Montreal Roller Derby is a local sports league in Montreal. It is a feminist flat-track roller derby league that was founded in 2006. With a focus on a queer-inclusive approach, this league provides the community with events and access to spaces that uplift marginalized communities in sports. We spoke with blocker Amanda Dunbar, also known as Quick and QWERTY: The Typographical Terror, to learn more about what they do in the arena.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Montreal Roller Derby was founded as a community sports organization in 2006. We have three home teams that compete locally, and two travel teams that compete against clubs in other cities and internationally. The New Skids on the Block, our A-Team, is currently ranked fifth in the world.
What problem does it aim to solve?
Roller derby is a unique sport in that it attracts many people who have not previously participated in team sports for a variety of reasons, including gender identity, body type, or other barriers to access. Internationally, the sport is almost entirely volunteer-managed by the players, for the players. Montreal Roller Derby is more than a sports organization; it is a welcoming community and an institution in Montreal. We host games and tournaments that are beloved by the local population including students, families with young children, elderly people, professionals…it’s really a mixed crowd!
When did you start/join it?
I started playing in 2018, never having skated before, through the Bootcamp program (an annual training program that offers classes for new players during the off-season.)
What made you want to get involved?
A friend invited me to go watch a game, and it looked like fun. I have a background in rugby and circus arts, so it also seemed like a good fit for my skill set. More than that, however, the atmosphere in the arena was like nothing I had experienced before; everyone just seemed so happy to be there together, and it looked like a community I wanted to be part of.
What was the situation like when you started?
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Montreal Roller Derby was thriving. When I joined, there was a whole team made up of people who wanted to play, but didn’t have spots on any of the main teams. We were considering adding a fourth home team to accommodate all the interest–but of course, in 2020, we had to stop playing.
How has it changed since?
Since the end of pandemic-related lockdowns, we’ve been slowly rebuilding–but it’s been challenging. The pandemic interrupted not only our practices and games, but also the continuity between the volunteers who keep the organization running. We’ve also struggled to find venues that are affordable and accessible for practices and games; many of our players and audience members rely on public transportation to get around, and we really don’t want affordability to be a barrier for people who want to play.
What more needs to be done?
In the last two years, we’ve made tremendous strides in rebalancing our budget and getting ourselves organized to be able to apply to different funding sources, not to mention recruiting and training new players to replace the many folks who weren’t able or chose not to return to play after the pandemic. There’s still a long way to go, however, in building our volunteer capacity to be able to host large, successful events like bigger in-house tournaments and the World Championships, which Montreal hosted in 2019.
How can our readers help?
Our venue of almost 20 years, Arena St. Louis in the Mile-End, closed for renovations last year. We’re extremely grateful to the Howie Morenz Arena in Parc-Ex for welcoming us for summer 2025 but are still looking for game venues for the spring and fall (March to May, plus September). If you have or know of a space that could become a new home for us, please let us know! You can email here.
Our league is also actively looking for sponsors, so if you know a business that might be interested, they can contact here.
And don’t forget to follow us on social media for more info and event updates!
Do you have any events coming up?
We have two major tournaments confirmed so far, and our full-season schedule will be announced soon! For now, be sure to save the dates for:
La Classique Georgia W. Tush: Montreal’s travel teams host high-ranked teams from the US and around the world.
May 30th-June 1st – Howie Morenz Arena: 8650 Av. Querbes, Montréal, QC
Beast of the East: Montreal’s home teams welcome other leagues from Quebec, Ontario, and the U.S.
August 1st-3rd – Howie Morenz Arena: 8650 Av. Querbes, Montréal, QC
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local community organization you love?
We’d like to shout out Afrique au Feminin, our neighbours in the Howie Morenz Arena. They are a community organization run by and for immigrant women to provide support, resources, and community in Parc-Ex.
