Monterey Bay Roller Derby (formally the Monterey Bay Derby Dames) is a non-profit, amateur Roller Derby League created by skaters for skaters in Monterey County, California. We strive to inspire, empower and motivate girls and women to be strong and confident in following their dreams. MBRD will serve our community and bring skaters, fans and supporters together. MBRD is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence, hard work, perseverance and respect for diversity and personal development. We take pride in displaying good sportswomanship, personal integrity and ethical conduct while continuing growth regionally and nationally.
League History
The Monterey Bay Derby Dames was created in April 2010 when MeGun O’Killya, Ozzy O. Ferocious and Mis Manners met at the Seaside Starbucks for a “brief” brainstorming session. Three hours later they felt that they had the momentum and enthusiasm that would be needed to create a new flat track roller derby league in Monterey County.
In the Beginning There were Three
MeGun, a firefighter, was interested in joining a derby team but with the nearest league in Santa Cruz, 45 minutes away, it just didn’t work with her schedule.
Meanwhile, Ozzy O. Ferocious had joined the Santa Cruz league 4 months prior and was doing the commute 3 times a week. Not living in the Santa Cruz area was taking its toll with the volunteer hours, late practices, and feeling like she wasn’t really part of the Santa Cruz community.
Mis Manners had joined the Santa Cruz league as an NSO and PR Guru after realizing that her skating skills were not yet at the level that they needed to be to make the Santa Cruz Team but was also getting tired of the commute. Her PR business was located in Monterey County and she was getting set to run for a seat on the City Council in Salinas so she was looking to do something more local with her Roller Derby interests.
Brought Together by Fate?
The three connected through the Monterey Skating Rink, Del Monte Gardens (now closed), after the rink’s owners suggested that they all get together after seeing each of them skating at the rink during public sessions. MeGun created a simple flyer, tacked it up in the rink and the phone calls started flowing in like an avalanche. People wanted Derby to come to Monterey!
Megun O’Killya took the lead and worked tirelessly for the next several weeks – researching what was needed to create a derby team. She found a temporary coach who was willing to commute to Monterey once a week to help with basic skating skills and derby instruction. She recruited friends to join the league and help with organization.
History is Made
Over 20 women showed up for the first organizational meeting and nearly 40 showed up for our first practice in May of 2010. We had the range of skaters… wall huggers to figure skaters and even a few who had actually seen a derby bout!
During the next 2 months we had our weekly practices and went to every available open skate at the rink. We started getting our organization defined, had elections for officers, and started studying the rules. It was overwhelming at times… we had expected about 5 or 6 skaters to be in the initial group. We planned to start small and grow slowly but the news of Roller Derby in Monterey County just couldn’t be kept quiet.
Then in August 2010 we were blessed to have a transfer skater from the east coast move to Monterey. Pippy Longstalker was an experienced derby competitor and agreed to serve as our head coach. Our skills and techniques continued to improve… members continued to join… we worked hours and hours to write by-laws, form a non-profit corporation (in formation), connect with other leagues for informal scrimmages, and become completely immersed in the world of derby. Now that we are a WFTDA Member League, we plan to continue our move forward with this awesome sport!