WFTDA’s Gameplay 101 video: LINK

Those officials are called NSOs (Non-skating officials) and refs. Each one has a specific job, ranging from watching skaters, to counting how many points a Jammer scores, to calling penalties, to recording those penalties.

“Minimum skills” refers to the standard we use to test each new skater’s readiness for game play. They are the minimum requirements a skater must demonstrate to be able to play in a scrimmage or game. They include stopping, striding, taking hits and demonstrating endurance, among other skills.

To get started, all you need to purchase is a mouth guard. If you want to join our next boot camp and you don’t have your own gear, you can rent skates, pads and a helmet for a fully refundable fee. Once you've passed minimum skills, you’ll be expected to pay monthly dues ($30) to help keep our league resourced, in good standing with WFTDA, and able to continue skating.

You may decide you like skating and want your own gear, and depending on what brand and level of gear you want to invest in, the costs range widely. If this is something you'd like help figuring out, we have several knowledgeable skaters who will be happy to give you advice! (Some of us shop at www.derbywarehouse.com.)

If money is a factor keeping you from skating, please reach out to us! We have resources to share so that money is never a reason someone can't skate with us.

Roller Derby is a full-contact sport. There are physical risks to taking the track, every time, but we educate skaters about balance, control, safe falls, legal hits, track awareness, muscle memory, and strength-training. We can’t guarantee you won’t leave a practice or a bout with a couple new bruises, but we prioritize skater safety, always.

Absolutely! Roller derby cannot operate without NSOs (non-skating officials). These are people who have trained in score tracking, penalty box timing, penalty tracking, and running the scoreboard. They are essential members of the league, so if skating isn’t your thing, but you want to join our community, being an NSO could be a great fit for you. We also look for medical professionals, photographers, emcees, and all kinds of volunteers for our bouts.

MRD (Morgantown Roller Derby) is the name we use conversationally for our entire organization. MRV (Morgantown Roller Vixens) is the name we’re legally and officially registered under (with the West Virginia secretary of state’s office and with WFTDA). MRD is more gender-neutral than MRV (a “vixen” is by definition a female fox), so we use that name when we can, to better represent the spectrum of identities we have with us. Ams we grow the league, we also hope to bring back our non-competitive team, Foxfire, which would also fall under the MRD organization.

We require skaters to be at least 18 years old.

To play roller derby, you need a helmet; a mouth guard; wrist, elbow, and knee pads; and a pair of quad roller skates. Sorry, roller derby is a quad skate sport, so no roller blades.

To join one of our ‘fresh meat” boot camps, all you need to bring is a mouth guard; we can provide all the other gear to you while you train.

That’s okay! We will teach you everything you need to know. Some of our most skilled skaters couldn’t even stand up on skates when they started. Seriously.