Steel City Roller Derby or SCRD, 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
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
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 2006, the league celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2016.
Steel City is a member of the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History and league structure
Steel City was founded as the "Steel City Derby Demons" in 2006,
after Natalie "Busty Brawler" Gilchrist, Pam "Suzy Sydal" Simmons, and Becky "Elsa Slam" Bauer were inspired to recruit skaters for a potential roller derby team after hearing from a friend about the
L.A. Derby Dolls.
By early 2007, Steel City was ready to hold its first public games at BladeRunners in
Harmarville,
and was announced as a new member of the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) in May 2007.
Upon its founding, Steel City had four teams, the Bitch Doctors, the Hot Metal Hellions, the Slumber Party Slashers and the Wrecking Dolls.
As of 2016, SCRD features two travel teams, including the WFTDA all-star A-team, Steel Hurtin', and the B-team (formerly known as the "Blitzburgh Bombers"),
Steel Beamers. Steel City also has a three team home league comprising the Allegheny Avengers, the Mon Monsters, and the Penn Bruisers.
Then-league member Jennifer "Snot Rocket Science" Gaskins was a member of
Team USA at the 2011 and 2014 editions of the
Roller Derby World Cup.
In 2011, Pittsburgh city councillor Natalia Rudiak sponsored a proclamation at
Pittsburgh City Council
The Pittsburgh City Council serves as the legislative body in the City of Pittsburgh. It consists of nine members. City council members are chosen by plurality elections in each of nine districts. The city operates under a mayor-council sys ...
that led to a declaration of September 13, 2011 as "Steel City Derby Demons Day" in recognition of the league's "community involvement, commitment to athleticism, and positive international representation of Pittsburgh".
For much of its history, Steel City played its home games, and practiced at Romp N Roll, a roller rink in
Glenshaw, which was announced to be closing in late 2016.
, Steel City is holding its home events at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena in
Cheswick.
WFTDA competition
After gaining WFTDA membership in 2007, Steel City first qualified for WFTDA Playoffs in 2009, as the seventh seed at that year's
Eastern Regional Tournament.
After opening the weekend with a sound defeat against
Philly
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 ...
, Steel City bounced back with victories over the
Dominion Derby Girls and
DC Rollergirls to finish the weekend in seventh place.
In 2010, Steel City improved their Eastern Regional performance by taking the fifth-place game 151-121 over the
Carolina Rollergirls,
and improved yet again in 2011, losing the third-place game 189-94 to
Charm City to finish in fourth place.
At the final East Region Playoff in 2012, fifth-seeded Steel City lost their first games to Charm City and DC, but rebounded to set a then-new Playoffs record by defeating the
Dutchland Rollers 476-107 to take ninth place.
In 2013, the WFTDA moved to a top-40 Division system for Playoffs, and Steel City qualified at the
Division 1 level for the tournament in Asheville, North Carolina, where they entered as the fifth seed and finished in fifth place with a 202-185 victory over
Houston Roller Derby.
At the 2014 Division 1 Playoff in Evansville, Indiana, seven-seed Steel City finished in eighth place with a 184-170 loss to
Toronto Roller Derby.
Steel City took seventh place at the 2015 Division 1 Playoff in Jacksonville with a 281-134 win over
Charlottesville Derby Dames,
and as the tenth seed in 2016 in Columbia, South Carolina, Steel City defeated
Ann Arbor Derby Dimes 258-105 to finish in ninth place.
Rankings
References
External links
SCRD Official Website
{{Pennsylvania Sports
Roller derby leagues in Pennsylvania
Women's Flat Track Derby Association
Sports in Pittsburgh
Roller derby leagues established in 2006
2006 establishments in Pennsylvania
Women's sports in Pennsylvania