What is more fun to watch Roller Derby, Championship Wrestling or Rodeo?

Roller derby has a long and storied history in Pittsburgh, dating back to the 1930s. At that time, roller derby was a popular spectacle sport that featured skaters racing around a banked track, often engaging in physical contact and theatrical antics.

In the 1950s and 1960s, roller derby underwent a resurgence in popularity, and Pittsburgh was home to several successful teams, including the Pittsburgh Pioneers and the Pittsburgh Triangles. The sport continued to evolve, with new rules and formats being introduced, but it eventually fell out of favor and largely disappeared from the mainstream.

However, in the early 2000s, a new wave of roller derby emerged, driven by grassroots efforts to revive the sport. In Pittsburgh, this resurgence was led by a group of skaters who formed the Steel City Derby Demons in 2006. The league quickly grew in popularity and skill, and by 2011, it had become a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), the sport's governing body.

Since then, the Pittsburgh Roller Derby scene has continued to thrive, with the Steel City Derby Demons remaining a dominant force in the region. The league has also spawned several additional teams and junior leagues, helping to cultivate a new generation of roller derby skaters and fans. Overall, Pittsburgh's roller derby history has been a rich and colorful one, marked by passion, perseverance, and a fierce sense of community.

Is Roller Derby Still a thing in Pittsburgh?

Steel City Roller Derby is a skater owned and operated organization. We are Pittsburgh’s premier women's roller derby league, composed of a diverse set of athletes from the nation’s home of superb sports teams.

SCRD is taking all the action and exhilaration of yesterday’s roller derby and combining it with a new level of athleticism, moxie, and drive, resulting in a revolutionary sport. With flat track roller derby leagues growing from 30 just a few years ago, to over 200 worldwide today, this new incarnation of an old sport is growing by leaps and bounds!

As a 501c3 non-profit organization, SCRD is committed to fostering serious competition on a local, national, and international level, developing amateur athletes for competition, and promoting the physical and mental strength of all our female athletes.

Our skaters work constantly — both on and off the track and in and out of the gym — to represent Pittsburgh at home and on the road. We compete at the highest levels of gameplay throughout the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.

SCRD has three teams; The Steel Hurtin’ is the A-Team, or Varsity team, and the Steel Beamers are the B-team/Junior Varsity team. Our newly revived Blitzburgh Bombers are our developmental team where our freshie skaters grow their skills with the help of our vets! They play competitive teams from other cities that are on similar skater skill levels.

If you’ve been with us for a while, you might remember some of our old home teams: The Bitch Doctors, the Hot Metal Hellions, The Slumber Party Slashers, and the Wrecking Dolls! And who can forget the Mon Monsters, Allegheny Avengers, and the Penn Bruisers!

Steel City Roller Derby is a proud member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Founded in 2004, the WFTDA promotes and fosters the sport of women’s flat track derby by facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportswomanship, and goodwill among member leagues.

The governing philosophy is “by the skaters, for the skaters.” Skaters are primary owners, managers, and operators of each member league and of the association. Operational tasks include setting standards for rules, seasons, and safety, and determining guidelines for the national and international athletic competitions of member leagues. All member leagues have a voice in the decision making process, and agree to comply with the governing body’s policies.

2023 Steel City Roller Derby Schedule

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What about Rodeo and Championship Wrestling? More on that later.