Come join Bath Roller Derby! Our Learn Roller Derby course is back, so why not spend the autumn meeting new people and learning an awesome new sport?

This ticket is for the first 4 weeks of the course. The remaining 10 weeks of the course will cost £5 a session.

The full course will teach you everything you need to be a derby skater or referee.

The first 3 weeks will teach you basic skating skills like stops, falls, and technique, before moving onto more derby-specific skills. This includes full contact and hitting (safely!) for those on the 'skater' pathway.

With just 25 places in this intake, tickets are likely to go faster than a pivot taking a star pass (don't worry, that will mean something soon).

Course details:
Location: Wellsway Sports Hall, Keynsham, BS31 3HH
Date & time: Thursdays 7 - 9pm
Start date: 4 September 2025
Ticket sales open: Wednesday 16 July, 6pm
Price: £30 (to cover the first 4 weeks) - Need to borrow kit? Please select the £40 ticket option to pay your £10 deposit
Concession ticket for low incomes is available for £15 (Not including kit deposit)


--- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ---

Q: What is roller derby?
A: Roller derby is a full-contact team sport played on quad skates. Two teams of five skaters take to an oval track where one person from each team (called the ‘jammer’) attempts to score points by passing members of the opposing team. The remaining four skaters from each team (called ‘blockers’) attempt to stop the opposing jammer as well as helping their own through.

Check out the WFTDA.tv channel on YouTube to see some of the pros in action.


Q: Who can take part?
A: Anyone who is over the age of 18 is welcome to join our Learn Roller Derby course.

Anyone who is of age can join our Learn to Skate course, regardless of your gender identity.

At Bath we skate under WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) rules. This means that following graduation, to join Bath as a competing skater, you must identify as a Marginalised Gender, as per the WFTDA Gender Policy. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Women (the WFTDA uses women to refer to all women, including trans, cis, intersex, and gender-expansive women).
- Individuals with gender identities belonging to the trans umbrella (i.e. those whose gender does not align with the gender they were assigned at birth). This includes, but is not limited to: trans men, transfeminine and transmasculine individuals, those who are genderqueer, agender, genderfluid, and/or non-binary regardless of their presentation or the gender they have been assigned at birth.
- Individuals with culturally specific genders such as Two-Spirit.
- Intersex individuals, who perceive themselves as belonging to a Marginalised Gender.
- Any combination of the above (or other) Marginalised Genders.
Please note: this list is not exhaustive.

if you do not identify as a Marginalised Gender, you will be invited to join our 'Ref 101' course, which runs parallel to the 'Scrim 101' portion of Learn Roller Derby.

Q: Do I have to be a player to be involved?
A: No! Roller derby is about more than just the players and we would love for you to join as a much valued referee or non-skating official (NSO). Roller derby officials are in high demand with lots of travel opportunities, or you can keep it closer to home and help us with our home games.

If you’re interested in becoming a referee, the Learn Roller Derby course will teach you the basics of skating and derby skills, and when those who want to play start contact drills, you’ll start ref school!

If you like the sound of NSOing, volunteering or being a part of our off-skates bench crew, please email [email protected] to find out more.

Q: What if I’ve never skated before?
A: Beginner skaters are welcome and part of the course is to help you develop basic skating skills. We’ll teach you everything you need to know but if you’d like to get some practice in beforehand (bonus points for you!) we recommend attending your local roller disco.

Q: What is the structure of the course?
A: The course runs for 14 weeks from 4 September to 11 December on Thursdays, 7pm - 9pm. (There will be a one-week break.)

In the first three weeks we’ll cover basic skating skills like how to stop, fall safely, and skate backwards. After that we’ll move onto derby-specific skills and build up to contact and ref/NSO training.

Q: What equipment do I need?
A: Safety is the number one priority when playing a full-contact sport, especially when you’re on eight wheels! To take part in the course you will need:
Quad skates (not inlines!) - ideally without a heel. We recommend Riedell R3s or Suregrip GT50s as good beginner skates
Helmet - S-One or Triple Eight are good derby-specific brands
Mouthguard - we love Sisu mouthguards because you can talk and drink without taking them out
Elbow pads
Wrist guards - the studier the better
Knee pads - worth spending more money on getting good ones if you can afford to as you’ll use these a lot. We like S-One, Killer 187, or Smith Scabs
We do have limited kit available to borrow, which you can request when you buy your ticket. We take a £10 deposit for this, which will be refunded when you return the kit.

If you fancy getting kitted out for the course, you can buy new or second hand. We strongly recommend buying from skater-owned shops because they know more about derby. Great options include Bridgend Cycle Centre, Momma Trucker’s, and Double Threat. If you want to buy second hand, we recommend checking out the Roller Derby Recyclables group on Facebook. Feel free to send us a message if you have questions about kit!

Q: How much does the course cost?
A: Your ticket will cost £30 which covers the first four sessions. After that it’s £5 for each session you attend.

Q: I’m nervous about coming on my own.
A: If you can take that first step and come along, you will see that we are a friendly bunch and want you to have a great time. Most of us started derby on our own and we now are part of a great big beautiful community of friends. We also have a Discord channel where you can start chatting and getting to know one another in advance, and maybe even arrange a pre-course meet-up at the roller disco!

Entry requirements: 18+ — Read more — Read less