The American Roller Skating Derby (ARSD) is a professional

Professional sports

Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...

 roller derby

Roller derby

Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...

 league. As of 2009, the ARSD consists of six teams: the San Francisco Bay Bombers, the San Diego Firebirds, the Chicago Pioneers, the Brooklyn Red Devils, the New York Chiefs and the Orlando Thunder. Most train and compete in the East Bay

East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)

The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...

 area (near San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

), but one team, the San Diego Firebirds, is based in Escondido

Escondido, California

Escondido is a city occupying a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills, just north of the city of San Diego, California. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city had a population of 143,911 at the 2010 census. Its municipal government set itself an operating...

, near San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

.

Unlike leagues in the past, the ARSD has invested in building a new track, and new uniforms. Ferrari has made arrangements to have the tracks up at different venues for additional training, and in some cases, for a week or more at a time. The league also uses former skating stars Delores "Tillie" Tucker, "Bad Boy" Alphonso Reyes, Larry Lewis and Jim Fitzpatrick as coaches and mentors during these training sessions.

Matches

• A match between the Bay Bombers and the Chicago Pioneers was skated on October 14, 2006 at the Alameda venue.
• A game skated between the Bay Bombers and Brooklyn Red Devils drew nearly 1,700 fans at the Kezar Pavilion on April 28, 2007.
• On July 7, 2007 the San Francisco Bay Bombers lost to the Brooklyn Red Devils at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA.
• The San Francisco Bay Bombers defeated the Chicago Pioneers on July 14, 2007 at the Cow Palace.
• The ARSD skated an interleague game between the Bay Bombers and Ralphie's Roller Stars on August 11, 2007 at the Industry Hills Expo Center in the City of Industry, CA.
• On August 18, 2007, the ARSD set their new attendance record when they drew 2,045 people at the Kezar Pavilion when the San Francisco Bay Bombers defeated the Chicago Pioneers.
• The World Championship Cup games were skated on October 13, 2007 at the Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco, in front of approximately 2,400 people. The hometown Bay Bombers defeated the Brooklyn Red Devils to take the championship. The Red Devils defeated the Pioneers in game one, the Bay Bombers defeated the Pioneers in game two.