Southern Discomfort Roller Derby (SDRD) is a men's

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (j ...

league based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Founded in 2010, the league consists of two teams which compete against teams from other leagues. They were members of the Men's Roller Derby Association (MRDA) until suspension in 2021, and are current members of the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA).

League History

The league was founded in November 2010, initially as a south of England representative team. After playing a single bout against the Northern England Roller Dudes (NERD), it remained inactive until August 2011, when it was resurrected on a permanent basis. In September, SDRD played a further game against the Northern England Roller Dudes, then later in the year suffered its first defeat to a mixed team of skaters from two new leagues: The Inhuman League from

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, and Tyne and Fear Roller Derby from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

. Late in 2011, Southern Discomfort was again involved in two firsts for UK roller derby: the first international men's bout, against

Roller Derby Toulouse Roller Derby Toulouse is a roller derby league based in Toulouse, France. Founded in 2010, the league currently consists of two men's teams, three women's teams and one junior team. The league was founded in February 2010 by Chakk Attakk, fol ...

's Quad Guards, and the first women vs men game, against the

London Rockin' Rollers London Rockin' Rollers (LRR) is a flat-track roller derby league based in London, England. Founded in 2007, the league is a member of both the United Kingdom Roller Derby Association (UKRDA) and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) ...

. In 2013, Southern Discomfort skater "Sutton Impact" said the league's greatest rivalry was with Toulouse. In 2012, Southern Discomfort won the first Men's European Roller Derby Championships, and also played a hard-fought game against the

New York Shock Exchange The New York Shock Exchange (NYSE) is a men's roller derby league, based in New York City. The league consists of four teams, two interleague teams and three intra-league teams. The league was founded by Gotham Girls Roller Derby coach Jona ...

on their tour of Europe. In December, Southern Discomfort was accepted as one of the first three non-American members of the

Men's Roller Derby Association The Men's Roller Derby Association (MRDA) is the international governing body of men's flat track roller derby. It was founded in 2007 under the name Men's Derby Coalition (renamed to Men's Roller Derby Association in 2011), and currently has 59 ...

(MRDA). They followed this in May 2013 by competing in the Big O tournament in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

, at which they played Golden State Heat,

Puget Sound Outcast Derby Puget Sound Outcast Derby (PSOD) is a men's roller derby league based in Seattle, Washington. The league was founded in 2007 by Chuck“Hollywood Hendrick, and consists of a two teams, The Puget Sound Outcasts and the Puget Sound Castaways wh ...

and Deep Valley Belligerents. In 2017 Southern Discomfort competed in MRDA Championships in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, the first time this level of tournament had been held outside of North America in the men's game. During the tournament SDRD bested

, but were beaten by

Portland Men's Roller Derby Portland Men's Roller Derby is an open gender flat track roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in th ...

, and the San Diego Aftershocks. Southern Discomfort finished 4th in this tournament, ahead of its European rivals. In 2018, Southern Discomfort again competed in the MRDA Championships, this time hosted in Salem,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

, by

. Southern Discomfort went into the tournament ranked third, but following an unexpected defeat to The Vancouver Murder, dropped in their post-tournament ranking to 11th. Southern Discomfort were ranked fifth in the world in the MRDA rankings in March 2020. The league's membership of the association was rescinded in June 2021 after a number of HR complaints were raised regarding several league members, and the

felt that these were not dealt with timeously in line with the required standards and therefore the league were felt to not be fulfilling the requirements of a member league as per the Code of Conduct.

Men's Roller Derby Association Suspensions

Various league members were suspended from the MRDA in 2019 following sexual assault and harassment allegations. Following investigation of the allegations, Savage Hun faced a three game suspension and a year of probation based on the

Code Of Conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...

violations assessed from two victim statements. Chris Horn ( derby name Horndog), Rolling Thunder and Matthew Sutton (Sutton Impact) were banned from the MRDA for 2 years. Ballistic Whistle was placed on probation for 1 year from the point of reinstatement to any MRDA league.

References

{{s-end Roller derby in England Roller derby leagues in the United Kingdom Roller derby leagues established in 2010 Sports leagues in London Men's roller derby Men's sport in England 2010 establishments in England