Philly’s junior roller derby team is No. 1 after winning national championships last weekend

With their coaches in shirts that read: “We are Philly! We are Philly! We are Philly!” (lest anyone dare forget), the Philly Roller Derby Juniors All-Stars team skated, shoved, and battled their way to victory at the 2022 Junior Roller Derby Association Championships in Phoenix last weekend to be crowned the top open-gender junior roller derby team in the nation.

“I just can’t believe it. That’s the best way to put it. I’m in shock,” said 15-year-old player Ethan “I-Roll” Garrity. “It makes me so proud — proud of myself and my team.”

Going in as a number-one seed with a winning record, the pressure was on for the team of 13-to-18-year olds, which was founded just eight years ago by coaches Beth Mast and Faith Cortright, a married couple who met while playing on Philly’s adult All-Stars team.

On Saturday the Philly Roller Derby Juniors beat the team from Sioux Falls, S.D., the Sodak Attack, with a score of 341-82, to secure a place in the finals.

The Philly Roller Derby Juniors were then pitted against the Cherry City Cherry Blossoms from Salem, Ore., in Sunday’s finals, whom they beat, 199-90, to win gold.

“It was just magic,” Cortright said. “They put in the work and their dream came true.”

Garrity agreed.

“We were all crying and cheering,” he said. “It’s one thing for you to be seeded No. 1, but actually winning made all of the work we’ve done over the past year so worth it.”

But in so many ways, the Philly Roller Derby Juniors, whom The Inquirer profiled last month, were already champions long before they had a national title to their name.

“Please let us know how they do — although they obviously have already won in the areas that matter the most!” one reader wrote, in response to The Inquirer’s story.

In 2015, a year after the team was founded as an all-girls’ program, the parents, players, and coaches voted to open it up to people of all genders. Today, the 20 members of the All-Stars team include teens who identify as male, female, trans, and gender fluid. The Philly Roller Derby Juniors are one of 74 open-gender teams registered with the Junior Roller Derby Association.

The players said participating in a contact sport with people of all genders has instilled confidence, character, and kindness within them.

“I play with boys and I was born female, so in society I would be seen as weaker or less, but in here I’m like ‘I don’t care, I’m going to hit them.’ I see them on the same level as me,” player Elena “Bad Blood” Liu said. “I think because it’s a coed sport we all treat each other a lot better, and I think it builds character within all of us.”

Despite the contact nature of the sport, the Philly Roller Derby Juniors pride themselves on kindness on and off the track.

“Even when our opponents are not being positive to us, it’s very important to us to keep it positive and keep it kind because that’s what we expect from other people, and that’s what people should expect from us,” Garrity previously told The Inquirer.

This year was the team’s third appearance at national championships. They came in sixth in 2018 and second in 2019.

All four seniors on the team participated in the last jam of the final game Sunday. As the minutes ticked down and it became clear they would win, the team embraced in an emotional hug on the track during the final timeout.

“Personally, I was bottom-lip quivering trying to hold it together, but once it was the last jam and it was the seniors, I was full-out bawling at that point,” Cortright said. “For our seniors, it was the ultimate way for them to finish.”

Far from resting on their laurels, several members of the team spent Monday attending the Junior Roller Derby Association’s tryouts in Phoenix for the World Cup next year.

Team members will get a few weeks off before practices begin again in September. Meanwhile, they’re honored to be bringing a national title home to Philly this week.

“For somebody who’s been involved in roller derby in Philadelphia for almost 14 years, this is the crowning achievement, when you can bring a title back to your league,” Cortright said. “It makes us really, really proud.”