Santa Cruz Roller Derby (SCRD) is a women's 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 the United States.
Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...
league in
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...
. The first female, amateur flat-track roller derby league in Santa Cruz,
SCRD is a member of the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Co ...
(WFTDA).
The league consists of three A-B-C adult travel teams, and one mixed-level home team.
History
Flat-track roller derby came to Santa Cruz for the first time with the founding of the Santa Cruz Rollergirls in early 2007 by Robin Hoff, aka "Robin YoLife", formerly of Seattle's
Rat City Rollergirls
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 C ...
).
In early 2009, the LLC known as Santa Cruz Rollergirls was dissolved, and a majority of the skaters moved on to establish the Santa Cruz Derby Girls as a non-profit roller derby league.
In September 2010, Santa Cruz Derby Girls was accepted as a full member of the
Women's Flat Track Derby Association
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby, and association of leagues around the world. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Co ...
.,
[9 Leagues Join WFTDA for Full Membership]
, WFTDA, 1 September 2010 and in 2011, the league earned 501(c)(3) classification.
The league moved into the newly inaugurated
Kaiser Permanente Arena
Kaiser Permanente Arena is an indoor arena located in Santa Cruz, in the U.S. state of California. It has a seating capacity of 2,505 spectators. It hosts the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. It was also the home of th ...
in 2013, with a then-record (for the league) crowd of 2,178 who saw Santa Cruz defeat Las Vegas'
Sin City Rollergirls
Fabulous Sin City Roller Derby or Sin City Roller Derby (SCRD), is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada. Founded in 2004, Sin City is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association ( ...
153–124.
In 2015, SCDG returned to the
Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
The Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium is an event and convention venue located in downtown Santa Cruz, California. It is owned by the City of Santa Cruz and is located at 307 Church Street. Opened in 1940, it was built in what was described as, "Missio ...
, where they had previously played in 2010.
In 2019, the Santa Cruz Derby Girls were rebranded as Santa Cruz Roller Derby.
League Structure
Santa Cruz's all-star travel team is the Boardwalk Bombshells, and they have represented the league internationally in WFTDA-sanctioned play, continuously since 2010.
The B team, the Harbor Hellcats, and the C team, the Seabright Sirens, compete in regional games and tournaments.
From 2015 to 2018 the Santa Cruz Derby Girls adopted a home team structure, comprising the Organic Panic, Redwood Rebels and the Steamer Janes.
The three home teams competed for an annual championship. The Steamer Janes won the inaugural home championship in 2015.
The Redwood Rebels took home the championship in 2016,
and the Steamer Janes took it back in 2017.
In 2018, the league returned to their original A-B-C structure, with the addition of a mixed-level adult recreational team, the Steamer Janes.
Junior Derby Program
The Santa Cruz Derby Groms were the league's
junior roller derby
Junior roller derby is the sport of roller derby, modified for children and adolescents up to 18 years of age. The sport is played in both modified-contact, known as "positional blocking," and full-contact approaches, to facilitate safety across m ...
affiliate, and were established in the summer of 2009. Most members range from the ages of 10 to seventeen and are split up into two teams, the Sugar Skulls and the Bumper Scars.
From 2009 to 2012, the Groms played positional derby only (no hitting). In 2012, the junior league established its first full-contact
Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) travel team, the Gromshells, made up of advanced skaters playing at the highest level of junior competition. Within 5 years, the Gromshells reached their goal of becoming the number-one ranked JRDA team in the all-female division.
A second full-contact team, the Saltwater Sassies, was established in 2017, for intermediate players age 10+, to practice skills and strategy while competing regionally. In 2018, the league founded the Grommets Training Program, for beginner-level skaters ages 7 and up. The Grommets learn basic skating skills and positional derby with light contact, and have the opportunity to join the Saltwater Sassies when they are ready for full-contact.
, the Santa Cruz Derby Groms have graduated to become their own league independent of SCRD.
WFTDA competition
Santa Cruz was initially placed in the WFTDA's
West Region Western Region or West Region may refer to:
Places
*Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi, the Western Region
*Western Region, Bahrain
*Western Region, Eastern Cape, South Africa
*Western Region, Ghana
*Western Region (Iceland)
*Western Region, Nepal
*Western Regi ...
, and did not qualify for West Regional Playoffs during this time. In 2013, Santa Cruz qualified for WFTDA Playoffs for the first time. Ahead of the season, the WFTDA announced the creation of a divisional ranking system for rankings. Santa Cruz was initially ranked at the lower end of
Division 2, but throughout the season improved their rankings and eventually entered Division 2 Playoffs in Kalamazoo as the top seed. Santa Cruz defeated the
Sac City Rollers
Sacramento Roller Derby is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Sacramento, California. Originally two separate leagues founded in 2006, Sac City Rollers and Sacred City Derby Girls, who mutually announced a pending merger in late 2 ...
of Sacramento 230–185 to win the tournament and earn a trip to the Division 2 championship.
At the 2014
WFTDA Championships
The International Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championships ("WFTDA Championships" or "Champs" for short) are the leading competition for roller derby leagues.
The Championships are organised by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association ( ...
in Milwaukee, Santa Cruz eventually fell to the
Jet City Rollergirls
Jet City Roller Derby (JCRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Everett, Washington. Founded in 2006, Jet City is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History
Jet City was founded as Jet City Rollergirl ...
by one point, with a final score of 195–194.
In 2014, Santa Cruz qualified for
Division 1 Playoffs for the first time, and entered the Sacramento tournament as the sixth seed. After being upset by lower-ranked
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
, Santa Cruz finished the tournament in seventh place with a 171–122 win over the
Kansas City Roller Warriors
The Kansas City Roller Warriors (KCRW) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Kansas City, Kansas that was founded in 2004. The members of the league are split into four home teams that play within the league and two travel teams th ...
.
Santa Cruz returned to Division 2 Playoffs in 2015, and as in 2013 was a top seed, with an overall ranking of 42 in June. In Cleveland, an upset loss to
Demolition City Roller Derby
Demolition City Roller Derby (DCRD) is a women's flat-track roller derby league in Evansville, Indiana, and is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History and organization
DCRD became Evansville's first flat-track rolle ...
knocked Santa Cruz into the third place game and out of contention for WFTDA Championships; they defeated
Houston Roller Derby
Houston Roller Derby (HRD) is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Houston, Texas. HRD was founded in early 2004, and is a founding member league of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History
Originally formed in earl ...
154–141 to claim third.
For 2016 Santa Cruz bounced back to the Division 1 level, and as before was the sixth seed at their tournament, this time in Columbia, South Carolina. And, as in 2014, Santa Cruz again finished their D1 tournament in seventh place, this time by defeating the host league
Columbia Quadsquad
Columbia Roller Derby is a roller derby league based in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 2007, the league has two travel teams: Columbia Quad Squad (A) and Soda City Jerks (B) as well as a junior roller derby team, Columbia Junior Roller Derb ...
, 174–141.
In 2017, Santa Cruz finished out of the medals at the Division 1 tournament in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, losing 156–106 to
Philly Roller Derby
Philly Roller Derby (PRD) is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2005, Philly Roller Derby is a founding member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
League history
First organi ...
and in a final jam loss to
Dallas Derby Devils
The Dallas Derby Devils (DDD) is a flat track roller derby league in Dallas, Texas and surrounding area of Ft. Worth, Texas. Founded in November 2004, the Dallas Derby Devils is the original North Texas roller derby league with a current roster o ...
, 170–162.
In 2018, Santa Cruz qualified for WFTDA Playoffs in
A Coruña
A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
, Spain where they finished in the consolation round, ending their weekend with a 186–139 victory in a rematch against Philly.
Rankings
* ''CR = consolation round''
In the community
As dedicated members of the Santa Cruz community, the Santa Cruz Derby Girls volunteer hundreds of hours each season at numerous events and fundraisers in the Bay Area. In addition, each Santa Cruz Derby Girl home bout features a local non profit or charity which receives a portion of proceeds from that bout.
References
External links
Santa Cruz Derby Girls website*Orion, Damon (16-29 June 2008)
Roll Models: Inside the adrenaline-soaked world of women's roller derby ''issuu.com''. Retrieved 11 Jan 2018
{{California sports
Roller derby leagues in California
Santa Cruz, California
Sports in Santa Cruz County, California
Roller derby leagues established in 2007
Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 1
2007 establishments in California