This Is Roller Derby

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This Is Roller Derby
Directed byDaniel Hayward
Written byDaniel Hayward
StarringApril Ritzenthaler
Production
company
Aisle 5 Pictures
Distributed byTitan View
Release date
  • 11 October 2011 (2011-10-11)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

This Is Roller Derby is a 2011 Australian documentary film by Daniel Hayward on four Australian roller derby teams over the course of a season.

Contents

The film features members from roller derby associations from Australia and the United States, primarily the Ballarat Roller Derby League. [1] [2] The DVD for the film released on 20 February 2013.

Synopsis

The film follows four Australian roller derby leagues, Ballarat Roller Derby League, Adelaide Roller Derby, Canberra Roller Derby League and Geelong Roller Derby League, over the course of twelve months, and documents the start of roller derby in Australia and overseas. [3]

Cast and crew

The film was directed by Daniel Hayward and features members from the Ballarat Roller Derby League and members from US leagues, particularly Texas Rollergirls and TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls.

Some featured Roller Derby skaters include:

Reception

Filmink gave a positive review for This Is Roller Derby, calling it a "gutsy and eye-opening insight into a sport on the rise and the world around it." [4] SBS gave a mixed review for the film, saying that while the first half of the film has "genuine energy", that "in driving his material towards a feature-length running time of 80-odd minutes, Hayward steers into a cul-de-sac, showing longer extracts of the action from tournaments rather than digger deeper into some of the personal stories." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roller derby</span> Contact sport on roller skates

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 leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States.

Texas Roller Derby (TXRD), formerly known as Texas Lonestar Rollergirls, is a banked-track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2001, TXRD is one of several leagues considered responsible for the modern roller derby revival. It is skater owned and operated. In 2006, the skaters of TXRD were featured in a 13-episode television series on A&E titled Rollergirls, which contributed to the renewed international popularity of women's roller derby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rat City Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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 City is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), and has achieved success on the WFTDA stage, qualifying for WFTDA Playoffs every season, including a second-place finish in the 2007 WFTDA Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Rollergirls</span> Roller derby league

Texas Rollergirls is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Austin, Texas. Founded in early 2003 and widely credited as the league that started the modern roller derby movement, the Texas Rollergirls were the first flat-track league in the nation to play a version of roller derby using new standardized rules and a track design based on the dimensions of the old banked tracks. As flat-track derby caught on in other American cities, the Texas Rollergirls' rulebook and track design eventually evolved into the specifications that were adopted and ratified upon formation of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) in 2005, of which Texas is a founding member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Rollergirls</span> Roller derby league

DC Rollergirls is a women's flat track roller derby league in Washington, D.C. DC Rollergirls is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Toronto Roller Derby (ToRD), is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formed in 2006, the league started play in 2007, and held its tenth season in 2016. Operated and managed by its skaters and members, ToRD has four house teams, one rookie travel team, and one WFTDA charter travel team. Since 2011, the league has operated out of a space in Downsview Park, but announced in January 2015 that they were in search of a new home. They have since moved to another space near Downsview Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield Steel Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Sheffield Steel Roller Derby (SSRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Founded in August 2008,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cajun Rollergirls</span> Roller derby league

Cajun Rollergirls or CRG, is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Houma, Louisiana. Founded in 2008, Cajun Rollergirls is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The team represents Lafourche, St. Mary, and Terrebonne parishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta Roller Derby</span> Womens flat-track roller derby league based in Atlanta, Georgia, US

Atlanta Roller Derby (ARD) is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2004, as Atlanta Rollergirls, the league finished their fourteenth season in November 2018. Atlanta Roller Derby is a founding member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Region (WFTDA)</span>

The WFTDA's East Region was formed in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Region (WFTDA)</span>

The Women's Flat Track Derby Association's (WFTDA) West Region was formed in 2006. In 2009, teams from the eastern part of the region were moved into the North Central and South Central Regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairbanks Rollergirls</span> Roller derby league

Fairbanks Rollergirls (FBXRG) is a women's flat track roller derby league, located in Fairbanks, Alaska. Founded in 2008, FBXRG is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Valley Roller Derby</span> Roller derby league

Lehigh Valley Roller Derby (LVRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The league is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian Roller Derby League</span> Roller derby league

The Victorian Roller Derby League is a flat track roller derby league based in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 2007, VRDL provides opportunities for all ages and at all levels to participate and compete in Roller Derby. VRDL is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), having gained membership in December 2011. In November 2017, VRDL became the first non-American team to win the WFTDA Championships. Since 2019, VRDL is the 2nd-ranked team in the WFTDA.

This annotated bibliography is intended to list both notable and not so notable works of English language, non-fiction and fiction related to the sport of roller derby listed by topic and format, and then year. Although 100% of any book listed is not necessarily devoted to roller derby, all these titles have significant roller skating and roller derby content. Included in this bibliography is a list of classic texts, roller derby history texts and roller derby local league created materials devoted to roller derby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFTDA Championships</span>

The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roller derby in Australia</span>

There are over eighty-nine roller derby leagues in Australia. in women's, men's, co-ed and junior categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team England (roller derby)</span> National roller derby team for England

England Roller Derby represents England in women's international roller derby, at events such as the Roller Derby World Cup. The team was first formed to compete at the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup in Toronto, Canada, and competed in the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup in Dallas, USA and the 2018 Roller Derby World Cup in Manchester, UK.

References

  1. "'This is Roller Derby' Trying to Roll to Austin". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. "This Is Roller Derby". Beat Magazine. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  3. "This is Roller Derby NO REALLY..." Empire Online. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  4. "Review: This is Roller Derby". Filmink. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  5. "Intriguing premise ends up going in circles". SBS.com.au. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013.