Sacramento Roller Derby Returns for Second Season As United League

Photo by Liz Marchiondo

Sacramento and roller derby go together like a foot fit snugly into a roller skate. For more than a decade, our region has played host to two different, well established roller derby teams, the Sacred City Derby Girls and the Sac City Rollers. Last year, in a major move unforeseen by many local derby fans who weren’t in the know, the two teams combined forces to create the Sacramento Roller Derby, made up of the best skaters from the region. The newly minted league still functions under the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) and also remains a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, continuing their philanthropic efforts within the community.

On Saturday, Feb. 23, the Sacramento Roller Derby returns with their first home bout of the 2019 season, taking place at The Rink (2900 Bradshaw Road, Sacramento). Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for this double header featuring SRD’s A and B teams. First up will be SRD’s B team, Bruin Trouble, facing off against Sonoma County Roller Derby, followed by their A team, Capital Maulstars, taking on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk Bombshells.

If you’ve never been to a roller derby bout, trust us, we here at Submerge cannot suggest it enough. Even if you’re completely unfamiliar with the rules (which are pretty easy to catch on to), just seeing these incredible athletes skate their asses off, often crashing into each other at high speeds (my personal favorite part), is totally worth the price of admission alone, which is just $8 for kids ages 8–12, or $15 for adults for general admission. Or you can spring for VIP tickets for $30, which gets you all kinds of perks like early entry to the event, a premium seating area with a great view, two drink tickets, raffle tickets and even a dedicated SRD volunteer to answer all of your roller derby questions!

Visit Sacramentorollerderby.com to buy tickets in advance and to learn all about the roller derby basics. If you click on the “about” tab, you can check out an informative video and graphics to get you up to speed with some basic knowledge, so that in no time you’ll be confidently throwing around terms like “jammer,” “pivot” and “blocker,” no doubt impressing your other newby friends. So roll on out to The Rink, friends, and experience the intense, fun, in-your-face, hard-hitting action that is Sacramento Roller Derby! If you want to learn even more about the new league, hit up SubmergeMag.com and search for “Sacramento Roller Derby” to read our in-depth feature story on them from April 2018.