Inside Scoop on the Derby City Roller Girls 2008 Season

What attracted you to Roller Derby?
I love the camaraderie of roller derby.  A skater from the New Orleans league, the Big Easy Rollergirls, described it as "the rock and roll athletic charitable sorority," and I think that's pretty accurate.  It's great getting to work as a team with so many amazingly strong and talented women.  League members do every bit of what it takes to put on our events, from promotion and getting sponsors to laying out the track, and it's a ton of work, but totally worth it.  It takes every one of us, including our amazing support staff, to put on a bout.  Also, women don't get a lot of opportunity in our culture to really be aggressive and competitive in contact sports.I actually thought the skating would be easy for me, and the contact part of the game hard, but that's turned out to NOT be the case. I love knocking girls down.

Before you joined the Derby City Roller Girls how long had it been since you'd gone roller skating? If it had been a while was it like riding a bike, it came back to you pretty quickly?
Well, I just turned 40 (I'm one of the older skaters in the league), and I don't think I'd been on roller skates since I was 15 or so, so that's 25 years.  I was a competitive  figure skater (ice) when I was a kid,  so I had skating skills to remember, but I was never that rink rat teenager that spent every Saturday at the roller rink. I got involved with the league at its inception, so I was at some of our first open skates in Indiana, almost two years ago, and it was crazy hard at first. You know, you look at those little four and five year old kids at the rink, they're totally fearless and they bounce!  It took me a few months to really remember how to be comfortable on my wheels.  Now, though, I think I could do almost anything on roller skates, except the splits. Those days are past. 

What's the most painful/interesting Roller Derby battle scar you've seen or have yourself?
Well, it's a full-contact sport, you know?  I guess two injuries had the most impact on me, and they were  both to other people.  A year and a half ago, a bunch of us went to watch our first bout in Knoxville, and a woman had a compound fracture in the second period.  I can still remember how shocked and freaked out we all were.  She was screaming and the paramedics were giving her morphine, then they cleaned the blood off the track and the game went on.  The second one would have been our game in October, against the Riverside Rollergirls (Newport, KY), when my derby wife, Raquel Squelch, broke her leg in 2 places.  She was such a trooper, and she's already back on her skates. 

Personally, I've been banged up, but nothing that flashy.  I did have a bad case of runner's knee most of last season, that kept me from being at peak performance, but knee injuries are pretty much part of the sport.  Well, and I was on crutches for a few weeks last fall, when I had an injured thigh.  And a LOT of bruises.

Derby wife? Is that just a term of affection or  does it mean something?
Someone should write a derby to english dictionary, I think!  Yes, it means something.  Your derby wife is a special friend, often someone who started skating the same time as you, who has your back and does special things for you.  It's kind of a buddy system...so if you break your leg at the bout, or get really drunk at the afterparty, there's someone who'll make sure you and your gear get home in one piece!  My derby wife is Raquel Squelch, because we were co-captains of our team and pals.  She's a great woman and an amazing tattoo artist.

Describe the best bout you've participated in?
It's always the one we just played.  The bouts are so exciting and fast paced that they're almost over before you know what's happening.   I always want to be able to go back and play again, the next day.  Well, maybe in a few days, after I've healed up a little.

Right now, though, I'm super excited about our season opener, Love Hurts.  It'll be our first game at our new bigger venue (we're playing at the fairgrounds this season!), which we're hoping will be a lot more accessible for the fans.  We're playing the Rollergirls of Southern Indiana, and it should be a really exciting game.
Does the new venue mean there's more room for spectators or maybe better views? Is it easier to get to than the old venue?
Yes, all of the above.  The Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center's West Hall has room for up to three thousand fans, with lots of bleachers for good views or chairs for comfort.  Of course, as always, the most exciting seats are the 'suicide seats' on the floor, next to the track.  Of course, you do risk getting a skater in your lap.  It's really easy to get to, right of I65, with plenty of parking and thanks to popular request, our new venue offers BEER!  

How many Roller Derby teams/leagues are around the country? How many teams are in your league?
There's more than 240, and new leagues form all the time.  In fact, it's hard to have an accurate count since the sport is growing so fast.  Currently, our league has one team and we all compete to be on the roster for each bout.  Last season, we had two local teams, and a travel team that was drawn from both, but for this season, we've decided to focus on the strongest possible joint effort while we build the league and our fan base.  So this season, all of our games will be against other leagues in our region.

Tickets can also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, by phone (502-361-3100 or 1-800-487-1212), or at the KEC Ticket Office, located to the right of Freedom Hall. Advance tix are $10 plus service fee, or they are $15 at the door the night of the event. Doors open at 5:30pm and the bout starts at 7pm. Parking is $5.

Photographs courtesy of John Wurth, owner of Hatch Creative