Sick Town Roller Derby (STRD), founded as Sick Town Derby Dames, is a women's flat track roller derby league based in Corvallis, Oregon. Founded in 2008, the league consists of a single team which competes against teams from other leagues. Sick Town is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
History The league was founded by Brick Wallace and Magic Hips, two skaters with the Emerald City Roller Girls who wanted a league closer to their home town.Nancy Raskauskas, "Bounce, rock, skate, roll", Corvallis Gazette-Times, August 29, 2008 It played its first home bout in September 2009, against the Lava City Roller Dolls."Derby Dames host Skatemberfest", Corvallis Gazette-Times, September 24, 2009
Sick Town accepted into the Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Program in December 2009."Apprentice Leagues", WFTDA [version of 23 March 2010] By early 2012, it had enough skaters to host an intraleague bout,Raju Woodward, "Ready to rumble and roll!!!", Albany Democrat Herald, March 8, 2012 and in June 2012 it was accepted as a full member of the WFTDA."Nine Leagues Become Full WFTDA Members", WFTDA, 1 June 2012
In 2013, the league purchased the Lake Park Roller Rink in Lewisburg, the third-oldest roller rink in the Pacific Northwest. Sick Town planned to use the building as a practice rink, but shortly afterwards the facility was declared unsafe by the local fire marshal, leading to lengthy and costly restoration efforts. Membership dropped off during a lengthy hiatus, and in October 2017 the league played its first home game in three years, at the Linn County Fair and Expo Grounds in Albany.
In September 2016, league member Miranda "Dixieskullpopper" Prince gained local news coverage for appearing on the game show Jeopardy!
In April 2021, the league sold the Lake Park Roller Rink building after repairs became too difficult to maintain. During this time, the league had paused practices due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and was not able to return to practicing in a limited form until the summer of 2021. Since the league was without a venue for a time, they practiced outdoors until they were able to make arrangements to skate in Langton Hall at Oregon State University.
In October 2021, Sick Town began practicing at the Mid-Willamette Family YMCA Family Activities Center. The league was able to rebuild again and had their first home game in May 2023, more than 3 years after their last one which was held just prior to the Pandemic.
In April 2023, Sick Town Derby Dames announced via the team's Facebook page that they would change their name to Sick Town Roller Derby (STRD) and adapted their logo to be more inclusive and better reflect their values that "All Can Skate Here".
WFTDA rankings
Sick Town Roller Derby is ranked within WFTDA's NA West geographic division.
SeasonFinal ranking"Current Rankings", WFTDAPlayoffsChampionship2013108 WFTDADNQDNQ2014194 WFTDADNQDNQ2015NRDNQDNQ2016NRDNQDNQ2017NRDNQDNQ2018NRDNQDNQ2019NRDNQDNQ202380 NA WestDNQDNQ2024NRDNQDNQ NR = no final ranking assigned this year no WFTDA rankings from 2020-2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic
References