Speed, contacts, strategy — Roller derby is as impressive as it is unknown. Poitiers Roller Derby will help shed light on this sport by hosting the second stage of the N3 championship on May 16 and 17, 2026, at the Jean-Paul-Gomez gymnasium in Ligugé. Five matches will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and four matches on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This will be the first time national teams will compete, with nine clubs participating: Toulouse, Tarbes, Mérignac, La Roche-sur-Yon, Anglet, Angoulême, Poitiers, Nantes, and Pau.
The principle of roller derby? Two teams of fifteen players on skates compete for an hour, divided into two halves by a halftime, on an oval track called the track. The halves are further divided into “jams,” which are two-minute game sections. Each team fields five players on the track, with continuous substitutions. A player, called a jammer, must “pass the hips of an opposing defender” to score a point, while being covered by four defenders on their side. Safety rules limit the number of fouls to seven per player, risking being put in “jail”: excluded from the match.
This sport emerged in the 1920s in the United States as mixed endurance races on a track. Over the following decades, the sport nearly disappeared due to lack of funding, before being revived by feminist and minority movements. Today, roller derby is known for its values of solidarity and inclusion.
“We heard very little about France’s victory at the world championships in Orléans”
Angeline Manceau, also known as Ark’Ange on the track and coach of the Broyeuses du Poitou at Poitiers Roller Derby, has been practicing this sport for over a decade. A former figure skater, she stumbled upon roller derby somewhat by “accident.” Many discover this sport through social networks, word of mouth, or local events because the publicity and clubs remain relatively “small.” This “activist sport” has, however, gained popularity in recent years. Teams like the N3F + (1) of Poitiers Roller Derby can now participate in a national championship for the first time, being fully equipped.
Despite this slight increase in visibility, Angeline Manceau laments the lack of sports news on this topic: “We heard very little about France’s victory at the world championships in Orléans, even in sports magazines.” She also hopes to see the inclusion of roller derby extend to other sports. For her, “there is room for everyone.”
(1) Inclusive category including cisgender women, transgender women, and gender minority individuals.
