https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/organizations/atlanta-roller-derby-inc Atlanta Roller Derby (ARD), a founding member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), took shape in November 2004, when Angela Ward, a.k.a. Tanya Hyde, put a call out to strong, athletic women to join her in bringing Roller Derby to the Dirty South. The sport, once on par with the theatrics of professional wrestling, evolved to become a full-contact sport for women and gender expansive people that’s writing a new chapter in athletic history. Your Atlanta Roller Derby skaters are proud to be part of the movement that has exploded into hundreds of leagues worldwide, and inspired adventurers from all walks of life to strap on skates and take to the track. Kids and teens are getting in on the sport now too, as junior leagues like our own Atlanta Junior Roller Derby take root. The league features three home teams, the Apocalypstix, Glamma Rays, and Toxic Shocks, that compete each season for the championship trophy. The home teams battle it out at the Yaarab Shrine Center on Ponce de Leon Avenue during their February-to-September season. In addition, the league sponsors three travel teams that defend your city’s honor across Georgia, the South, and the whole wide world. Internationally recognized Dirty South Derby (DSD) are your WFTDA-chartered All-stars, who compete at the highest level. The Rumble Bs, Atlanta’s regionally competitive team, represent the league in interleague play against smaller leagues, WFTDA-apprentice leagues, and other WTFDA leagues’ B-teams. Last but not least, there is our locally-competitive team the Jukes of Hazzard. Atlanta Roller Derby is more than a sport. Like the professional sports we all know, the management of the team matters as much as what happens in the game. ARD skaters own and manage the league themselves. We strive to maintain a league culture where all members– including Black members, Indigenous members, other members of color, trans members, and disabled members– are welcomed, included, and celebrated. We work toward justice in our league, in our sport, and in our Atlanta community. Each skater contributes their own unique skills both on and off the track. Driven by the love of the sport, ARD works very hard to give our fans more of what they want—intense competition, pulse pounding game-play, and a level of in-your-face action and excitement that you won’t find anywhere else.
