The L. A. Derby Dolls (LADD) is Los Angeles ' original women's quad-skate banked track roller derby league. It was founded in October 2003 by Rebecca Ninburg (a.k.a. Demolicious) and Wendy Templeton (a.k.a. Thora Zeen). The league is composed of more than 120 women divided into five teams who skate on a banked track.
15-494: Like most modern roller derby leagues, the L.A. Derby Dolls is a do-it-yourself and 100% skater-run organization. The league operates entirely on volunteer work; there are no paid athletes. The L.A. Derby Dolls are one of only thirteen banked track leagues in the United States. The founders' vision for the league includes legitimizing the sport of roller derby and promoting businesses and organizations run by women. In January 2012,
30-508: A flat track, becoming the first "hybrid" league. By 2009, the Dolls had about 80 skaters and nearly 1,000 fans. San Diego won the 2009 and 2010 editions of Battle on the Bank, the national banked track roller derby championship and came in 3rd place in the 2011 Battle on the Bank. In 2010, they were ranked 20th in the world in flat-track derby. In March 2011, they took on WFTDA Championship winners
45-756: A roller derby fitness program called Derby Por Vida (DPV) for the public to learn how to play roller derby which is open to both men and women. DPV is also considered a stepping stone into the LA Derby Dolls Fresh Meat program where women train to become team skaters for the league. Co-ed scrimmages are offered during wRECk League. All types of scrimmage-safe skaters from freshmeat to retired as well as referees can enjoy either flat or banked track game play during wRECk League practice. Every March, LADD brings in top roller derby trainers (both flat and banked track) to teach at their camp called March RADness which has limited space. LADD attracts skaters from around
60-583: Is the Derby Dolls X, which are the L.A. Derby Doll's all-star team that competes on a national level. The L.A. Derby Dolls also have their own referee team called "The Enforcers". The L.A. Derby Dolls have partnered with other organizations for community service work such as the Human Rights Campaign , Children of the Night , Big Sunday , AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), Children's Hospital Los Angeles ,
75-634: The LA Dodgers . The LA Derby Dolls have also been hosting the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles (DSALA) critically acclaimed annual fundraising event called TwentyWonder — “A Carnival Of The Mind” since 2011. All proceeds benefit individuals born with Trisomy 21 ( Down syndrome ) living in the greater Los Angeles area. LADD also has a junior league for girls ages 7–17 to learn the sport of roller derby and to learn empowerment, community, leadership, and athleticism. The Derby Dolls offer
90-687: The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls on the Dolls' banked track, losing 100-125 to the flat track league. San Diego was a founding member of the Roller Derby Coalition of Leagues in January 2012. In December 2015, the San Diego Derby Dolls announced they had teamed up with local WFTDA roller derby league SoCal Derby to make the first coalition between a banked and flat track league under one roof in modern roller derby. In 2018,
105-596: The St. Vincent Medical Center (Los Angeles) , the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and with After-School All-Stars (ASAS) to help teach young girls the sport of roller derby . Because of their community service outreach programs, in 2009, the L.A. Derby Dolls were honored as a Treasure of Los Angeles by the Central City Organization, putting them in a category with the likes of Magic Johnson and
120-731: The L.A. Derby Dolls were a founding member of the Roller Derby Coalition of Leagues. In February 2018, Los Angeles Derby Dolls was accepted as an apprentice member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). There are five teams within the Los Angeles Derby Dolls league. The four home teams are: the Fight Crew, the Sirens, the Tough Cookies and the Varsity Brawlers. The fifth team
135-587: The WFTDA opened for worldwide membership and the London Rollergirls became the first league outside North America to join as apprentice members. In June 2010, the WFTDA announced the first round of Apprentice league graduates, and formed two new regions outside of the United States. Note: some leagues have changed their names since graduation from the Apprentice Program. The names of such leagues at
150-432: The WFTDA. In February 2019, the WFTDA announced it was retiring the program, to be replaced with a new "New Member Program" in the near future. In July 2009, the WFTDA announced its new apprentice program for aspiring member leagues that replaced its traditional membership application process. The program is designed to act as a "WFTDA 101" tutorial, and will match new leagues with an established WFTDA mentor, who will guide
165-435: The apprentice through the processes and requirements necessary to becoming a full member. Upon completion of the program, apprentice leagues will have the knowledge (and the recommendations) needed to apply for full WFTDA membership. The program ensures that applicants adhere to WFTDA standards for games, events and structure, and once accepted into the WFTDA, member teams qualify for international rankings . In November 2009
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#1732876281005180-535: The league. The Los Angeles Derby Dolls also has a sister league located in San Diego, California called the San Diego Derby Dolls (SDDD). WFTDA Apprentice Program The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice was the program affiliate of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). In operation from 2009 until early 2019, the Apprentice Program served to onboard new member leagues into
195-413: The program, then named the San Diego Derby Dolls, in a Linda Vista roller rink, Skateworld. The early years of the program were spent learning the sport and fundraising for the program's first banked track. The league was founded by Bonnie D.Stroir , who lived in San Diego, but had been skating with LADD for two years. Around late 2006, the Dolls installed a banked track, but also continue to compete on
210-558: The time of their graduation are preserved in the table below. Former Apprentice Program member leagues who left the program and did not become full WFTDA members are listed below. San Diego Derby Dolls San Diego Derby United is a roller derby organization based in San Diego, California . Its two-acre facility in the Encanto neighborhood features both banked and flat regulation roller derby tracks. In 2005, Bonnie D.Stroir founded
225-734: The world who wish to learn on a banked track. The Derby Dolls have been featured on NBC's Kath and Kim , VH1 's "Rock of Love," Chelsea Lately , CNN , FOX News and several LADD skaters appear in Whip It! , which was written by former L.A. Derby Dolls (and original Sirens) skater Shauna “Maggie Mayhem” Cross . They were also featured on episodes of CSI Miami , Bones and Bunheads . In addition to Shauna Cross, notable Derby Dolls skaters include screenwriter and author Pamela Ribon , journalist and author Alex Cohen , actresses Emma Dumont and Ivy Wolk , and roller derby coach Bonnie D.Stroir . Comedian Blaine Capatch has been an announcer for
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