Roller derby coach preps to compete and coach at world level, while still coaching Austin skaters

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Several young roller-skaters took to the roller derby track at Bartholomew District Park early Saturday morning to get ready to host the Junior Roller Derby Association (JRDA) Female Division Playoffs in a few weeks. It’s the first time Texas will host.

One of Texas Junior Roller Derby’s coaches, Ruth Williams, known in the roller derby world as Coach Peacewar, is preparing to take on the world… literally.

Peacewar divides her time between coaching junior skaters in Austin, skating competitively herself with Texas Rollergirls, and working full-time as an accountant.

On top of all that, she was also selected as a JRDA Team USA coach for the 2025 World Cup, which will take place in Brisbane, Australia, on July 26-28.

She said she got into roller derby because of the movie “Whip It,” but the sport changed her life.

“I was 19, so I was coming out of high school, and didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I wanted to travel. And then I found roller derby, and that kind of, that kind of changed my life,” Peacewar said. “It’s a huge passion of mine. I love the sport. I love what it stands for. I love that I get to coach the future. You know, the junior skaters are the future of flat track roller derby and just roller derby in general.”

What is roller derby?

There are two types of roller derby: flat track and banked track. Roller derby is a contact sport that “combines elements of racing and theatrics,” per the Texas State Historical Association.

Here’s how it works, according to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association league rules:

“Two 15-skater teams play two 30-minute periods. Each period consists of multiple “jams.” Each jam is an opportunity for both teams to score points, and ends after two minutes or when the Lead Jammer calls off the jam.”

Jammers, who are identified by wearing a star on their helmets, are the only players who can score, which is done by lapping other players.

Coach Peacewar & her journey to the World Cup

Coach Peacewar has been coaching with TXJRD since 2018, and she’s been playing roller derby since 2009. She currently plays for several teams, including the Texas Rollergirls’ Hell Marys, the Texecutioners All-Star Travel Team, and the borderless international team Fuego Latino.

Before she goes to Australia to coach the junior team, she’ll travel to Austria to compete in the adult Roller Derby World Cup with Fuego Latino Roller Derby, a borderless team consisting of Latinx athletes from the U.S., Latin America and around the world.

Peacewar, one of six coaches for Team USA, said the process of selecting the team’s players for the junior World Cup was “insane.”

“It’s the best of the best from all over the world, representing the country that they’re a part of,” she explained. Peacewar said there were several tryouts in different cities, and each one saw 40 or more kids. That ultimately had to be dwindled down to a total of 40 — 20 for the female division and 20 for the open division. Those teams were set in November.

“For the JRDA, I think you have to be like, 14-15, to qualify, and you have to be a level three. So you have to be, like advanced in your group,” Peacewar explained. “With junior roller derby, there’s three different levels, so it’s like beginner, intermediate, and advanced, right? So you would have to be in that advanced category to even try out and be on a competitive team as well. So it’s a lot of qualifications just to try out.”

Roller derby players choose their own derby names, which can represent their playing style or personality, or they’re a pun on their name or number.

There were a few different things that led to the name Peacewar.

The coach’s full name is Ruth Ann Williams. She wanted to incorporate her initials into her derby name, so she flipped them into WAR and combined that with her love of the 60s and 70s and strong belief in peace and love. And she ended up with Peacewar.

Junior Roller Derby in Austin

Texas Junior Roller Derby is a 501c3 nonprofit junior sports club started in 2014 in Austin, a city that has a deep, historic connection to the sport, as its modern revival was kick-started in the early 2000s in Austin. TJRD’s focus is “fostering personal and physical development through collaboration and community building,” according to its website.

Courtney Williams Barrón, president of the Board of Directors for Texas Junior Roller Derby, said the club has competitive and recreational skating. There are about 50 players in the league itself, and 20 on the competitive team.

The club also has a School of Derby, which offers six-week courses that teach kids how to play.

Barrón said it’s an “honor” that Peacewar was chosen to coach Team USA.

Roller derby is a completely volunteer-driven sport, and skaters have to pay monthly dues to be on the team. The JRDA requires World Cup skaters and coaches to fund their own travel and participation. The local roller derby community has been fundraising to help pay for Peacewar’s travels.

The Hive in south Austin is hosting a fundraising event on Sunday, June 1. It includes a cash raffle, which ends at 4 p.m. on June 1, and a silent auction, which ends at 8 p.m. on June 8.

Those interested in supporting Peacewar can also donate by texting PeaceTeamUSA to 33100 (in the US) or (855) 202-2100 (outside the US).

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