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On the track, the world is a rush of color, motion and gritty determination. On each hard-hitting lap, a teenager is free of homework anxiety, friendship drama and the emotional overload of adolescence.
Skaters take on an entirely new persona in the counterculture world of roller derby. They paint their faces in team colors and shirk the need to be polite or ladylike. They pick flamboyant names like “Strawberry Shortfuse” and “Scooby Doom.” They cut loose.
Roller derby is famously a violent full-contact sport in which five-player teams skate around a banked oval track and score points by darting past (or barreling through) the other team’s blockade. Points are awarded in “jams” lasting two minutes or less, in which jammers try to pass as many blockers as possible.
The chaos is exhilarating, and not without risks. Even at the high-school level, players don’t hesitate to skate around, through or over one another, racing for that victory celebration with teammates and coaches.
“As I play super-intense important games, obviously injuries are on my mind,” says Violet Silva, a Franklin High School junior and member of the Rose City Rosebuds National All-Star Travel Team. “But I know that if I stay hung up on the possibility of being injured, it’s going to distract me and I would be even more likely to get hurt. So I’ve had to teach myself to tune out those possibilities and just play.”
With a roller derby powerhouse in our own backyard (the Rose City Rollers are five-time international champions), many young Portlanders have been inspired to lace up and join the fray.
The Rose City Rollers has five Junior Rosebuds teams, ages 12–18, including the title-winning National All-Star Travel Team. Silva (“Vi” on the track) has been a jammer on the travel team for five years, and she helps coach a juniors’ team, the Undead Avengers. Her love for the sport is fueled by its exhilarating intensity.
“I know that every time I walk into practice that everyone is there for the same reason and that we will all try our absolute hardest at every single practice, scrimmage or lift,” she says.
Silva believes the nationwide connections from roller derby have given her a community in every corner of the United States. “Young people being able to connect with people all across the world is so important,” she says, “especially when considering where to go for college or after high school. Roller derby gives me a built-in support system no matter where I end up.”
The National All-Star Travel Team practices or scrimmages two or three times each week and travels year-round to compete in tournaments. Rose City Rollers has other junior teams with varied commitment levels. The variety increases the sport’s accessibility.
“Even though [roller derby] is not a mainstream sport, it still feels equally as meaningful,” says Nico Bradford, a Franklin senior who grew up skating with her parents, who are also roller derby fans. “It’s just so fun. Anyone who wants to give it a try should.”
High school sports are formative for many teens. They help build character and encourage responsibility and dedication—widely applicable skills. Rosebuds coach Tim Denny (“Därth Blîng”) notes, “Through coaching sports, I could help teach these skaters life lessons and skills they could take with them into adulthood—things like teamwork, learning to win or lose gracefully, learning to push themselves, and how to gain confidence.”
What sets the Rosebuds apart from traditional high school sports is that the teams provide sports opportunities to young people who are typically sidelined in the athletic arena.
“As a sport, roller derby attracts those who may not have felt they fit the mold for traditional sports,” explains Wendy Dragoon (“Resting Blitz Face”), the National All-Star Travel Team coach. “Everybody has a place on the track.”
Dragoon has coached the All-Stars since 2017. Her 2022 team finished first in its division. Over the years she has seen roller derby time and again change lives for the better.
“I’ve watched kids come in shy, quiet and unsure of themselves, and leave with the confidence to command everyone on the track,” she says. “It gives those who may not always feel like they have a voice a place where they can be in leadership roles.”
The National Federation of State High School Associations found that the number of boys participating in sports at the competitive high school level exceeded the number of girls by more than one million in the 2022–23 school year.
In contrast, roller derby is a sport created by women that empowers girls and gender-expansive youth, building self-confidence at a critical time in adolescent development. It’s a welcoming and empowering space for women, LGBTQ+ individuals and people of all shapes and sizes. The energy radiating from the stands is infectious. The Rosebuds give young Portlanders the opportunity to experience an inclusive community in high school sports and develop a network of friends and teammates for life.
Plus, Silva says, there’s another perk: “Girls frequently beat boys. My team actually beat the top co-ed team in the country last May.”
GO: The Rose City Rollers and the Rosebuds skate at Oaks Park in Southeast Portland. The event schedule is posted on the Rose City Rollers’ website, rosecityrollers.com.
Easton Atlansky is a junior at Franklin High School, and is the editor in chief for the Franklin Post. This story, covering Portland sports from a student perspective, is part of an initiative by WW to develop young voices in journalism.