekend saw roller derby teams compete in the Battle of the All Team Stars. The tournament ended with Team Pennsylvania and Florida battling for first place, with the former taking home the trophy. In the days after the event, accusations of racism and discrimination were made against organiser Avid-V.  We now exclusively present statements by tournament organiser Avid-V and others about the events. “Look, I don’t know what a diaspora is, but I know I don’t like it!” said Avid-V when asked to comment. “Dia-SPOE-ra?  D-EYE-aspora?  Di-UUUUHH-spora?” Clarifying the tourn ..read more

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) recently announced that they will be parting ways with previous tournament vendor MOTA Skates LLC. This announcement came after MOTA Skates, and its founders, posted a series of controversial posts regarding the current Black Lives Matter movement on multiple social media outlets. Large parts of the roller derby community have spoken out about the racist nature of these posts by MOTA Skates. MOTA themselves were taken entirely by surprise by the accusations of racism, after having only been accused of racism a number of times in the past. The fo ..read more

In absence of practice, roller derby players forced to desperate measures, like studying the WFTDA rules, or off-skates training. Every roller derby player suddenly an expert in virology, epidemiology or disaster management. “But how will this affect my chances of getting on the travel team?”, wonders player who was never going to make the travel team anyway. Bouts cancelled – nobody bothers informing the officials and volunteers. Studies show: Leg-washing just as useless in times of coronavirus as in other times. Roller derby league states that their finances have been hit hard – insi ..read more

Rollercon cancelled.   WFTDA to make full face visor mandatory for playing roller derby.   Forearm penalties now count for three penalties – Keep your hands to yourselves!   New requirement for WFTDA sanctioning – All penalty boxes to be stocked with hand sanitizer.   Socially awkward players rejoice – WFTDA discourages high fives and hugs.   Lone-wolf-style blockers less likely to get infected – Lower transmission rate for players who are never anywhere near their teammates.   WFTDA encourages vulnerable elderly players (defined as 10+ years of roller derby experience) to fina ..read more