Rollin’ Into First Place With Style & Grace

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Chattanooga Roller Girls prepare for their first bout of the season

What do you get when you combine female empowerment, community outreach, charity work, and roller skates? In this town, it means it’s Chattanooga Roller Girls time. This Saturday the Chattanooga Roller Girls will be skating their hearts out at the Chattanooga Convention Center starting at 4 p.m. 

They are introducing a new team, The B-Railers, who will be going up against the Nashville Music City Brawlsters. Following that match, The Chattanooga Allstars will take on The Dixie Derby Girls, who hail from Huntsville, Alabama. 

Not only will this event be full of fast-moving, elbow-jabbing, hollering fun, but you can feel good about it while you watch. A portion of the proceeds benefits Bike Walk Chattanooga. Bike Walk Chattanooga is an organization dedicated to making the streets of Chattanooga as safe as possible for pedestrians of all kinds—bikers, walk/runners, and anything else with legs or wheels. 

The Chattanooga Roller Girls came to be in 2008 as a way to lift up creative, strong, freethinking women. And they wanted to do this through the art of skating. It didn’t happen overnight though. For the majority of 2008, the women were training, organizing, and learning the basics of the sport. Little to none of the women had any experience with roller derbies and had to grow into it quickly. By 2009, the women had formed a large enough team to be ready for their first real bout. 

Chattanooga is known for its diversity, openness, and adventure and it was no surprise they welcomed the Chattanooga Roller Girls with open arms. Their debut bout was a packed event. Because of the fierce backing and support, the team was able to travel out of state to compete in places such as New Orleans, Huntsville, and Rome. No, not Rome, Italy, just the city in the good ole’ Peach State.

One of the best things about CRG, besides the fact of being hell on wheels and looking good doing it, is their passion for the roller derby equals their passion for the Chattanooga community. Along with their involvement with Bike Walk Chattanooga, they have used their platform to partner with Girls Inc. and The Humane Educational Society, and have been in support of the Chattanooga Market. These women are passionate about the people of the city and the environment we live in.

Just a few more accolades and then you can go buy your tickets. In 2010, they were accepted into the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, or WFTDA apprenticeship program, which left them one roll away from becoming a nationally competitive team. This status was well deserved. In 2013, they lived up to it by winning nine out of thirteen bouts, many of which were a wipe-the-floor-with-you type situation. All in the name of love and charity, of course. After these bouts, CRG was accepted as a full member league into the WFTDA.

If these skating ladies peak your interest, come to the convention center at 4 to watch it all take off, or shall we say, skate off. 

For tickets to this all out roller bash, visit chattanoogarollergirls.com or brownpapertickets.com.