Official Name Change to Ohio Roller Derby!
Ohio Roller Derby (OHRD) is proud to officially announce our decision to drop the gender specific “Girls” from the league’s name. The change from “Ohio Roller Girls” to “Ohio Roller Derby” is just one of many steps OHRD has taken to better represent the league’s members, and the diversity of skaters, referees, and volunteers of roller derby in general.
Ohio Roller Derby promotes inclusiveness based on the self-identification of our skater and volunteer members alike. The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, of which Ohio Roller Derby is a founding member, recently expanded its gender policy and broadened its protections for athlete gender identity. As OHRD continues to grow, it has become evident that identifying as the “Ohio Roller Girls” may feel non-inclusive to some in our league or community. With the name change, Ohio Roller Derby has chosen to remove gender-specific wording to show our support for all members and volunteers who identify as female, male, transgender, non-cisgendered women, and gender-expansive.
Ohio Roller Derby is made up of so many unique and wonderful people, and someone’s self-identification shouldn’t factor into whether or not they feel they belong. Ohio Roller Derby has accepted, and will continue to accept, members and volunteers without judgments based on their gender identity, race, religion, age, or sexual orientation.
As Ohio Roller Derby enters our eleventh season, we strive to bring you the same exciting, hard-hitting, and highly-competitive roller derby that you’ve seen from us over the past decade. We hope to see you at the home opener against the Ann Arbor Derby Dimes on March 19th.