Philly Weekend in Pictures

1. The Family Vengeance --- Mama V and Papa V with Lady Vengeance before the bout.
















2. Rising temps caused large sheets of ice and snow to slide off the roof!


Consequently, everyone was forced to use a small side entrance and to move their parked cars away from the front of the building.

3. Lady V's first warm-up helped minimize her butterflies.












4. Sawbonz and Jenna von Fury flex and pose before the bout.

















5. Comaraderie --- The Garden State Roller Girls travel team enjoy a laugh together.












6. Round 'n' round 'n' round ...













7. The ref signals a "lead jammer."













8. Jeerleaders' silly antics: A monkey chases a banana, presumably for the younger spectators in the crowd! With such an edgy rep, the sport surprisingly strives to be family-friendly.















9. Get your derby merchandise!

The usual --- tee shirts, mugs, boxers

The unusual --- crocheted ovaries & vagina (not shown)

10. Proof of I.D. required for the beer tent --- I am indeed over 21.












11. High tech meets low tech. Fans cheer their support, while displaying both handmade and custom-designed, computer-generated signs!
















12. After the bout, Lady Vengeance is rosy-cheeked, a little sweaty and disappointed that her team lost .... but she's still smilin'!

Philly Weekend - Overview

The day after a nor'easter blew across the New England coast, my husband and I headed to Philadelphia to witness the Roller Derby East Coast Extravaganza. We no sooner pulled into the hotel's still-icy parking lot than we saw them --- the derby skaters.

Lots of black ... tattoos ... a rainbow of hair colors ... fishnets ... young.

Never once did we confuse them with the wedding reception guests, or with the national guard who also inhabited the hotel ... each cluster group separate and readily identifiable.

At the sportsplex, three rinks served as the arena where nearly thirty teams from across the country came to compete. Teams from Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver, New York, Detroit, Raleigh, Pittsburgh ... all converged for this 2-day event. Many had stories of delayed flights and wild rides through snow.

The traveling team of Pittsburgh's Steel City Derby Demons was not only scheduled to compete in Philly on Sunday afternoon, but some of their members had skated in Pittsburgh the night before. Sharon Fluids (ugh) of the Hot Metal Hellions told me that some of the team finished their bout in Harmarville on Saturday night, then packed into cars and headed east, arriving at the hotel about 4:00 AM.

Ah, to have such energy!

And you could feel the energy in the rink too! Flamboyant announcers called the bouts on loudspeakers to crowd-filled bleachers. Whistles to start the jams and buzzers to end the periods blended with loud pulsing music, blasted throughout the arena. The throbbing beat put me in mind of the Boom-Boom Sound by Moving to France.

Concession stands, program sales, raffle ticket sellers roving the bleachers, a beer tent, merchandise tables and "jeerleaders" added to the carnival-like atmosphere, but the skaters were the stars.

For two days, just as Jim Croce promised, they went round 'n' round 'n' round 'n' round ...

But they also stopped and started ... switched out players between jams ... packed tight ... blocked hard ... weaved deftly ... tumbled and recovered ... sped around the track ... sweat ... and were occasionally sentenced to the sin bin (penalty box). What a workout!

Yes, there were some injuries during the 2-day event. I saw skaters on crutches, one in a wheelchair and a few with ice packs. Fortunately, there were medical personnel onsite. In fact, Indiana's Hoosier Mama (say it out loud) assured me, "EMT's love this gig!"

And of course spending time, meeting friends & teammates, sharing interests, and hugging my daughter is all good for this mother's soul.

Tattos 2

I take it back!

When it comes to tattoos, I would put a group of derby chicks up against the biker babes any day!

At a gathering of derby teams from across the nation this weekend in Philly, I saw more body art than I ever imagined. In fact, one pick-up bout was billed as the Tats vs. Non-Tats. My incredulous reaction was, "Are there even enough non-tats here to field a team?"

But guess what, my little butterfly maidens? In the end ...

THE NON-TATS WON!

Tattoos

Tattoo Who?

That's the teasing question above a changing set of tattoo images, challenging the viewer to identify the rollergirl to whom it belongs. This quiz appears on the official site of the Rat City Rollergirls (Seattle Washington). But like a multiple choice test where all the answers are right, turns out these colorful images are all inked onto one woman!

So is there disproportiately more ink in the world of roller derby? Well, maybe. A quick roller derby web tour does reveal some marked women, but it's hard to say how they measure up to, say, a group of biker babes.

A tattoo site claims that roller derby women not only have a "taste for blood, but many have a taste for high quality tattoo work." A feature article by Dale Rio in Skin & Ink webzine agrees and offers this philosophy:

As an underground sport, roller derby tends to attract not only accomplished skaters, but girls who haven't necessarily skated since they were kids and are attracted to the rough and sexy image of the sport. Where else can you get a serious workout, rough up a bunch of your closest friends and look hot while doing it? With such a draw, it's not surprising that a lot of the girls are tattooed...

The article includes some impressive, if not scary, tattoo photos.

Will someone explain to me the appeal of the tattoo? To call attention? To rebel? To be different? But tattoos are now so common. Shaved heads, spiked hair, wild hair dyes - all are temporary and can be changed with a new mood. But tattoos (and piercings) are so permanent.

Yes, I know. Body art is a century-old practice. Warriors of many cultures painted themselves before battle. The Egyptians applied permanent eye make-up.

But when I see a cute little butterfly tattooed onto a flat tight abdomen, I can't help but imagine its monstrous & distorted wingspan when that belly is nine months pregnant. Or how will that sexy rose on the breast look years from now surrounded by stretch marks? These are mom thoughts.

I understand the desire to decorate ourselves. Clothing and jewelry work well for that. Permanent tattoos just make it so difficult if ever a time comes to re-decorate!

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Photo by Kat Deem

Skating Skills

So what does a skater have to know before flying around the rink amidst a pack of fierce competitors, each one on eight wheels?

Well, the scoring objectives, of course. And the rules. But for sheer survival, she had better know how to skate!

Before entering into WFTDA-sanctioned Inter-League Competition, each skater must meet designated minimum skill requirements (initially and then annually). These requirements fall into six categories:

1. Basic Skating Skills
2. Falls
3. Balance / Agility
4. Skating with Others
5. Blocking
6. Rules

Knowledge of the rules is tested with a written exam. But the rest of the skills test is administered in the rink in skating gear.

Proficiency in the basic skills includes proper skating posture, stride, crossovers, speed, endurance, and stops. The skater must complete 5 laps around a WFTDA regulation track in a minute or less. To demonstrate stamina, she must also skate 20 laps within 5 minutes.

... let me catch my breath ...

She must perform “one-foot glides with each foot for the length of the straightaway with good balance,” and “move easily and fluidly from one side of the skating rink to the other.” It sounds like grace in motion.

But a clue that it’s not ALL about grace is the required ability to fall "safely, accurately, and naturally…” – I think that I could fall naturally – “… with quick recovery.”

Oh.

A skater is required to maneuver through 10 cones, placed 6 feet apart, covering both straightaways and turns. She “squats and coasts” and “squats and propels” again on both the straightaways and the turns.

In skating with others, the skater is tested on whips, pushes, pacing (“varies speed while being sandwiched between 2 skaters, maintaining an arm’s length distance without falling, tripping, overtaking or running into another skater”), weaving, leaning, bumping … You get the idea.

Blocking skills require the ability to take hits and check as well as perform “with good posture and without loss of balance or focus” body blocks, frontal blocks and stall blocks.

The final - and perhaps most important - requirement for a derby skater is not tested until later. It's not tested on paper, and it's not really tested in the rink. The test may come on a chiropractor's table, or while soaking sore muscles in a hot bath, or when applying ice to welts and bruises. The ones who pass it are those who return to the rink for more. The test is passion.

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s take our hats off to the certified athletes in the roller derby rink!

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Photo by Kat Deem

Team Names & Uniforms

What do you want to be for Halloween? Adult women are answering that question with their choice of team names and uniforms, and it isn’t even October!

Each derby team differentiates itself with its team name and corresponding uniform. Like the individual skaters’ names, the team names reveal a similarly violent or sexy image along with some tongue-in-cheek humor. The uniforms are a visual extension of the team name, further carrying the theme.

And stereotypes abound!

These are just a few examples of the growing number of teams around the country, and a description of thier uniforms:

Austin Roller Moms League
The Domestic Divas - June Cleaver Gone Bad, 50's- style mamas, pink bowling shirts & hotpants

Texas Roller Girls League
The Hell Marys - Naughty Catholic schoolgirls in black & red plaid

Arizona Derby Dames League
The Bombshells - 1940’s pin-up girls & WWII bomber girls

B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls League
The San Francisco Shevil Dead - Army of skating zombies

Minnesota Roller Girls League
The Garda Belts - Irish cops

Dominion Derby Girls League
The Dirty Diesel Darlins - Sweet southern “shine- runnin” gas station attendents

Boston Derby Dames League
The Nutcrackers - Ballet school rejects in black & pink tutus

From gangsters (Split Lip Sallies) to assassins (Double Crossers, Chicago) to pirate wenches (Surly Girlies, AZ) to geishas (my favorite – the Sake Tuyas, Atlanta) to cave girls (Neander Dolls, NV) to nuns (Sisters of No Mercy, Salt Lake) to cowgirls (Honkey Tonk Heartbreakers, TX) and outlaws (Saddletramps, Tucson) … everybody’s dressing up!

Here in Pittsburgh, we have:

• The Bitch Doctors, “curse-weilding voo-doo dolls in black, white and red”
  
• The Hot Metal Hellions, “futuristic replicant assassins (Blade Runner) in black, neon green & silver”


• The Slumber Party Slashers, “horror movie-style bad girls with a thirst for murder in pink, purple and silver”


• The Wrecking Dolls, “blue-collar darlings of demolition in blue & orange”
  

Some names poke fun at themselves, like the Tru$t Fund Terror$ from LA, described as "rich bitch daddy's girls." I wonder ... do they wear tiaras?

And, groan! I can only imagine the uniforms of Harrisburg’s Nuclear Knockouts, who dress like “Three Mile Island workers.”

The names may make you chuckle or groan, but if these characters show up at your door for a treat, better give it to them!

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For more images, visit Kat Deem's gallery of the Garden State Roller Girls

Team descriptions obtained from the National Registry

For more league names, visit Wikipedia or the Women's Flat Track Derby Association's growing list of members.