Dirty River Roller Derby a.k.a. DRRD was founded in Turku, Finland in June 2010. At that time three roller derby enthusiasts, Heitti, Juissi and Toxic, set up a meeting and decided to found Turku’s first roller derby team. Filled with passion to play, the newly made friends got themselves the necessary derby gear and started training at an outdoor track in a local sports park.

The following year brought Dirty River lots of new players and also some experience from abroad. The training became more determined through the shared shifts in coaching inside the team. DRRD found their own rhythm and defined the rules for the team’s operation, among other things. Dirty River Roller Derby wanted to keep the membership fees low, derby being otherwise such a costly hobby. The DIY-mentality became naturally emphasized since they really had to do everything themselves. Additionally, DRRD wanted to open their doors for everyone – the prohibition of racism, homophobia and transphobia felt important from the very beginning.

Originally the team was named Dirty River Roller Grrrls aka. DRRG! (Yes, with an exclamation point.). In 2017 the name was changed, because the team wanted the sport to be clearly visible in the name. In addition,despite the riot girl history of it, the old name felt too gendering for a team that appreciates and welcomes the diversity of gender.