The roller derby sport is a full-contact, competitive roller skating game performed on quad skates. There are single gender leagues or co-ed leagues. The most important task when starting a league is forming teams that people will want to watch.
A roller derby team should have at least eight members, with five competing at a time. It's important that the skaters are aggressive, can lean forward and bend at the knee while skating fluidly, can complete a running start and can jump over obstacles. It's best if the skaters are at least 21 years old, have personal health insurance and their own equipment. After forming your teams consider the following:
1. Will you be non-profit or an LLC? You won't pay taxes with non-profit, but you'll need a board of directors.
2. You'll need a practice venue for roller derby training and a way to get roller derby information out to the public about your new league.
3. Each roller derby member is responsible for team dues. These dues can be monthly or yearly, and they help pay for venue rentals, entertainment and marketing.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Pick names for your indoor roller derby teams
It's the name that helps people remember your roller derby teams and the league. You'll need a name for the league and each team within the league. Some leagues like names they can accentuate with matching roller derby uniforms or face makeup, while other leagues like more professional sounding names.
I recommend: Take a shot at the random team name generator over at
TeamNames.net. Find all sorts of name generators, from evil names to fantasy names, at
Seventh Sanctum.
Sign up with roller derby associations
Becoming a member of a well-known roller derby association gives your league and teams recognition and clout. The associations are also great places for roller derby advice and finding answers to your questions.
I recommend: Join the Old School Derby Association, or
OSDA, for a $150 membership fee and compete on either flat or banked tracks. If you're an established flat track league but have never joined an association, consider joining the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association.
Create marketing strategies for announcing your roller derby league and teams
Pass out flyers, create a website and put an ad in the local paper advertising your new roller derby league. Ask up-and-coming bands to play at competitions with the offer of free exposure and possibly a small fee. Call local radio shows asking if you can get the word out about the league by offering one set of free tickets to the listeners.
I recommend: Get help building a low-cost website from
WebBusiness. Download a free graphics tool for making your own flyers at
SmartDraw.com.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- If your roller derby league is an LLC, make extra income by offering specialty merchandise at competitions. Set up a small stand where you sell shirts, hats, mugs and magnets with the team and league logos.
The official source of Starting a Roller Derby League is the Roller Derby page at Business.com
Related Resources from Business.com
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