ABOUT Hell on Wheels

The Lowdown:

2001: The birth of an all-girl roller derby revolution begins in Austin, Texas.

Starting a revolution ain't an easy affair. After overcoming countless hurdles to organize, recruit and train, the rowdy rollergirls known as Bad Girl, Good Woman (BGGW) enjoy a smashingly successful first year, only to find a rift forming among the ranks of the 80 women. Polarized by issues of insurance, finances, and the direction the league should take, disenchanted skaters pull together and collectively bring their grievances to management. Accusations fly, and emotions run high as the two camps face off.

Ultimately, 65 of 80 skaters walk and form their own player-run league. Dealt a near fatal blow, management doesn’t give up. Instead, they recruit and rebuild their league to rebound in dramatic fashion. What emerges from the near-disaster are the Lonestar Rollergirls and the Texas Rollergirls. Both leagues pioneer a modern era of roller derby and inspire thousands of women across the US to follow suit.

Shot over a four year period and utilizing both verite footage and interviews, Hell on Wheels documents the creation of modern-era roller derby’s first two leagues. We are currently in post-production on this exciting film project.

The media are moving in and the Austin leagues have been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Access Hollywood, Comedy Central’s Insomniac, on the ABC show Switched, The CBS Morning Show, HD Net TV, MTV2, A&E, ESPN, TNT and on A&E with the reality show "Rollergirls." Articles have appeared in Spin, Jane, Bust, Paper, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Playboy Magazine, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Newsday and several other national and international publications. There are currently two roller derby leagues operating in Austin: Bad Girl, Good Woman Productions (www.BGGW.com aka TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls) and the Texas Rollergirls (www.TXRollergirls.com). Leagues are currently operating in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Phoenix, North Carolina, Dallas, Nevada, Tucson, Kansas City, Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, New Jersey, Detroit, Minneapolis, Madison, Denver and beyond.

Roller Derby Leagues in the US:
Alamo City Rollergirls (San Antonio, Texas)
Angel City Roller Girls (Los Angeles, California)
Arch Rival Rollergirls (St. Louis, Missouri)
Arizona Derby Dames (Tempe, Arizona)
Arizona Roller Derby (Phoenix, Arizona)
Assassination City Roller Derby (Dallas, Texas)
Athens Roller Derby (Athens, Georgia)
Atlanta Roller Girls (Atlanta, Georgia)
Bakersfield Rollergirls (Bakersfield, California)
Bay Area Derby Girls (San Francisco, California)
Big Easy Rollergirls (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Black-N-Bluegrass Rollergirls (Covington, Kentucky)
Blue Ridge Rollergirls (Asheville, North Carolina)
Boston Derby Dames ( Boston, Massachusetts)
Boston Rollergirls (Boston, Massachusetts)
Bradentucky Bombers (Bradenton, Florida)
Brevard County Derby Girls (Brevard County, Florida)
Brew City Bruisers (Milwaukie,Wisconsin)
Burning River Rollergirls (Cleveland, Ohio)
Cape Fear Killers (Wilmington, North Carolina)
Carolina Rollergirls (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Central Coast Roller Derby (San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara, California)
Charm City Rollergirls (Baltimore, Maryland)
Chi*Town Sirens (Chicago, Illinois)
Cincinnati Rollergirls (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Coal City Rollers (Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania)
Connecticut RollerGirls (Stamford, Connecticut)
Crossroads Roller Derby (Indianapolis & Bloomington, Indiana)
Dallas Derby Devils (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas)
DC Rollergirls (Washington, DC)
Deep South Derby Dolls (St. Augustine, Florida)
Denver Roller Dolls (Denver, Colorado)
Derby City Roller Girls (Louisville, Kentucky)
Derby Rotten Scoundrels (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas)
Detroit Roller Derby (Detroit, Michigan)
Dirty Dames Roller Derby (New Brunswick, New Jersey)
Dixie Derby Girls (Huntsville, Alabama)
Dockyard Derby Dames (Tacoma, Washington)
Dominion Derby Girls (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
Duke City Roller Derby (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
Dutchland Derby Rollers (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
East Texas Bombers (Tyler, Texas)
Florida Rollergirls (Daytona Beach, Florida)
First Coast Fatales (Jacksonville, Florida)
FOCO Girls Gone Derby (Fort Collins, Colorado)
Fort Wayne Rollergirls (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
Gem City Rollergirls (Dayton, Ohio)
Gotham Girls Roller Derby (New York City, New York)
Grand Raggidy Roller Girls (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Grand Strand Roller Girls (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina)
Greater Illinois Rollergirl League (G.I.R.L.) (Central Illinois)
Green Country Roller Girls (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Hard Knox Roller Girls (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Harrisburg Area Roller Derby (HARD) (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
Houston Roller Derby (Houston, Texas)
Hudson Valley Horrors (Kingston, New York)
Hurricane Alley Roller Derby (Corpus Christi, Texas)
ICT Roller Girls (Wichita, Kansas)
Inland Empire Derby Divas (Riverside/San Bernadino, California)
Jet City Rollergirls (Everett, Washington)
Kansas City Roller Warriors (Kansas City, Missouri)
Kentucky Roller Derby (Lexington, Kentucky)
L.A. Derby Dolls (Los Angeles, California)
Lava City Roller Dolls (Bend Oregon)
Lehigh Valley Roller Girls (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Lilac City Roller Girls (Spokane, Washington)
Long Island Roller Rebels (Long Island, New York)
Mad Rollin' Dolls (Madison, Wisconsin)
Mason Vixxen Rollergirls ( Richmond, Kentucky)
Minnesota Roller Girls (Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota)
Mississippi Rollergirls (Gulf Coast, Mississippi)
Memphis Roller Derby (Memphis, Tennessee)
Nacogdoches Rollergirls (Nacogdoches, Texas)
Nashville Rollergirls (Nashville, Tennessee)
No Coast Derby Girls (Lincoln, Nebraska)
NorCal Roller Girls (Chico, California)
North Star Roller Girls (Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota)
North Texas Women's Flat-Track League
NWA Rollergirls (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Ohio Rollergirls (Columbus, Ohio)
Oly Rollers (Olympia, Washington)
Omaha Rollergirls (Omaha, Nebraska)
Orange County Demolition Divas (Orange County, California)
Orange County Roller Girls (Orange County, California)
PA Roller Derby (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania)
Palmetto State Rollergirls (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina)
Penn Jersey She Devils Roller Derby (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Philly Rollergirls (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Pikes Peak Derby Dames (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
Pioneer Valley Roller Derby (COED) (Northhampton, Massachusetts)
Pocono Highrollers (Bangor, Pennsylvania)
Port City Roller Girls (Stockton, California)
Providence Roller Derby (Providence, Rhode Island)
Queen City Rollergirls (Buffalo, New York)
Rat City Rollergirls (Seattle, Washington)
Red River Rollergirls (Alexandria, Louisiana)
Renegade Rollergirls (Phoenix, Arizona)
Ring City Roller Derby (Greenville, North Carolina)
River City Rollergirls (Richmond, Virginia)
River Valley Rollergirls (Fort Smith, Arkansas)
Rock Hard Rollergirls (Little Rock, Arkansas)
Rocketbetty Bruisers (Long Island, New York)
Rockford Rage (Rockford, Illinois)
Rocky Mountain Roller Girls (Denver, Colorado)
Rolling Thunder Derby Dames (Omaha & Council Bluffs, Iowa)
Rose City Rollers (Portland, Oregon)
Rubber City Demolition Dolls (Akron/Canton, Ohio)
Sac City Rollers (Sacramento, California)
Salt City Rollergirls (Salt Lake City, Utah)
San Diego Derby Dolls (San Diego, California)
Savannah Derby Devils (Savannah, Georgia)
SEMO Rollergirls (Cape Girardeau, Missouri)
Sin City Rollergirls (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Smog City Roller Grrls (Fresno, California)
South Texas Rollaristas (Harlingen, Texas)
Steel City Derby Demons (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Switchblade Rollers (Clarksville, Tennessee)
Tallahassee Rollergirls (Tallahassee, Florida)
Tampa Bay Derby Darlins (Tampa Bay, Florida)
Texas Rollergirls (Austin, Texas)
Tornado Alley Rollergirls (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Tragic City Rollers (Birmingham, Alabama)
Treasure Valley Rollergirls (Boise, Idaho)
T-Town Derby Girlz (Sand Springs, Oklahoma)
Tucson Roller Derby (Tuscon, Arizona)
Twin City Rollers (Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota)
TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls (formerly BGGW) (Austin, Texas)
Vacationland Vixens (Portland, Maine)
West Palm Beaches (Palm Beach, Florida)
Western New Jersey Outlaws (Morristown, New Jersey)
Wilmington City Ruff Rollers (Wilmington, Delaware)
Windy City Rollers (Chicago, Illinois)
Wreckin' Rollers (Chicago, Illinois)

USRollergirls.com (a comprehensive site on the roller derby resurgence)

Roller Derby Leagues abroad:

Canada:
Capital City Rollers (Victoria, British Columbia)
Columbia Valley Roller Girls (Castlegar, British Columbia)
Hammer City Roller Girls (Hamilton, Ontario)
London Thrashers (London, Ontario)
MTL Roller Derby (Montreal, Quebec)
Oil City Derby Girls ( Edmonton, Alberta)
Sandstone City Roller Girls (Calgary, Alberta)
Smoke City Betties (Toronto, Ontario)
Terminal City Rollergirls (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Toronto Roller Derby (Toronto, Ontario)

Mexico:
Las Misteriosas (Tijuana, Mexico)

England:
London Roller Girls (London, England)

Germany:
Stuttgart Valley Rollergirlz (Stuttgart, Germany)

New Zeland:
Pirate City Rollers (Auckland, New Zealand)

International All-Girl Roller Derby Leagues List

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