OUR STORY
SFV Roller Derby is a WFTDA-ranked league that provides skaters with the opportunity to learn and play the sport of roller derby by improving fitness and athleticism. The league promotes volunteerism and involvement within the community while fostering professional development and growth in a supportive and collaborative environment.
The league was a first in the world of roller derby -- an adult league to grow out of the juniors league. Founder Killo Kitty started playing for the LA Derby Dolls in 2007, where she went on to captain the crowd-favorite Sirens as well as help establish the LA Junior Derby Dolls along with her three daughters. Killo decided to start SFV Junior Derby for all girls in the San Fernando Valley that wanted a fun new sport to play. The adult league soon grew from the junior league.
Killo Kitty
SFV ROLLER DERBY FOUNDER
Photo by TOUGH GIRLS ON EIGHT WHEELS
In those early years, SFV Roller Derby originally split its practice time between Northridge Skateland and an outdoor skating rink in North Hollywood. The beginning of each practice, scrimmage, and game was marked by the exhaustive task of measuring and taping down track. The night wasn't complete without skaters scraping up that blue tape with their nails.
SOME OF OUR FIRST HOMES!
Photos by Danielle Directo-Meston., TOUGH GIRLS ON EIGHT WHEELS. Photographer 26
After many years of searching for their own place to call home, in late 2013, SFV Roller Derby secured a permanent practice location in Sylmar. Dubbed The Lot -- in honor of the Hollywood backlots that pepper Southern California -- the space allowed the league to triple their practice time, offer private lessons, and host tournaments for local teams. The league continued their meteoric growth in both skater membership and skills, knowing their new home would support them
In 2013, SFV established our first home teams, and by 2016, we had four home teams to call our own: the Topanga Maulrats, the Balboa Bandits, the Van Nuys Valkyries, and the Reseda Wreckers. Each home team had its own unique culture, mascot, and colors, and they all would face off throughout the year, establishing dominance, intra-level competition, and camaraderie between SFV skaters.
SAYING GOODBYE TO THE LOT :(
Since the pandemic, SFV has been regrouping and growing even stronger. With an influx of new members, we’ve moved from The Lot to renting The Cage in North Hollywood, where we host practices, scrimmages, and bouts. We now have three travel teams: The Like OMGs, The As Ifs, and the Fer Sures, an incredible Freshies and Sophomores program for training up skaters, and many officials, announcers, and photographers, who call SFV family. In 2025, we will be bringing back our Home Teams, now with new names and new identities, and can’t wait to see our skaters battle it out on the track.
Please continue to support SFV Roller Derby as we continue to grow and expand!