| Roller Derby was a staple of the early television | | | | Today, the same sort of league featured on |
| era and was similar in its promotional format to its | | | | "Rollergirls" had become a full blown cultural |
| better known "sports entertainment" cousin, | | | | phenomenon. There are now literally hundreds of |
| professional wrestling. It was frequently seen in | | | | local "roller girl" leagues in the US, many under the |
| the same bad time slots on the same low | | | | auspices of a national organization called the |
| powered UHF TV stations, and it was run by the | | | | Womens Flat Track Derby Association. Las Vegas |
| same loose confederation of Runyanesque | | | | has the 'Sin City Roller Girls', Portland, Oregon the |
| promoters and businessmen that characterized | | | | 'Rose City Rollers" and Seattle the 'Rat City |
| the regional territory era of pro wrestling. | | | | Rollers'. There are now groups in not only the |
| Unfortunately, roller derby didn't catch on the way | | | | larger and traditionally "hipper" cities but also |
| professional wrestling did. There was obviously a | | | | smaller flyover country environs such as |
| serious athletic component to it, but the "angles" | | | | Birmingham, Alabama and Omaha, Nebraska and |
| and storylines surrounding roller derby made pro | | | | all over Canada, Europe and Australia. Most of the |
| wrestling seem like Ibsen by comparison. The | | | | local groups similarly play up the campy retro |
| sport does have its own history--most know that | | | | pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved |
| the LA T-Birds were the perennial champions of | | | | sure looks like they're having a good time. |
| 1970's, and Ann Calvello and Ralphie Valladares had | | | | Between teams there's a vibe of good natured |
| been in the sport forever and were considered | | | | competitiveness and camaraderie. |
| legends--but it never really stuck in the public | | | | This organic rebirth and growth of roller derby is a |
| consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era of pro | | | | result of young women taking what essentially |
| wrestling. | | | | was TV time filler and made it into their own |
| New era roller derby reached a national audience | | | | distaff 'action sport'. The community that has |
| through the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It | | | | sprung up around it bears a striking resemblance |
| featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, | | | | to the skateboarding or snowboarding subculture. |
| Texas and followed the lives of the players on | | | | Granted, there are plenty of talented female |
| and off the track. While the show was oddly | | | | skateboarders and snowboarders but they're |
| engaging, it was the first clue that many had that | | | | typically male dominated disciplines. The roller |
| such a league existed in the first place. A sport | | | | derby circa 2009 is just the opposite--a living, |
| that was never taken seriously to begin with and | | | | breathing matriarchal success story. No one is in it |
| that was really living on borrowed time since the | | | | for the money, as these local groups are typically |
| 1960's before fading into the lowest level of | | | | run as non-profit organization. The women |
| obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced | | | | involved have recreated this sport, and run it, |
| by an eclectic group of young women. They had | | | | promote it and compete in it on their own terms. |
| kept the same essential format, thrown in a | | | | The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to |
| healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up | | | | their sports' pioneers much in the same way that |
| inspired glamor and made it into their own vibrant | | | | skateboarders give props to Duane Peters and |
| subculture. They changed some of the | | | | Tony Alva. Many of the individual group websites |
| nomenclature and competitive format--in lieu of | | | | have sections devoted to the history of roller |
| regularly scheduled games they renamed the | | | | derby, and the late Ann Calvello--regarded as the |
| competitions "bouts" a la MMA or boxing. The | | | | Queen of the original Roller Derby--is revered as |
| result was a compelling mixture of glamour, | | | | something of a patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl |
| toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy | | | | group featured in the A&E series has |
| dose of punk rock "do it yourself" mentality. | | | | renamed their championship the Calvello Cup. |