Junior Derby's Dirty Little Secret

I want to clarify something here, I love Junior Roller Derby! These kids skate their hearts out. They skate just as hard as adults and put in just as much practice. Some of these kiddos can even be considered vets having 5 or more years of derby under their belt. They are and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the track. It won't be too much longer when your competition will be between the ages of 14-18 and they will have been skating for over 7 years by that time!

What I don't like about junior derby:

Junior Derby is one of the only places it is still "ok" to actively discriminate against players based on sex.

"We would love to schedule with you, but... we WONT PLAY YOUR BOYS." Oh, I understand; so shall I sit the team down and tell the boys, well your team can't play because of you and not because you are a dirty skater or a horrible person but because you were born a boy. Or Should I tell the girls we are going to play this team but we cant use our boys because well, they are boys. This ridiculous form of discrimination is the thing I hate the most. Roller Derby in itself is supposed to be a place where these kinds of things don't matter, and yet here we are teaching boys that they are no good, they have no place here, and you should not get to play. In my whole area I can't even think of 14 boys that even play roller derby. This is not your average boys sport and it is definitely female dominated. So when these boys are at school wearing your logos out there supporting roller derby; despite the teasing they may already receive from the outside world for being different. They then have the very place they go to feel accomplished, part of a team, and family and we say YOU CANT SKATE BECAUSE YOU ARE A BOY!!!!!!!! this is unacceptable!!!!!! This literally hurts my heart, these kids just want to skate and if you force a team to choose to not play their whole team or else then maybe it is time to re-examine your policy.

I know there are some big boys out there, but guess what there are some big girls out there too! I have seen some girls do some serious damage on the track, and I have to honestly say I see less of that from boys. I am really not sure when it became an ok practice but it is really not ok. 

What people think the male junior skater looks like

What male junior skaters really look like

To you junior male skaters, I stand with you. I support you and if you are looking for a friend in the derby community, you have one here! I hope one day the rest of the communiy will follow. Until then, dont give up, skate your dream, and be who you are no matter who tries to hold you down.