Junior roller derby is the sport of

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

, modified for children and adolescents up to 18 years of age. The sport is played in both modified-contact, known as "positional blocking," and full-contact approaches, to facilitate safety across multiple age and skill groups. Competitive junior roller derby worldwide is facilitated by the Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA).

Growth of the Sport

The origins of junior roller derby are in contention, with multiple leagues claiming they were founded earliest. The

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Derby Brats and the Tucson Derby Brats, the first two junior roller derby leagues to present teams for inter-league play, are the two oldest leagues in existence. The Tucson Derby Brats were established in

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by three young fans of the

Tucson Roller Derby Tucson Roller Derby (TRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league located in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in late 2003, Tucson Roller Derby is a skater-run non-profit organization and hosts monthly roller derby competitions showcasing bouts invol ...

adult league: Tristan Hasman, Arlee Garcia-Thwing and Zoe Catalanotte Reeves. The Seattle Derby Brats were founded by Krista Lafontaine Williams, a member of

Rat City Roller Derby Rat City Roller Derby is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2004 as Rat City Rollergirls, LLC, the league has incorporated alternative cultural influences, and has inspired and mentored other leagues. Rat C ...

, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. At the 2007

Women's Flat Track Derby Association The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby. It sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition in the sport, and provides guidance and ...

Texas Shootout Nationals Tournament in

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, the two existing junior leagues, the Tucson Derby Brats and the Seattle Derby Brats, held a demonstration bout between rounds in the tournament. Following this national exposure, leagues began forming in other towns across the United States. In order to support the growth of new leagues and standardize rule sets, the Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) was formed in 2009 and incorporated in March, 2010 in Austin. In February 2010, there were over 40 junior roller derby programs across four countries at various stages in development. In 2013 junior roller derby grew its international presence including 38 international leagues located in Canada, Belgium, Japan and Australia. Inter-league competition of all junior leagues worldwide is maintained by the Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA).

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noted a trend of Junior Roller Derby players sticking with their extracurricular sport and aging up into the adult leagues.

Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA)

On October 1, 2009, the Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) was formally established. Continuing to grow and thrive, JRDA implemented a formal membership program providing junior leagues with resources such as: * new league start-up and expansion for existing leagues * creating modification to the current flat track derby rules that allowed for participation at all skill levels * creating a training program for advancing skater skills * partnering with roller derby organizations to provide insurance * plan skater development * match skaters for safe and fair inter-league play In the last three months of 2009 the board of directors with assistance from dedicated committee volunteers drafted policies and mission statements needed to begin local grassroots junior roller derby programs. In 2010 the JRDA began the process of incorporating in Austin, Texas as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation for promoting the advancement of national and international amateur athletics through roller derby. The mission of JRDA is to nurture bold self-confidence in youth by developing teamwork and athletic ability while treasuring individuality within a culture of integration, encouragement, and service to others. JRDA partners with competitive & recreational junior leagues, communities & schools, mentors & families; to empower youth through the international sport of roller derby. The JRDA uses The Rules of Flat Track Roller Derby as per the

with addenda.

Junior Roller Derby championships

In 2014, the JRDA hosted the first junior roller derby championships in

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. 17 National JRDA Member Leagues participated in a 2-day Tournament played on 4 tracks. With the implementation of the JRDA Games Dept., and newly formed Games Sanctioning policy, Team Divisions, and Team Rankings System at the end of 2014, the JRDA highlighted the top teams in the world with an invitation to participate in the 2015 JRDA Championships, held in

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. The top teams from each Division played at the highest level of Junior Derby over 3 days on 2 tracks.

Junior Roller Derby World Cup

2015

July 2015 the JRDA hosted the inaugural Junior Roller Derby World Cup held in

. Although a number of nations were expected to participate, only 3 countries attended, with the USA providing two teams, one representing USA West and the other USA East. The two other nations were Canada and Australia. The first day of competition saw each team play each other to determine seeding for the following days competition bracket. The final was won by USA West defeating USA East. Canada took third place over Australia.

2018

The 2018 edition of the Junior Roller Derby World Cup was held in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania in July 2018. The participating nations again were Australia, Canada and the United States split into East and West teams whilst Team Great Britain Junior Roller Derby and a Europe representative team were involved for the first time.

2021

Th
2021 Junior World Cup
host city was announced as the Canadian city of

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

. however this was cancelled due to the

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2023

The 2023 Junior World Cup was hosted in the French city of Valence.

2025

The 2025 Junior World Cup will be hosted in

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from July 26 to 28, 2025.

JRDA and the AAU Junior Olympics

In February 2015 the JRDA made history when they announced their partnership with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to bring Junior Roller Derby to one of the largest world stages by taking Junior Derby to the Olympics. The JRDA was quoted in saying, "The Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) are proud to present a unique competition opportunity for junior roller derby athletes in a co-ed event hosted in

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July, 2016." They then went on to add, "In this collaboration with USARS to bring Jr Derby into the AAU Junior Olympics, the JRDA is taking a big step forward in the development of the sport." This will be the first Roller Derby games that will be played and recognized by an Olympic committee.

References

External links

The Tucson Derby Brats

Junior Roller Derby Association

JRDA Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Junior Roller Derby Sports clubs and teams established in 2007 Roller derby