Culture :: Entering the World of Roller Derby

Years ago, I met Sariah through my husband’s good friend Darren.  I immediately like Sariah as she is just one of those women who has a real zest for life and loves to push herself to the limits.  And boy is she strong!  She has five children and still continues to test her physicial and mental strength.   For example, she wanted to learn how to fly so she decided she would become a fly-instructor.  She started taking Yoga and Pilates and ended up getting certified to teach both and her latest adventure entails joining a Roller Derby team and entering the world of Roller Derby.  For those who need a little initiation (I did!) into this fascinating world that is a part of American culture here is a little back history.

The history of roller derby traces the evolution of roller skating races into a unique sport which has undergone several boom-and-bust cycles throughout most of the 20th century. Although it was a form of sports entertainment for much of its existence, a grassroots, early 21st century revival spearheaded by women has restored an emphasis on athleticism.  The growing popularity of roller skating in the United States led to the formation of organized endurance races as early as 1884, when skater Victor W. Clough skated 100 miles over the course of nearly ten hours in Geneseo, Illinois.  It continued to gain popularity through the 20th century and made it’s TV debut on November 29, 1948, Roller Derby on New York television, beginning a 13-week run on the CBS-TV network, broadcasting at a time well before television was in widespread use. Although few people owned TVs at that time, broadcasts could be seen on sets in bars and storefront windows. The fledgling medium allowed underwhelming audience sizes to be made to look like they had packed venues to capacity, leading spectators to turn out in droves for subsequent matches. (Wikepedia.com)

Over time, Roller Derby popularity ebbed and flowed with the times and several attempts were made to revive the sport in the late 1970s through the 1990s.  One such group was the  International Roller Skating League (IRSL), which was operational from April 24, 1977 to December 12, 1987. IRSL games were held mostly in Northern California, but a handful of games were skated in the Northeastern United States, the Midwest, and Canada. Many skaters from Roller Derby were in the IRSL, and some of the team names were the same as in Roller Derby.

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In the late 80’s we saw a successful TV revival with RollerGames, created by two television producers, David Sams and Michael Miller, and Roller Games owner Bill Griffiths, Sr..  Roller Games was a U.S. television show that presented a theatrical version of the sport of roller derby for a national audience. It featured a steeply banked figure-eight track, an alligator pit, and a number of skaters who had been in the Roller Games league, as well as younger participants. The six teams were the T-Birds, Violators, Bad Attitude, Rockers, Hot Flash, and Maniacs. The show only lasted thirteen weeks despite garnering over a 5 national rating during its prime-time debut, and was in the top 25 of all syndicated shows for the season—even beating the popular American Gladiators. (Wikepedia.com). My husband and I can remember watching this show weekly and remember how tough those ladies were!  Today we are seeing an underground movement to revitalized Roller Derby.  Roller Derby member Sariah Ellsmore provides a first-hand take on why she chose to join the local Roller Derby team and what it has meant to her as a mom and woman to push herself in this fun but tough sport!  She recently competed in the Roller Derby Team USA and made it in the finals!  She is pictured top right side, third one in (with the black moustache).

I joined the whole roller derby world roughly 2 and ½ years ago. A girlfriend had mentioned it and it sounded like fun. Little did I know I was in for a whirlwind of change and adventure. Showing up to my first practice was a scary to say the least the last time I had been on skates I was 12, (26 years ago prior) and had no idea what to expect. What I found was a group of ordinary ladies, moms, lawyers, teachers, waitresses, horse trainers, hair -dressers, nurses, and psychologists. They were mostly in their mid 30s, All different shapes and sizes and fitness levels. It seems we were all drawn to the sport on some level because we were looking for connection, community, friendship and a way to get in shape.  It turns out roller derby became all of that and more. I learned to embrace my fear of pain, and learned how to give and take hits. I learned how to push really hard and become more agile and swift. I learned to take on new challenges and skills with out being afraid to fail. I learned that I can trust other women to have my back and play as a team.

Roller Derby as a whole started in the 70s as a spectator sport where the show was all about crazy ladies punching and pulling hair as the raced around a track. Many of our fans remember the days of black eyes and tripping, kind of like a WWF for sexy women. However today it is a sanctioned sport with rules and regulations the site for that is wftda.com thousands of ladies and some men(dangle derby) are playing now and competing on many levels. There’s rumor that they are trying to make it an Olympic sport. As of now we do have a National team that has dominated the world arena Team USA.

As far as the sport itself, when we compete its called a “bout” the Bout is 2 ,30 min periods and a half time. Each 30 min period is broken into 2 min jams with 30 sec break. The set up for the jam is 5 players at a time 4 blockers 1 jammer per team. The jammer scores the points while the blockers both assist their jammer and defend against the opposing jammer. Each Jam has the potential of lasting the full 2 min or can be called off by the lead jammer ( the first jammer to get through the pack).

I have thoroughly enjoyed this sport as it has served as a place to release my pent up aggression. It has given me an outlet to excel and compete and improve myself daily. I have found that the most of the ladies of derby are brave and exciting and love to push themselves. Many have tattoos and piercings but this is not a requirement.  The number one rule of roller derby is “to not be a douche bag” and most of the women live by this rule.

I’ve attached a little note I wrote called Hit Me and a picture of my home team Roller girls in pagosa  (RIP) I currently play for 3 teams RIP, Plague (kind of like an All Star team) and Moab UT.  I did just try out for Team USA and will be heading to a second tryout in Aug.

Photo (top) courtesy of: myderbyadventure.wordpress.com

Photo (vintage) courtesy of: commons.wikimedia.org