Do you know roller derby? This essentially feminine sport traces its route in France and inspired the series “Derby girl”

Roller derby is a sport born almost a century ago in the United States, derived from roller skating. In France, he has made a name for himself in recent years with the film “Bliss” by Drew Barrimore, which perfectly traces the “girl power” and punk-rock culture of the practice. The discipline now has just over 4,000 tricolor licensees. More than 80% of its members are women, according to the Roller and Skate Federation to which the roller derby is attached.

This very spectacular contact sport takes place on an oval track, the “track”, for two 30-minute halves. A team gains points when one of its players, called “jammer”, crosses its adversaries who unite against it. The fiction “Derby Girl” deals with this sport by adding a nice dose of offbeat humor. Season 1 made us discover a team of teenagers not really gifted on 4 wheels. In Season 2, young girls will be prevented from playing, they will rebel.

The series tells us about solidarity between girls, independence and at the same time the difficulties of transitioning to adulthood. It is also part of a small town where there is not much to do, where unemployment is high. The director of the series, Nikola Lange, grew up in this environment and wanted to shoot his roller derby series there. Listen to his interview in the video above.

In fiction as on the field, roller derby carries feminist and inclusive values. It is thus possible to play regardless of age and morphology. You can register in the category you want – feminine, masculine or non-binary – without any justification. The names of the women’s teams in France have a warlike tone: The “Harpies Braqueuses”, the “Encastreuses”, the “Guillo’teens”… But above all, it is mutual aid that counts even between competing formations such as explains it in the video Amélie, nurse in life, Am’Hell la Gueuse within her Molly Hatchets club in Pontarlier (Doubs).