Roller Skating Beyond Gender Limits

The two most dynamic movements in the roller skating world of the past years react on the resurge of the sports.

The comeback of roller skating was borne by young female skaters. Now it outgrows the gender limitations. The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), the international governing body for the sport of women’s roller derby, announced an open division program that does not have any gender requirements. At the same day, the Chicks in Bowls (CIB) female bowl roller skating community invites explicitly “all gender diverse, non-binary, women, men, kids, older skaters, every size, every ethnicity, every shape, and all that’s in between”, to be a part of that community and to the brand – and ditched the “Chicks” in the name to only “CIB” to be used.

The WFTDA had a partnership with the men’s roller derby association before, and CIB was always intended to be inclusive. Nevertheless, these clear statements show that the sport evolves from an activity formerly only practiced by a few, and a niche for female empowerment to the focus of attention of a wider audience.