Delia du Toit is an Afrikaans journalist based in Johannesburg. When she’s not pursuing stories, she’s tearing around the south side of the city, on skates, in full-contact pursuit of roller derby rivals.
The Portuguese Hall is the gritty home of the Golden City Rollers and the unofficial HQ of the nascent sport in South Africa. Actuaries, mums, insurance brokerage owners, graphic designers and even the owner of a permaculture company all pile in regularly for their weekly jolt of dopamine.
Du Toit, who goes by ‘Deeablo’ when she’s on the track, says she’s drawn to the dynamism of the sport.
‘It never gets boring, there’s always so much to learn, so much to focus on. There’s no space in my brain for anything else.’
For the uninitiated, roller derby looks like a whirlwind of chaos, a tangle of skaters, speed, and strategy crashing together in a blur of sharp elbows and fast wheels.
To call it rugby on roller skates may be a lazy depiction, but it shares similar elements of physical strength, contact and pace that manifests itself with two teams racing around an oval track.
But there’s more. Roller derby represents a counterculture that mirrors the zeitgeist of diversity and inclusion. Notions of traditional women’s sport are parked at the door in an effort to break down barriers of culture, race, class, gender, and identity.
‘In a conservative society such as ours, roller derby is seen as a safe space,’ says Du Toit (41). ‘Safety and acceptance is really important. Anyone not feeling that way won’t feel comfortable.’
Although men may participate within the league, the national team is a group that is female identifying.
As American writer (and roller derby skater) Emily Mills puts it, the ‘subculture’s diversity, gender-inclusion, and democratic system offers a vision of the world we could live in.’
Interestingly, the The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), which runs the World Cup and many derby events, isn’t in the sort of tangle so many sport organisations are in over gender identity. Its stance is unequivocal: it does not and will not differentiate between members regardless of presentation and identity, and does not and will not set minimum standards of femininity or androgyny for its membership, or interfere with the privacy of its members for the purposes of eligibility.
One half of the punk band Damsel Trash, Mills says that queer and trans people have been involved in creating and building the sport all along the way.
Despite its modern edge, roller derby has deep roots, once championed by American writer Damon Runyon, no less, and continues to reflect the society it spins through.
Refreshingly, the sport is self-governed. While this means there are no cash handouts and no big daddy keeping an eye, it also means that roller derby can steer its own course.
For the moment, the World Cup in Austria in July is concentrating minds. Du Toit is a veteran of the sport, but this will be her first international tournament and she’s determined to raise as much cash as she can to make the trip.
This Friday, in Randburg, the team is hosting a ‘Velvet Circus Party’ with fire breathers, burlesque dancers, music and assorted entertainment. They hustle hard. They sell merchandise, host quiz and karaoke nights and also have a BackaBuddy campaign.
It’s a can-do attitude that speaks to the group’s independent spirit, which survives sporadic highs and lows. People come and go. The sport shrinks, and then it swells.
The three main teams are the Golden City Rollers, Cape Town Roller Girls and Durban’s Poizn City.
With a strong sense of belonging and self-expression, derby skaters are encouraged to have alter egos – but only after they’ve paid their dues in the lower ranks. Once they’ve graduated to a level of accomplishment as A-level skaters, they may adopt a funky name, which invariably sees them transform into someone else entirely.
The sport embraces flair and fun. Thus, we see the likes of Avada Cadaver, DiFibrillator, Dolly Spartan, Block Nez Monster and the evocatively named Slamela Anderson all in the mix with the World Cup training squad.
‘Roller derby is still quite small here, but it’s big in the US and Europe,’ says Du Toit, who is under no illusions about Team SA’s chances in July. In all, 49 national teams will make the trip.
‘We just want a chance. I’ve played for nine years, so this is the ultimate. I hurt my knee [in a practice match] last Sunday, so I’m nervous how that holds up. It’s a full contact sport, so you must cross train and work hard.’
In a world that often demands conformity, roller derby offers something rare: a space where individuality is celebrated, strength is redefined, and community is forged in sweat and skates. For Du Toit – journalist by day, Deeablo by night – it’s more than a sport. It’s a revolution on wheels.
She’s rolling full tilt, toward Austria, toward possibility, and toward a future where the track is wide open.
All you need to know about Team SA and the Roller Derby World Cup: https://teamsarollerderby.com/2025-world-cup/
