Madison, Wis. – Madison Roller Derby is proud to support four of its skater members in their quest to represent three different teams at this years’ Roller Derby World Cup, scheduled for July in Innsbruck, Austria. 

Roller derby is an all-volunteer, pay-to-play sport and so the league is humbly asking our community to help us raise funds to support these world-class athletes on their international journey!

Anyone can donate via our joint GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-madison-roller-derby-skaters-get-to-the-world-cup - all money raised will be split evenly between the four skaters.

Who’s going?
Amperslam (#150) will be skating for Team Japan Roller Derby
Hawai’i KO (#808) and Hello Sailor (#847) will be skating for Team Philippines Roller Derby
Karma (#614) will be skating for Indigenous Rising Roller Derby

The Roller Derby World Cup is an international flat-track roller derby tournament formerly organized by Blood & Thunder magazine, and currently organized by the Roller Derby World Cup Planning Committee. National and borderless teams from around the world compete for the Roller Derby World Cup trophy. In 2025, some 48 teams are expected to compete at the tournament, this year hosted by Fearless Bruisers Innsbruck at the multi-sport complex, OlympiaWorld, which served as the Olympic Park for the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics.

Help support their travel funds as they represent Madison on the world stage!

Madison Roller Derby, a 20-year-old athletic and community organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, and proud advocates for fairness, equity, and inclusion in sports, strongly condemns the recently signed Trump Executive Order that excludes transgender athletes from women’s sports.
 
The executive order is a direct attack on transgender athletes and shows an utter lack of regard for the long history of inclusive and community-driven sports, like roller derby, that welcome all competitors regardless of gender identity.
 
“We are proud to be part of a sport and a community that has welcomed transgender and non-binary athletes for many years,” said Sarah Larson, Executive Director of Madison Roller Derby. “We believe in building an inclusive culture where everyone has a space to work hard, build skills, find new friendships, and provide support for one another. This executive order does nothing to protect women or girls. All it does is target and further harm a very small, already vulnerable group of people who simply want to play sports.”
 
While the executive order mostly focuses on school sports that accept federal funding, the wording is broad and vague enough to create a risk that local governments could ban transgender athletes from playing at certain recreational facilities. Roller derby teams have long traveled to compete with one another, and such a ban/threat creates an impossible situation for leagues attempting to determine whether a particular location will be safe or even available for all its members.
 
Roller derby has long recognized that true athletic fairness is achieved through training, dedication, and skill–not exclusion. The sport has pioneered inclusive policies as part of our recognition that gender diversity does not threaten competition, but rather enriches it and the experiences of everyone involved. Governing bodies such as the Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby Association (WFTDA) have led by example, proving that inclusivity and fairness can coexist in competitive, even full-contact sports.
 
“It’s appalling to see the language of fairness used to mask what is purely discrimination,” Larson said. “Supporting women’s sports means making sure the athletes receive equal pay, equal access, and equal funding, which is not currently the case. It means creating better systems for preventing and punishing sexual harassment and assault within sports. Instead of focusing on the real issues impacting women and girls, this administration is simply trying to erase transgender and non-binary people from public life, and further exert control over individual freedoms.”
 
Madison Roller Derby calls on fellow athletic organizations, lawmakers, and the public to stand against this hateful and discriminatory action, and advocate for the rights of all athletes to compete in the sports they love and as their full, authentic selves.
 
Media Contacts:
[email protected]
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2020

Madison Roller Derby Cancels Season Seventeen
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Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic Madison Roller Derby has officially cancelled their seventeenth season of games, typically held January through May at the Alliant Energy Center.  

Media Contact: Shannon Rae & Cory Hamilton
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2020

Madison Roller Derby cancels March 14 game at Alliant Energy Center

In light of Gov. Tony Evers’ declaration of a public health emergency for Wisconsin and growing concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, Madison Roller Derby today decided to cancel their game planned for March 14 at the Alliant Energy Center.

The decision was made with input from league members and based on the best available public health recommendations, with thanks to the Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby Association (WFTDA), Public Health Dane County, and other entities offering guidance in this difficult time. MRD takes its role as a community member seriously and wants to do everything in our power to ensure the health and safety of our members, our fans, and our community at large. In short, this is the right thing to do. 

We will be issuing automatic refunds for tickets already purchased online for this weekends’ game. Tickets purchased in person at an outlet will be honored at any future MRD home game. 

With that in mind, we are also humbly asking that anyone who is able donate directly to our league in lieu of attending the game this weekend, to help us cover the sunk costs of the venue and promotion. Donations are tax deductible and can be made online at www.madisonrollerderby.org/our-home.html.

As an all-volunteer, grassroots organization that relies on revenue from our public games to keep us going, the cancellation will be financially difficult to weather. We’re hopeful, though, that with support from the community and our many skaters and volunteers, we’ll be able to keep rolling for many years to come. 

Keep your eyes peeled, too, as we look for new dates to hopefully reschedule this game and any others we may need to cancel due to continued health concerns.

MRD wishes to thank all our incredible fans and supporters and apologize for any inconvenience this decision may cause. We hope that by taking proactive steps to limit exposure, however, we can do our small part to flatten the curve of infection rates and prevent this from becoming an even bigger strain on our families and neighbors and health care providers.

With gratitude,
Gaile Schwickrath (aka Just Alice), Executive Director
Emily Mills (aka Hammer Abby), General Manager
The Madison Roller Derby Executive Board & the entire league
www.madisonrollerderby.org

Want to learn to skate?  Dream of hitting your friends on skates?  Come learn to skate and learn about the league at our Wrecker open skates!

Train with Madison Roller Derby this summer!  

Game 3 of the Madison Roller Derby home season was a big one.  These gamed decided the final seeding positions of the teams for semi-finals.

Game 3 and the game that will decide rankings for Semi-Finals will be this Saturday, March 9th!