The Southern Roller Derby League (SRDL) has made an incredibly brave move by changing its gender policy. This groundbreaking policy is in line with recent recommendations from the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). This new policy, approved last February, enables trans women, men, and non-binary people to compete next to cisgender women. SRDL’s progressive stance on gender inclusivity stands in stark contrast to mainstream sports and particularly opposes U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order, which aims to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports.
This initiative is just one example of how SRDL is carving out a unique space in the world of athletics. Here, inclusivity tends to fall by the wayside. It shows how the league fosters a welcoming culture for all. Simultaneously, it doesn’t shy away from brazenly disrupting the status quo typically seen in mainstream sports.
The Unique Approach of SRDL
SRDL’s dedication to being gender inclusive makes it unique among most other sports organizations. By creating opportunities for people of all gender identities to compete side by side, SRDL creates a culture of acceptance and equality. This initiative has proven effective at attracting a broad spectrum of athletes. Because of that, it has created this space where everybody feels like they just belong.
Bucky, a 10-year SRDL veteran and SRDL veteran, knows how indicative of the league’s longevity that’s run is. He credits this success to its progressive and inclusive disposition towards gender equality. There’s tons of stuff to love about that. It’s a big personal victory for me because I’m able to go back home,” said Commando. He began with SRDL shortly before their 40th birthday. These sentiments are echoed throughout the league. SRDL has become a refuge for these skaters, who are all-too-often denied the opportunity to be open about their gender.
Rampage, a non-binary stalwart, coach at SRDL, and all around agitating force for change, affirms this sentiment. “SRDL has provided many skaters with an opportunity for genuine gender expression,” they stated. Above all, they stress the importance of safe spaces. In these environments, people feel liberated to fully express their identity, knowing they will not be subject to prejudice or bias.
Addressing Broader Issues in Sports
The roll out of SRDL’s gender policy takes place against a more terrible, but equally pervasive, reality of discrimination in sports. As Dr. Ryan Storr, the lead researcher on the 2024 Free to Exist Report, reminds us with an alarming statistic. The report revealed that 53% of LGBTIQA+ young people had experienced discrimination in sports environments. As he notes, it’s niche sports, like roller derby, that don’t shy away from countering their communities’ needs. By contrast, traditional sports tend to ignore these important ties.
“When issues arise, they’re more likely to work through a solution and amend and update practices to reflect that,” Dr. Storr explained. Such flexibility is what smaller organizations like SRDL need in order to adapt and respond to the unique, complex, and evolving needs of their athletes. He thinks that regular pro sports play it too safe and conservatively. This rigidity constrains their capacity to open their doors wide to all participants.
Dr. Storr further elaborates on this point, stating, “I think mainstream sports are very much like ‘oh, we’ve got enough’ or ‘this is too hard.’” He asserts that smaller sports organizations are more inclined to find ways to include individuals who may feel marginalized in traditional competitive settings.
Building Community in Niche Sports
More clubs, such as Southern Lights, are sprouting up to respond to increased demand from people who want a more inclusive sporting culture. Co-founded by Kade Matthews in 2019, this is Australia’s first LGBTQIA+ ice hockey team. This club has been extremely quickly growing. It now supports 140 players over seven teams in Melbourne, reflecting the blossoming interest in more obscure sports among the queer community.
“Ice hockey has been a really good success because I find that the queer community goes towards those niche sports because they’ve already been pushed out of many of the major sports,” Matthews remarked. The popularity of these types of programs is a testament to the ways that niche sports can create community and belonging for their participants.
Matthews elaborates, noting that participating in niche sports gives people more power over their surroundings. “So when you’re in a niche or a smaller sport, you have more control over the environment,” he said. This level of control allows athletes to curate a highly personalized experience. It makes their search for community and support all the more daunting.
With its all-gender teams, SRDL promotes inclusivity in an important way. These teams are made up of any players skill level, not their gender identity. Laura Morris emphasizes this inclusivity by stating, “It doesn’t matter what part of the community you come from; we are able to embrace all aspects of the community based on skill level, based on sex, based on anything.”
