After twelve years as Assault City Roller Derby, we are excited to roll out a new name and logo that better reflect our values, our community, and our identity as a league. Starting today, we will be skating and conducting business as Salt City Roller Derby. We went into this rebrand—the biggest in our league’s history—with the goal of representing ourselves, our city, and our sport as well as we could. We are thrilled by the results and we look forward to entering this new era with you, our friends, family, and fans, without whom none of this would be possible.
We are Salt City Roller Derby
Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for our league. As the sport of roller derby, our membership, and our structure have changed in both large and small ways, we have found a need to change how we present ourselves to the world. Starting today, we will be operating under a new name and logo that we believe reflects our values, our community, and our identity as a league.
Our Values
Every rebrand is an opportunity to consider how we tell the world who we are. What do we want people to think of us when they hear our name in a conversation or see someone wearing one of our T-shirts? What impression will a logo that we could sketch from memory leave on someone encountering it for the first time?
Above all else, we strive for inclusion, for competitiveness, for good sporting behavior, and for fun both on and off the track. Our previous name, “Assault City,” carried associations of violence that were out of sync with our league and with the modern sport of roller derby. For the past few years, we have discussed how to reshape our branding as we move into a new era as a league. That time has finally come. There will always be a place in our hearts for our time as ACRD, but we’re excited beyond belief for the years ahead of us as SCRD.
Our Community
We are proud to represent the city of Syracuse, New York. Our new name and logo celebrate Syracuse’s history of salt production.
Long before the city of Syracuse was incorporated, the Onondaga tribes who lived in this region produced and traded salt. The salt industry reached its peak in the nineteenth century, when Syracuse was the salt production capital of the United States. This was when we earned our nickname of “Salt City.” In the present, salt continues to be a theme in the daily lives of Syracuse residents, from our famous salt potatoes to the salted roads and sidewalks that define our long, snowy winters.
Our Identity
While our logo has gone through many incarnations over the past twelve years, it has always portrayed a team skater. This style of logo was conventional for many years in the roller derby community. But as time passes, conventions shift, and so does our league identity. We sought a logo that could represent all of us rather than a few of us. Right now, we of Salt City Roller Derby would like to say that we are much more than our team skaters.
We are officials. Off-skates or on, we keep things running smoothly and safely at practices, scrimmages, and games so everyone can have fun.
We are coaches. We study the game to instruct individuals on the skills and knowledge of this team sport, so that they can reach their full potential as athletes and as people.
We are announcers. We use our years of knowledge and experience to educate and entertain fans both new and old.
We are photographers. Showing up to document the grit and glory of every event to help us promote our league with imagery.
We are medical residents, nurses, physicians, and EMTs who donate our time and skills to ensure that the skaters we love can play the sport they love as safely as possible. We always have their backs (and their knees, and their ankles, etc.).
We are New Recruits. We come to every practice ready to face our fears and support each other, excited and eager to learn the skills and tactics of roller derby.
We are fans. Our job is to support those who consistently inspire us to be the strongest versions of ourselves. Roller derby is more than just skating, it is a community where acceptance is key and positivity is shared among all, including us fans.
We are Salt City Roller Derby, the first and only roller derby league in Syracuse, New York. Thank you for your support over the past twelve years. We can’t wait to see you next season!
