Providence Roller Derby

Providence Roller Derby or PRD was established in 2004 and is the first all-female, flat-track roller derby league in New England. It is the only roller derby league in Rhode Island. In 2006, PRD was ranked 8th in the nation and 4th on the East Coast by WFTDA. In June 2007, Providence slipped in rank by 4 to 12th.

Sarah Kingan, whose derby name is Sarah Doom and number is 4.0, a Brown University alumna, established Providence Roller Derby in 2004. She originally trained with Tucson Roller Derby while on an internship in Tucson, AZ. After moving back to New England, she started the league in Providence, Rhode Island. New skaters were recruited and trained for over a year before creating teams and public bouting. The first two teams were the Providence Mob Squad and the Sakonnet River Roller Rats. PRD's first bout was in May 2005. The derby girls on the Providence team range in age from 18 to 43.

"We eventually assembled a small group of skaters and began practicing at an outdoor hockey rink in Cranston. Our first team was The Mob Squad, which included Jailbird Jenny, DaSilva Bullet, The Godmother, Rhoda Perdition and Tammy Guns. We held our first fundraiser at United Skates in East Providence which consisted of a series of races with fans betting on each skater. As usual, our fans were incredibly generous, tossing twenties into the hat. The fall came, and we had recruited enough skaters to form the (Sakonnet River Roller Rats). - Sarah Kingan.

May 1, 2005, marks the date of the first bout debuting the Sakonnet River Roller Rats vs. The Mob Squad. The weather report predicted sun by the afternoon, but when the teams showed up the rink was completely flooded. Billy the Kid, head referee, immediately got to work squeegeeing the water off the track until the rink staff showed up and brought out the Zambonee. Once the rink was dry, the bout got underway with The Mob Squad taking away the first victory in a PRD home game. Season one culminated in New England's first interleague bout between Boston and Providence in October 2005. Providence came away with the win, making PRD the first league to win an interleague bout in New England. In February 2006, PRD participated in the first women's flat track tournament in Tucson, Arizona called Dust Devil with. The team included original PRD skaters Dolly Rocket, daSilva Bullet, Shirley Trample, Ratt Scallion and Jailbird Jenny.

Also in 2006, Providence Roller Derby introduced a third team: the Old Money Honeys. The Old Money Honeys lost their first game of the season but ended up winning the season Championship under the leadership of Dolly Rocket and including powerful skaters such as Lotta Pain, Anna Wrecks'Ya, Jean Harlot and Craisy Dukes in her debut season. This season also debuted notable vets Sass E. McNasty (Old Money Honeys) and Baby Fighterfly (Sakonnet River Roller Rats).

In the 2007 season, The Mob Squad reigned undefeated and won the championship. Lotta Pain was the 2007 Mob Squad team captain. The team included notable veteran skaters such as Burnin' Helen, Baby Fighterfly, Elle Razor and jammer/blocker phenom, daSilva Bullet. This also marked the debut season for Rhode Kill on The Mob Squad.

The 2009 season marked the first Championship win for the Sakonnet River Roller Rats with Craisy Dukes as team captain. With the recruitment of stand-outs such as Trophy Knife and Kid Ace, the Rats formed a team with intense skill and teamwork. They skated away with their first win at the big game and would follow up with back-to-back Championship trophies in 2010 under the leadership of Kid Ace.

PRD's 2011 season began with The Mob Squad coming off of a 2-year losing streak, having not won a single game since the 2008 season. Baby Fighterfly became the new captain, and the Mob were able to take their team to an undefeated season for a 2nd time with notables Hit and Run Paulene, Ruca A. Salt, Rhode Kill, Bleeding Rainbow, Sweet Tease, Rumbledore and The Phury. New skaters Citizen Toxie and Tiger Bomb were standouts in their first season as well, giving the Mob a well-rounded team to take back the trophy and become PRD's most winningest Championship team.

Providence Roller Derby's travel team, the Rhode Island Riveters, is the team that debuted at Dust Devil in February 2006. The team began to schedule more interleague games in 2006 than in 2005 and won a bout against the Gotham Girls Roller Derby All-Stars of New York City at the Rhode Island Convention Center that summer. The Riveters lost to the Carolina Rollergirls at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina by a narrow margin in a very exciting match. Since their formation, the RI Riveters have gone on to play in what is now known as the Big 5 tournaments (Regionals and Nationals) in the 2006 through 2010 seasons. The Riveters narrowly missed making it to the Big 5 in 2011.

The Killah Bee's, Providence Roller Derby's B-team, was formed in early 2009. The Bee's have included many skaters who have graduated to the Riveter's roster as well as some alternates playing for both teams, including Shelby Bruisin', Rhoda Perdition, Cindy Lou Screw and Penny Candy Poison among many other talented skaters. The Bee's continue to field a competitive team of which the Riveters continues to bring skaters up to the nationally ranked roster.

PRD holds practices in Narragansett in the winter months and outside at the Bank of America Skating Center in the warmer season. Providence Roller Derby plays outdoors, downtown, in the heart of the city during the summer. PRD has the support of the Mayor and the city. The league makes a concerted effort to be involved in and support community events and local businesses by making appearances marching in parades, volunteer work in the community, working with local charities and holding fundraisers.

Providence Roller Derby is a long-time member of Women's Flat Track Derby Association.