Tilted Thunder Roller Derby (TTRD) is a

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

based, all-female, banked 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. They are a

501(c)3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit organization run by a volunteer force of skaters and league members committed to promoting and raising awareness of women's roller derby, especially banked track roller derby. TTRD is composed of friendly, intelligent, enthusiastic, and strong women from all walks of life pursuing emotional growth and physical strength by challenging their perceived limits. As a league, they also wish to promote mental and physical empowerment, development of skills, loyalty on and off the track, individuality, and friendship throughout the entire sport.

Overview

The modern reincarnation of community-based, Do-It-Yourself banked track roller derby is only just beginning to experience the kind of growth that flat-track roller derby saw only a few years ago. Not only is TTRD the only modern banked track league in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, it is one of only a handful of modern DIY banked track leagues in the entire country. Many DIY leagues have already built their own banked tracks:

Los Angeles Derby Dolls The L. A. Derby Dolls (LADD) is Los Angeles' original women's quad-skate banked track roller derby league. It was founded in October 2003 by Rebecca Ninburg (a.k.a. Demolicious) and Wendy Templeton (a.k.a. Thora Zeen). The league is composed of ...

San Diego Derby Dolls San Diego Derby United is a roller derby organization based in San Diego, California. In 2005, Bonnie D. Stroir founded the program, then named the San Diego Derby Dolls, in a Linda Vista roller rink, Skateworld. The early years of the program ...

, and

Arizona Derby Dames Arizona Derby Dames (AZDD) is an all-women's amateur roller derby league based in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. The league currently plays banked-track roller derby. AZDD was founded by four skaters, Suzy Homewrecker (XXX), Joan Threat ...

(Phoenix). In fact, while there are over 400 flat-track leagues in the United States, TTRD was only the 7th roller derby league to build a banked track in the nation. TTRD is also a

nonprofit organization. Tilted Thunder has four home teams: an All Star travel team and two junior derby programs: Peeps and Chicklets. Mission statement: As a

nonprofit organization, Tilted Thunder is committed to fostering competition on a national and international level, developing amateur athletes for competition, and promoting the physical and mental strength and independent spirit of amateur female athletes. Tilted Thunder is a founding member of the Roller Derby Coalition of Leagues.

Teams

Tilted Thunder is one of several active banked track roller derby leagues in the country. The skaters bout under the Roller Derby Coalition of Leagues (RDCL). Between 2008 and 2011, Tilted Thunder was made up of two teams: Red Team and Purple Team. In 2011, the first season featured four current intra-league competitors: * The Rolling Blackouts :Season 1 Champions :Season 2 Champions :Season 5 Champions * Royal Crush * Saint Hellions :Season 3 Champions :Season 4 Champions :Season 6 Champions * Sugar Skulls Skaters who do not skate on home teams are called "Chicks." They hone their skills in the "Chick Pool" until a home team drafts them. The All Star team is TTRD's travel team.

Peeps and Chicklets (Junior's Program)

Tilted Thunder expanded banked track roller derby to young women in January 2011. ::Chicklets :::Chicklets are for girls age 6 to 13. ::Peeps :::Peeps range from 11 to 17 years old. Additionally, they play full contact roller derby.

Battle on the Bank

June 1–3, 2012, the Tilted Thunder Rail Birds hosted Battle on the Bank V, the US Banked Track Roller Derby National Tournament. The tournament returned to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) again on June 5–7, 2015 and June 1-3, 2018. Both the Battle on the Bank VIII and BotB XI were hosted by TTRD at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds, Monroe, WA. Tilted Thunder has participated in Battle on the Bank since 2010. TTRD All-Stars placed 3rd in Battle on the Bank VII and VIII. The Peeps All-Stars placed 1st for the first time in Battle on the Bank VIII.

Community Involvement

Tilted Thunder Roller Derby is always reaching out to help make their community a better place. Below are only some of their most recent volunteer projects: :•

Green Seattle Partnership Forterra (formerly Cascade Land Conservancy), based in Seattle, Washington, US, is the state of Washington’s largest land conservation, stewardship and community building organization dedicated solely to the region. Currently, Forterra operate ...

- Cleaned the Burke-Gilman trail of trash and blackberry bushes. :• Relay for Life - raised money for Cancer Survivors. :•

Pennies for Peace Pennies for Peace is a program sponsored by Central Asia Institute, in which school children in the United States raise pennies to help fund CAI's educational projects. The program focuses on raising cross-cultural awareness through education to ...

- collected pennies for education opportunities for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. :• Save your A@* for the Track- Tilted Thunder hosted a self defense class taught by Joanna Factor with Strategic Living. :• Harborview Medical Center- Collected toiletries for ICU Patient family members. :• Parent Child Assistance Program-toy and gift drive. :•

Northwest Harvest Northwest Harvest is a non-profit organization supporting food banks in Washington state. Northwest Harvest distributes food to a network of more than 370 food banks, meal programs, and high-need schools throughout Washington State. History In ...

- Collected food for Seattle food banks. :•

Second Harvest Second Harvest is Canada's largest food rescue charitable organization. Second Harvest works with thousands of food businesses from across the supply chain to reduce the amount of edible food going to waste. This model helps redirect surplus fo ...

Japan- Skate for Japan fundraiser at Lynnwood to aid those devastated by the Japanese earthquake. :• Bellevue Arthritis Walk 2011- TTRD skaters led the walk at Crossroads Park on May 21, 2011 :• Toys for Tots - Toy drive :• Housing Hope - Toiletry drive

References

External links

Potential Fresh Meat Roller Derby Practice SquadTilted Thunder's Flight School and Tryouts Information
{{Washington Sports Sports clubs and teams in Seattle Roller derby leagues established in 2008 Roller derby leagues in Washington (state) Roller Derby Coalition of Leagues Railway sports clubs and teams 2008 establishments in Washington (state)