Our Mission

Ottawa Roller Derby’s (ORD) mission is to create a fun, safe and supportive environment for people aged 18+ to share their love of roller derby. We achieve this mission by:

• supporting skaters at their own pace and skill level

• offering both low- and full-contact levels of competition

• being a player operated not-for-profit, managed by a volunteer board of directors and committees drawn from the membership

• adhering to the standards of the sport and encouraging safe play by following the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) rules and standards

On or off skates, there is a place for you at ORD! 

I want to learn more about your league!

How to Play Derby with ORD

Anyone over the age of 18 can join the Ottawa Roller Derby league. Once skaters have passed their WFTDA minimum skills, they are eligible to scrimmage and bout at low- and full-contact levels. In order to support the diverse needs and skill sets of our members, ORD takes a graduated approach to minimum skills testing that allows each skater to advance at their own pace. This approach breaks up the skills required to pass the WFTDA minimum skills test into three different levels.

New members are welcomed on a regular basis through our Intro to Roller Derby Crash Course, a seven-week program that introduces participants to the basic skating skills needed to play roller derby. Once skaters graduate from Crash Course, they are invited to become dues-paying and insured members of the league, at level 1, to continue mastering individual skills. After completing the Level 1 skills test, skaters move onto Level 2, where they continue to learn the skills and strategy of roller derby and are eligible, pending coach approval, to participate in low-contact scrimmages. Skaters are then assessed to move on to Level 3 where they learn how to safely give and receive full body hits, and are cleared to participate in both low- and full-contact bouts.

Experienced derby player?