Your first week of roller derby is free to try, hire gear available
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About WARD

Meet the Pack

WA Roller Derby is one of the longest-running roller derby leagues in Western Australia.

WA Roller Derby league members at The Rise, Maylands
Our story

Grassroots, volunteer-run, still rolling.

WA Roller Derby was founded in August 2009. We skated our first friends-and-family bout in May 2010, and made our public debut later that year at the Great Southern Slam in Adelaide. We've been a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) since 2014.

We're a grassroots, volunteer-run, not-for-profit league, built and kept going by the people who skate, ref, officiate and pitch in behind the scenes. It started with a handful of skaters. These days we run a full home season and field two travel teams. We follow the WFTDA gender statement and we're proudly LGBTQIA+ friendly and neuro-diverse-affirming.

  1. Aug 2009 WA Roller Derby founded.
  2. May 2010 Our first friends-and-family bout.
  3. Late 2010 Public debut at the Great Southern Slam in Adelaide.
  4. 2014 Became a member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
  5. 2026 Many tournaments played, many memories made.
The early years
First bouts
The league today
Teams

Two home teams.
Two travel squads.

Our two home teams play each other a few times a year in public roller derby games in Perth. The travel teams take our skaters across WA and Australia.

Atomic Sirens skaters during a home season bout
Home team

Atomic Sirens

Sonic Doom skaters in the pack
Home team

Sonic Doom

WayWARDs skater at training
Development squad

WayWARDs

WARDs of the Skate travel team training
Travel team, WFTDA

WARDs of the Skate

Training

Thursday evenings,
Sunday afternoons.

All training happens at The Rise, Maylands. We run several cycles a year, each roughly a school term long, with a short break between them, so there's always a fresh place to start.

Every new skater begins at Level 1 and moves up at their own pace, assessing into the next level when they're ready:

Level 1

Learn to skate
The basics: rolling, stopping, falling safely and getting back up, in control and in a pack.
Level 2

Safe contact
Legal hits, taking a hit safely, and holding your line. Technique and safety first, every session.
Level 3

Learn to play
Rules, positions and scrimmage, in a supportive, low-pressure environment. Skaters are cleared to play home-team games after finishing a cycle of Level 3.
Level 4

Compete
Strategy, team play and no holds barred contact. Skaters are cleared to try out for our travel teams.

Not keen to skate? You can train as a referee (on quads or blades) or a non-skating official instead. We teach both from zero.

Gear you'll need

Skates, helmet, pads
and a mouthguard.

Roller derby needs a bit of kit: quad skates, a mouthguard, a derby-specific helmet (a bike helmet won't cut it), and pads for your knees, elbows and wrists. It sounds like a lot, but you don't need to buy any of it to get started.

Quad skates

Mouthguard

Derby-specific helmet

Knee pads

Elbow pads

Wrist guards

Come to a Have a Go day and the gear's on us. After that, we have loan skates and protective gear available to hire cheaply through your first cycles, so you can find your feet before spending a cent on your own setup. Plenty of people skate for months on club gear while they work out whether derby's for them.

When you're ready to buy, chat to us first, we've got loads of tips on what is right for you and where to get it.

Costs & fees

What it costs.

Being a not-for-profit, our fees cover what it costs to run the league. There are three parts to it.

1 WARD membership (annual)

A yearly membership fee that scales with your training level, so you pay less while you're starting out. You only ever pay the difference when you level up. We cover this fee entirely for referees and NSOs who've volunteered with us for 12 months or more, because we couldn't run without you.

2 SkateWA membership (annual)

Every member needs SkateWA membership, which covers personal injury insurance. These fees are set by SkateWA, not us, and depend on your role and level.

3 Training fees (dues or casual)

At the start of each cycle you choose how to pay. Dues cover the whole cycle up front and save you money if you're training a couple of sessions a week on average. Casual is pay-as-you-go on the day, which can work out better if you're FIFO or can only make one session a week. Referees, NSOs and dedicated coaches don't pay training fees at all.

Gear hire: there's a small cost to hire skates and protective gear, but new skaters get their first week completely free, so you can try derby before spending any money.

Want the current prices? Fees can change from season to season, so get in touch and we'll send you the up-to-date numbers. Payment plans and subsidies can also be arranged, we never want cost to be the reason someone can't skate. Email our treasurer at treasurer [at] warollerderby.com.au.

Questions

Thinking about joining?

Take a look through our frequently asked questions and common hesitations we hear all the time. If you have a question not answered here, just contact us.

Am I too old to play roller derby?

Not likely. Our median member age is around 38, and we have skaters joining in their 30s, 40s and 50s. There are even skaters in their 70s across Australia. Roller derby welcomes adults of any age.

I skate on inline skates (blades), can I join?

Skaters play on quad skates, but referees are welcome on quads or blades. If you already skate on inlines, officiating is a great way to get involved while you decide whether to make the switch to quads.

I am a man, can I join?

Yes. All genders are welcome to train as a skater through Level 2, and to referee, officiate and volunteer with us. For bouting and team skating, we follow the WFTDA gender policy.

I am under 18, can I join?

WA Roller Derby welcomes anyone 18+. If you're under 18, get in touch and we can point you towards junior roller derby options in Perth.

I have never skated before, or I cannot skate at all, is that a problem?

Not at all. Most people who join have never skated before. Level 1 starts from the absolute basics, standing, balance and falling safely.

I do not want to be a skater, what else can I do?

Plenty. You can train as a referee, become a non skating official handling scoring and timing, or volunteer on event crew, bench coaching, marketing or photography. We'll train you for whichever you pick.

Is WA Roller Derby a safe and welcoming space?

Yes. We're an LGBTQIA+ friendly, neurodiverse-affirming league. We have members of every background, age and body type. Training is built around consent and safety from day one.

Try roller derby for free

Your first week is on us, gear included. You don't need to be fit, coordinated or any good yet, you just need to turn up. Email signup [at] warollerderby.com.au and we'll tell you when the next intake is.