Welcome to San Diego Banked Track Roller Derby and, hopefully, the beginning of your banked track roller derby journey!
Our new skater program is called BONFIRES. Coaches will refer to all the Adult Beginner Roller Derby classes as Bonfires practice. And you will immediately be a part of the Bonfires team. A bonfire is where friends come to gather, tell stories and feel welcome. This is what we hope you're able to get from our program, as well as some awesome new skating skills!
Photos by Tristan King
The Bonfires program runs in 8 week sessions and in two levels. Our Bonfires practices will prepare you to eventually scrimmage and play roller derby on a team. For the first two months you’ll learn basic skating skills like skate stride, stops, footwork and how to fall. After passing out of level one, you’ll start learning roller derby skills including how to skate in a pack, how to hit and how to take a hit! Your coaches will spend the time to make sure you understand each skill and provide you with feedback.
Once you pass skills, through testing and coach assessments, you'll be invited to team practices. Our coaches will keep an eye on your progress and continue to provide you feedback. After a minimum of four team practices, helping officiate two scrimmages AND the coaches believe you are safe, you can start skating in scrimmages. And at that point, you’ll be a full-on roller derby player!
Our roller derby classes are $12 each, which includes skate rental. You can also rent the required gear for an additional $5.
The following gear is required at all roller derby practices.
Quad Roller Skates (free skate rental if needed)
Helmet, Knee Pads, Elbow Pads, Wrist Guards ($5/practice rental available or free with membership)
Mouthguard (only required for level 2 and higher)
Our shop of choice is Bo's Boots on Wheels. Be sure to tell them you are skating at Derby United. If you already have gear and aren't sure if you can use it for derby, feel free to bring it to any practice. Any of the coaches can look it over and let you know our recommendations.
Our new skater orientations, hosted every other month, are the best way to learn about who we are, what we offer and what's involved in becoming a roller derby player. To register and receive more information, sign up HERE.
Our next orientation is on Thursday, April 10th at 6:00pm.