What is roller derby? As well as giving listeners an insight into the sport, this short radio feature aims to submerge the listener into the bout atmosphere to give them a real taste of what the game is all about.
The audio was recorded on location at the Mistletoe and Grime bout featuring Croydon Roller Derby and the Manchester Checker Broads.
Voice introduction by Harriet Rose-Gale.
As I youngster, I attended a couple of roller discos and thought of myself as a rather nifty skater. Years passed and now those skills are long gone and both my dignity, and knees, were left bruised after a training session with the Dorset Roller Girls. They very kindly let me attend a ‘fresh meat’ session so I could find out exactly what it takes for those wanting to start roller derby. Watch the video below to see how I got on.
A feature of roller derby that makes the sport so unique is the names that grace the backs of roller girls’ shirts across the globe. From Apoc Alex to Alma Geddon, the names are witty, imaginative and sometimes rather rude. The names are even registered online, so no two skaters are the same.
However, not all players are so keen to embrace their alter ego. Allison Salenetri (pictured below), 34, of the Philly Roller Girls is one of a number of skaters who has decided to banish her ‘Hotrod Hussy’ label and skate under her own name.
Until recently, it would have been seen as outrageous to not have a roller derby name, but the recent World Cup in Toronto saw many players skating under their own names.
While some girls are keen to lose their skate names, others embrace their alter ego – so why is opinion divided on this issue?
Click the track below to find out more about the derby names and learn why some roller girls are abolishing them altogether.
WARNING: The audio contains language some listeners may find offensive.
A retired roller derby skater has criticised the modern day game, saying the roller girls of today are “insulting.” Mary Youpelle, 91, who left school at 16 to become a professional roller derby player, has said today’s roller girls do not take the sport seriously. “They don’t put the effort into skating, they’re not proud of what they’re doing, they just think they’re having fun,” she said.
Mary joined a roller derby derby team in 1937 in St Louis and stopped in 1958 as a result of marriage and children. During her time as a roller girl the sport drew huge crowds, “we were very close to getting in the Olympics,” she said. But Mary does not believe today’s game will reach that calibre as the girls see it as more of a hobby than a sport. “A lot of them are overweight, you can’t be an athlete and be overweight. I don’t give them credit at all,” she said.
Click below to listen to the interview with Mary about her views on today’s roller girls. Apologies for the poor sound quality, but it is worth a listen to hear her opinion on the 21st Century game.
Mary’s comments are controversial for any roller derby fan or player, but what do you think? Answer the below poll and comment with your views on her remarks.
With roller derby being a fast-paced contact sport in the same insurance bracket as rugby, injuries are not uncommon. It is therefore essential for players to wear protective equipment to avoid causing harm to themselves or others. Emma Dyduch of Croydon Roller Derby describes the measures put in place to ensure the game is safe and talks about her most serious injury to date.
According to a recent poll conducted by RollerderbyUK, derby names should stay put. Over 70 of you voted and 92% did not agree that abolishing roller derby names would increase the legitimacy of the sport.
So in celebration of the quirky, witty and downright rude names that grace the shirts of roller girls across the country, RollerderbyUK has created a short clip which delves a little deeper into the fascinating world of derby names.
Click the track above to find out how Pinky Fingaz, Nyt Owl and G Whizz of the Manchester Checker Broads and Croydon Roller Derby’s Coco Dean acquired their names and how they feel about having an alter ego.
You may have read the memoirs of the retired skater detailing her experiences of 1950s roller derby, but the outspoken 79-year-old has some strong opinions about the modern day game.
Loretta ended her career as a professional roller derby skater in 1959 after ten years of touring with teams across the US, appearing on television and attracting crowds of up to 35,000. Today, she follows 21st Century roller derby and says the sport is very different to the game she played. “In my day there were people that were blockers, jammers, pack skaters, everyone had the opportunity to be whatever they wanted,” she says.
The feisty ex-skater visits roller girls around the US, encouraging them and offering them advice about gameplay. The need for today’s roller girls to play both offence and defence is an important principle according to Loretta. “They are still playing put your head down push through the pack and score, there’s more to roller derby than just scoring points.”
With today’s final scores reaching the hundreds, there is no doubt the game has changed, as Loretta points out, “we had games where nobody even scored a point because we had good defensive play.” For the modern day game that seems unimaginable, but the New Yorker recognises the differences between the early days and now, “what I keep telling everybody is that you’ll never be a roller derby girl of my past, those days are over.”
Despite the move from banked to flat track, Loretta can still offer some advice to the roller girls of the future, “what you need to do is watch how the girls in the pack block. One of the things I always told everybody is that jammers are the most boring people out there because they just skate. The roller girls these days don’t even block they just put their head down,” she says. As any roller girl would know, spatial awareness is essential, and Loretta agrees, “you need two sets of eyes, one in front and one in the rear. If somebody falls in front of you and you’re looking behind them, you’ll go flying right over them.”
Loretta admits that after the Texas Roller Girls’ 2001 revival of roller derby, she didn’t have a high opinion of the game they were playing as she thought the girls were not committed to the sport, “it’s a women’s world today and a lot of new people want to become athletes and unfortunately my opinion of the roller girls when they first started was that it was not athletic. They seemed to want to go out, have fun, have a party, drink and whatever. Now they’re getting more serious.”
For Loretta, the sport that changed her life will always stay with her and she hopes to pass on her knowledge and advice to future generations in order for the sport to be a major success. She is confident modern day roller derby will take off after witnessing an audience of 2,000 spectators turn up at a game in Atlanta, “I thought that was wonderful because they are creating fans there as more and more people are understanding what the sport is.”
To read Loretta’s full story and a history of the sport, check out this month’s Lead Jammer magazine and follow @LeadJammerMag on Twitter.
An early start for Croydon Riot Squad saw the team and supporters huddled outside Fairfield Halls at 6am waiting for the coach to transport them to Manchester for a festive themed open door bout – Mistletoe and Grime.
Half an hour later, no sign of the coach and the roller girls were getting chilly. After much deliberation the team eventually set off at 9am.
The girls arrived just in time to witness a snippet of the Merby bout between New Wheeled Order and Tyne N’ Fear before they took to the track.
The Manchester Checker Broads, sporting their signature black and white socks, were off to a great start, achieving lead jammer in the first jam, but the Riot Squad soon made their mark when a major penalty saw a power jam take the score to 8-4 to Croydon. A high scoring power jam for Do or Dyduch meant Manchester were unable to increase their points and taking the score to 22-4 to Croydon.
Mosquito and Mimika Mayhem continued to rack up the points for the Riot Squad, and the Checker Broads were getting agitated and saw regular visits to the penalty box meaning the Riot Squad could take advantage of the all-important power jams leaving the score at half time Croydon 86 – 44 Manchester.
With the Croydon Riot Squad ahead, and the frustration beginning to show on the faces on the Manchester girls – the half time break was a chance for the teams to reconvene and go into the second half with their minds on the game – and that they did.
An awesome 20-point scoring power jam from Vic Tori Bee of Manchester meant the gap in scores was closing quickly, the Riot Squad managed to hold themselves and broke the century mark, but Manchester were only 15 points behind.
A surge of brilliance form Manchester meant the gap continued to close inch by inch, and after they reached 100 points there were 14 points separating the two teams.
Both teams were battling hard and the crowd were getting louder and louder as the point difference between them was just 5 and the Riot Squad were struggling to fend off their opponents.
At one point it looked like Manchester were going to take it, but a high scoring power jam from Do or Dyduch brought the score to Croydon 142 – 122 Manchester, shortly before G-Whizz of Manchester was ejected from the game.
With the Riot Squad only 20 points ahead and 10 seconds left on the clock, there was still time for one more jam, if there was a power jam in favour of Manchester, they could take this. But the Riot Squad did exactly what they needed to do; achieved lead jammer status and called off the jam, winning their first open door away bout 163-126. It was a great game of strength and struggle, with both teams showing true grit and determination.
Lines –Ups
Croydon Riot Squad
20 President Garfield (Captain)
17 Jeopardy Jinx (Vice Captain)
2 Do or Dyduch
23 Gin Atomic
26 Mosqutio
78 Skatja Boloksov
56 Apocalex
81 Dot Cottenmouth
200mg Coco Dean
639 Skate-Hell-Extric
999 Death Valley O’Malley
800 Ghouldielocks (CCR)
J9 Mimika Mayhem
75 T-Vexed
Bench Manager: Herbie Licious
Line Up Manager: Paris Hit-Em -All
Manchester Checker Broads
7 Sui-Cider (Captain)
623 Manc Zappa (Vice Captain)
42 G Whizz
N5 Go-Go Chanel
2820 Nyte Owl
18 Skulldozer
4 Vic Tori Bee
17 Scary Wollstoncraft
L33T Kerried Alive
101 Pinky Fingaz
H1N1 Suffra-Jet
3 Ma-Rollin’ Munster
11 Kate Push
1UP Leviathan
Bench Manager: Jowanna Clout
Line Up Manager: Gay Fawkes
As an entertainment sport, the bout, or match, is an essential part of roller derby and is what players work towards in their training sessions. With thrashing guitars blaring from the speakers, an enthusiastic crowd and feisty face-painted derby girls ready to take to the track, a roller derby bout captures the true essence of the sport.
For an idea of the bout atmosphere and to understand what roller derby looks like in action, take a look at the photo slideshow below from a closed-door bout between Croydon Roller Derby and the Kent Roller Girls. Due to the fact that roller derby leagues are managed and funded by players, putting on an open-door bout is a hard task involving a lot of organisation meaning closed-door bouts are more regular as they are easier to set up. You’ll also notice the roller girls are wearing what is called a boutfit - the specialised clothing and equipment worn during a roller derby game.
According to a recent article posted by The Morning Bulletin, roller derby is not a sport. Yes, you read that right. Despite the fact Team England have recently returned from achieving third place in what was the first ever Roller Derby World Cup, held in Toronto, Adrian Taylor has slammed roller derby saying “it looks like an excuse for violence and brutality with a dubious element of perversion thrown in for salacious pleasure.”
He identifies football, rugby, tennis and athletics as ‘sports’, adding that the need for “skills, finesse, strategy and a high degree of strength and fitness” in these activities characterises them as ‘sport’.
It is no secret that roller derby is an entertainment sport; both for players and spectators. But is this element of fun detracting from the seriousness of what is a brutal and challenging game, requiring strength, agility, speed, strategy and fitness?
There is growing debate as to whether names like Kamikaze Kitten and Vagablonde are holding the sport back. With its fast growing popularity, should roller derby consider a re-vamp? Or are whacky names and fishnets all part of the magic of this truly fascinating sport?
loading tweets…
