ROLLER DERBY (Photo by John Schreiber, The Daily Campus)
Here comes Buck You barreling around the corner, her skates squawking as their rubber wheels search for the hardwood roller rink surface. She weaves through three defenders on the black team with ease, gliding to the front of the pack. In an instant, she lowers her hands together, bounces them off her waist once, then twice, winning points for her team.
Speed is Buck You’s trademark strategy.
You probably haven’t set foot in a skating rink since middle school, but there may be a reason to reconsider: roller derby is back.
“I remember watching [roller derby] on TV as a kid. I fell in love with it, and I knew Dallas wouldn’t be far behind,” said Aimee Robinson, who skates for a flat-track roller derby league in Dallas called Assassination City.
It’s the sport that has revived and reinvented itself time and time again since its birth in 1935. Today, it’s making an aggressive comeback. And this time, its players are all-female, amateur skaters.
On cable TV, the game has received publicity recently on A&E through the show “Rollergirls,” a docu-drama featuring Austin’s banked-track league called Lonestar Rollergirls.
The sport appears to be catching on in Dallas. More than 400 people attended “She Loves Me Not,” a recent scrimmage hosted by Assassination City at its practice rink in Mesquite.
Derby differences
But, some experts and derby enthusiasts say today’s game is not really roller derby.
It was considered an athletic sport in the early days, but today roller derby is more entertainment than serious sport, said Gary Powers, executive director of the National Roller Derby Hall of Fame.
“They’ve taken the name ‘roller derby’ and a few of the elements of the game,” Powers said. “I’m not quite sure what you would call it.”
Chicago promoter Leo Seltzer introduced the public to the sport in 1935. It was founded as a co-ed sport in which teams would compete on a 45 degree-angled track, known as a “banked” track, while wearing roller skates.
At that time in the United States, there were not many sports for female athletes – especially professional sports that allowed males and females to compete together.
“It was really the first professional sport where women were equal with men,” Powers said.
But, while on the track men and women were equal; in the eyes of the public they were not always seen that way.
“Women who were professional athletes were woman who had something wrong with them,” Powers said. “So, it was important that women at this time were models of femininity – spoke professionally, dressed professionally and represented the sport well.”
Seventy years later, roller derby women represent the game much differently. Many have wild names, wear low cut shirts and fishnet stockings, and have outspoken personalities.
Skate back in time
Today, there are over 50 roller derby leagues in the United States. In Texas alone, there are eight leagues. Dallas has two. The majority of leagues compete on a flat-track surface, very few compete on a banked track.
The reason for the popularity of flat tracks is simple: accessibility and money. Leagues that play on flat surfaces can practice and compete anywhere from the local roller rink to a stadium.
In the 1950s, when Seltzer’s son Jerry Seltzer oversaw the sport, the competing teams either played where a banked track was located or hauled the track along with them. Banked tracks are costly to build and uncommon.
Though it’s not known for sure, several derby players trace the new wave back to Austin, where they say it began about six years ago.
“It all started in the Red River district with Evil Dan. He had envisioned this idea of tournament once a year with a fire breather, more of a circus-like atmosphere,” said Rachelle Moore, who skates for the flat-track roller derby league in Austin called the Texas Rollergirls.
Moore, who works as ADD in Austin, goes by the derby name Sparkle Plenty.
What Evil Dan, a sports promoter, envisioned for his new roller derby didn’t exactly play out like a circus show, but the idea of multiple forms of entertainment did.
It’s hard to find Evil Dan around Austin today. Those in the roller derby business say he is no longer in the area. After raising money for the sport, he and the money vanished one day, Moore said.
Part of the attraction to most derby events these days are theme-based events with halftime band performances and an option to bring your own beverages.
With character names like Jackknife Ruby and Patsy Collide, most leagues have incorporated an overriding theme that players carry onto the track. Many players compete wearing tight shorts and provocative tops. Tattoos and piercing are also a common sight.
Assassination City uses the theme-based slogan “Watch Your Head,” and its official logo is a close-up shot of a gun barrel. Offensive players wear polyester-covered helmets with a large crosshair displayed on each side.
Derby makeover
Some players believe the new derby atmosphere is a breath of fresh air.
Some of the elements include “punk rock and tattoos, along with the flat track,” according to Brittany King, known on the flat track as Mary Lou Threaten for Assassination City.
“I love the new reincarnation,” she said.
King, a kindergarten teacher by day, was a spectator before becoming a player.
But, others say the birth of flat-track roller derby, the all-female aspect and the theme-based genre are three reasons why this new wave cannot be called roller derby.
“A lot of us think: ‘What does this have to do with roller derby?'” Powers said. “I’m not saying these girls aren’t athletes, but it’s not as much about the sport. They are using the name roller derby to sell something that’s not really roller derby.”
Some players say the new style fits the current culture.
“To me it’s a sport, for sure. I think the old-schoolers are having issues with it because it’s only women, now,” said Moore. “I don’t think anyone’s going to watch guys on roller skates when there’s motorcross and other male dominating sports.”
Though the old generation and the new generation may disagree, both agree the current wave has room for improvement.
“Maybe it’s just a transitional period for some of them, until they learn the game,” Powers said. “I think things are evolving and changing, and we’ll see what happens.”
Moore agrees.
“It’s going through growing pains now,” she said. “If women dominated for a while, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
Roller Derby Rules
Roller derby, with penalty boxes and character names, can be described as a mixed version of wrestling and hockey. But, keep in mind that it’s not staged and there are no puck or sticks involved.
Two teams, with five players on the court, compete against one another in hopes that their offensive player, known as the jammer, will score the most points in a timed round.
At the front of the pack, a pivot from each team leads the pack, setting the pace. Behind the pivot skate three blockers, who defend against the opposing team’s jammer, while pushing their own.
In each round, the jammer starts in the back and must fight her way through the pack and lap it once to earn points. She earns a point for each player she passes.
Assassination City’s 2006
season schedule
April 9
May 7
June 11
July 9
Aug. 13
Sept. 17
Oct. 22 (championship)
What’s Hot Fun World located on 400 S. Buckner Blvd. in Dallas.
Dallas Derby Devils’ 2006
season schedule
March 5
April 2
May 7
June 4
June 25
July 30
Aug. 27 (championship)
Arlington Skatium located on 5515 S. Cooper St. in Arlington.
