The Madison Roller Derby returned to the track the night of Dec. 10 as hundreds flocked to the Keva Sports Center in Middleton. This marked the first Madison Roller Derby since 2020 when COVID-19 indefinitely suspended one of the nation’s first roller derby leagues.
Right off of the exit for highway twelve, the Keva Sports Center is mostly unassuming, a product of suburban sprawl. But a line of cars overflows from its stuffed parking lot. The cars belong to an eclectic crowd there for a shared interest in both the carnage and camaraderie of the derby.
Roller derby originated in the late fifties as a lace and blood female-dominated mirror of modern professional wrestling.