Photo by Pablo Raw.

The D.C. Rollergirls will no longer have to skate by using various practice spaces.

The District’s women’s flat-track roller derby league just inked a lease for a 9,000 square foot warehouse in Edmonston, Maryland.

“Having a dedicated space changes everything,” says league president Adrienne Schreiber, known during bouts by her derby name Velocity Raptor. League initiatives from a “fresh meat” program that teaches novices how to skate and learn derby to an after-school program and a recreational league have always been postponed until D.C. Rollergirls found a more permanent space. “Now it gets real.”

The league has been around since 2006. Schreiber estimates that between current league players, officials, volunteers, and what she calls “RRGs” (retired roller girls), the D.C. Rollergirls family numbers 125 people.

This crew helped the league raise the $40,000 necessarily to lease the warehouse.

“It needs a good power washing, but the space is in a good place,” says Schreiber. The league is talking about a cleaning party to get everything in order, and is looking for bleachers and storage containers.

Setting up the actual track is a simple process. Plus, the floors are made of polished concrete. “It sounds scary, but it’s definitely the most fun surface to skate on,” Schreiber says.

Next up, the league will have to deal with a flurry of permits and licenses before it can open up shop in the space. D.C. Rollergirls is hoping to include some concessions, but Schreiber says that depends on the permitting process.

The league has been using D.C. Armory and the Michael and Sons Sportsplex at Dulles, and will continue to do so for the rest of the scheduled 2015-2016 season.

The D.C. Rollergirls schedule is available here. Tryouts are this Saturday, November 7.