Philly Roller Derby (PRD)
is a women's flat-track
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 ...
league based in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. Founded in 2005, Philly Roller Derby is a founding member of the
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 ...
(WFTDA).
League history
First organized as the Philly Roller Girls in 2005, the league debuted in 2006 as a four-team home league, comprising the Broad Street Butchers, the Heavy Metal Hookers, the Hostile City Honeys and the Philthy Britches.
The home teams competed for a league championship called the Warrior Cup. Later in 2006, Philly launched a travel team called the Liberty Belles, made of members of the home teams, that by November had hosted
Gotham Girls Roller Derby (New York City)
and traveled to face the
Sin City Rollergirls (Las Vegas).
Home events were held at Millennium Skate World in nearby
Camden, New Jersey.
In March 2007
Philly first hosted East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECDX), an invitational weekend tournament at the Sportsplex in
Feasterville (which had also become the league regular home) that hit its 10th anniversary event in 2016.
By 2008, the Hostile Honeys had folded and the home league operated with three teams. In 2009, Philly moved into a temporary new home venue, the
23rd Street Armory,
where they were consistently drawing sold-out crowds of over 700 fans per event.
Philly hosted the 2009
WFTDA Championships
The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.
The Championships are organized by the Women's Flat Track Derby Associatio ...
, dubbed "Declaration of Derby", at the
Pennsylvania Convention Center
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in the Market East, Philadelphia, Market East section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events. The L-shaped ...
.
Philly again hosted Championships in 2017, at the
Liacouras Center.
In early 2015, Philly announced an official name change to Philly Roller Derby, to both embrace gender inclusivity and to put the emphasis more on the sport than on the gender of those participating.
Philly hosted the 2017 WFTDA Championships at the
Liacouras Center.
Teams
As of 2016, Philly Roller Derby has four teams, which compete against teams from other roller derby leagues. The Liberty Belles are Philly's all-star travel team, and represent the league at the highest level of interleague competition in the WFTDA. The Independence Dolls represent PRD against WFTDA "B" level travel teams, up-and-coming WFTDA "A" level travel teams and non-WFTDA all-star teams. Members of the Independence Dolls serve as alternates for The Liberty Belles. Together, these 30 skaters make up PRD's International All-Star travel team contingent.
The Block Party represents Philly Roller Derby primarily against regional competitors. Considered a pick-up team, the Block Party is composed of skaters not already skating for the Liberty Belles or Independence Dolls who are interested in additional competitive playing time. The Cheeseskates is a team limited to first year Philly Roller Derby skaters (fresh meat or transfers).
PRD run a
junior roller derby league, Philly Roller Derby Juniors, open to skaters from 6-18 years old who play by the JRDA ruleset.
Philly home team championship
WFTDA competition
Philly's Liberty Belles first appeared at WFTDA Playoffs at the first
WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament, "Heartland Havoc" in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, where they were eliminated by Gotham in the second round.
The following year in
Madison, a narrow loss to Gotham in the semifinal put Philly in the third-place game at Eastern Regionals, which they won against
Carolina Rollergirls 112-48 to qualify for
WFTDA Championships
The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.
The Championships are organized by the Women's Flat Track Derby Associatio ...
for the first time.
At Championships in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, Philly opened with a narrow victory over
Bay Area Derby Girls which matched them up - again - against Gotham in the semifinal, who won handily.
Philly ultimately took third place with a 114-95 victory against
Texas Rollergirls.
At the 2009 East Region Tournament "Wicked Wheels of the East" in
Raleigh
Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
, the Liberty Belles finally defeated Gotham 90-89 to take first place.
In 2009, PRG hosted the WFTDA Championships in Philadelphia,
where the Philly Roller Girls had a bye past the first round due to their first-place regional seeding. In the quarterfinals, the Liberty Belles were defeated in overtime by the
West
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
#2 seed
Rocky Mountain Rollergirls 128-121, eliminating them from the tournament.
In 2010, Philly again faced Gotham in the East Region Final, this time with Gotham winning 133-103, placing Philly in second.
At the "Uproar on the Lakeshore" 2010 Championships in Chicago, the Liberty Belles defeated
Mad Rollin' Dolls
Madison Roller Derby (MRD), founded as "Mad Rollin' Dolls", is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 2004, Madison is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), and was the fou ...
and the
Kansas City Roller Warriors
The Kansas City Roller Warriors (KCRW) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Kansas City, Kansas that was founded in 2004. The members of the league are split into four home teams that play within the league and two travel teams tha ...
in the opening rounds, and then lost their semifinal to
Oly Rollers, pitting them against Gotham in the third place game, which they lost 162-51 to finish in fourth place.
The Liberty Belles met Gotham for the fifth straight Eastern Regional Tournament in 2011, losing the final 252-97 to again finish in second place.
At Championships, following an opening round victory over
Naptown Roller Girls, Philly lost to Oly in the quarterfinals, 181-95.
For the fourth straight year, Philly faced - and lost to - Gotham in the East Region final, to again finish the tournament in second place.
At Champs, Philly lost in the opening round to Bay Area, 169-119.
Beginning in 2013, the WFTDA moved to a divisional system instead of geographic for playoff tournaments, and he Liberty Belles qualified for the 2013
Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1 (WFTDA Division 1) is the highest level of play in women's flat track roller derby.
Organisation
The division consists of the 36 highest-ranked members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association ...
playoff tournament in
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
,
at which they finished in second place with a 253-210 loss to Texas.
At that year's Championships in Milwaukee, Philly lost in the opening round to
Windy City Rollers
Windy City Rollers is a women's flat-track roller derby league located in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Juanna Rumbel (Elizabeth Gomez) and Sister Sledgehammer (Kelly Simmons) in 2004, Windy City is the first flat-track roller derby league establi ...
, 221-174.
After finishing third at the 2014 Division 1 tournament in Charleston,
the Liberty Belles lost to
Denver Roller Dolls in the opening round of Championships, 148-139.
In 2015, Philly missed WFTDA Championships for the first time since 2007, by finishing in fourth place at the Division 1 Playoff in Dallas with a 178-154 loss to
Rat City Rollergirls
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 ...
of Seattle.
Philly had a repeat result in 2016 with a second consecutive day 3 loss to Rat City at the Vancouver Division 1 tournament, 134-114, to again finish in fourth place and miss Championships.
At the 2017 Division 1 tournament in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, Philly won their opening game against
Arizona Roller Derby
Arizona Roller Derby is Arizona's first all female roller derby league. It was founded in 2003 making it one of the oldest resurgence roller derby leagues in America. Arizona Roller Derby, abbreviated as AZRD, is one of the founding members of th ...
163-108. After losing their quarterfinal to
Victorian Roller Derby League, Philly finished their weekend by winning their consolation round game against
Santa Cruz Derby Girls 156-106.
In 2018, Philly qualified for WFTDA Playoffs as the eighth seed in
A Coruña
A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...
, Spain, and opened their weekend by defeating
Stockholm Roller Derby
Stockholm Roller Derby (STRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 2007, the league currently consists of four teams which compete against teams from other leagues and the league also has their own g ...
by a score of 204-154.
For the second year in a row, Philly ended their weekend in the consolation round against Santa Cruz, this time losing by a score of 186-139.
In 2019, Philly qualified for WFTDA Playoffs as the third seed in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, and opened their weekend by defeating
London Roller Derby
London Roller Derby is a flat track roller derby league and a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league were founding members of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA).
The league has four travel teams ...
by a score of 199-121. For the second game Philly took on second seed
Montreal Roller Derby, losing 181-147. Philly defeated
Crime City Rollers by a score of 156-104 to win the bronze medal, qualifying for WFTDA Championships for the first time since 2014.
At the 2019 WFTDA International Championships in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada, Philly Liberty Belles opened their weekend by defeating eighth-seeded
Texas Rollergirls by a score of 136-114. For the second game Philly took on top seed
Rose City Rollers, losing 205-50. For the third game Philly took on sixth seed Montreal Roller Derby, losing 135-115.
The 2020 WFTDA season was cancelled due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.
Rankings
* ''CR = consolation round''
Community involvement
Philly donated a portion of ticket proceeds from the East Coast Derby Extravaganza tournament to benefit the HERA Women's Cancer Foundation in both 2007
and 2008.
Retired numbers
* Castro - 06
* The Cyclone - 63
References
External links
Philly Roller Derby Official Website
{{Pennsylvania Sports
Sports in Philadelphia
Roller derby leagues in Pennsylvania
Women's sports in Philadelphia
Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1
Roller derby leagues established in 2005
2005 establishments in Pennsylvania