Racing around a rink at breakneck speeds, smashing into an opponent's shoulder in an attempt to send her flying to the ground, the women of Burn City Rollers are tough.
Auburn's newest flat track roller derby league, the Burn City Rollers, was started a year ago and has been building its team and reputation ever since.
Roller derby is an all women's sport for people "from all walks of life, of all ages, sizes and ethnicities, who enjoy the challenge of a full-contact, organized, competitive sport that is run by and for its skaters," according to the Web site burncityrollers.com.
Carrie Holzmeister goes by the derby name "Cho Cold."
Every skater in the league must also have a derby name, which is a nickname completely unique to the person.
Holzmeister read an article in USAToday about the rise of roller derby and decided to start a league in Auburn.
"Pretty much every derby team out there is amateur, and it's just grass roots where people build it up from nothing," Holzmeister said.
The team currently has about 10 members, but Holzmeister said she is always looking for new talent.
In order to attract more women, the age limit was recently lowered from 21 to 19.
"This has been our very first season," Holzmeister said. "I didn't really expect to win at all. I thought we would get our asses beat a little bit and learn a lot, but we have had two victories."
The typical season is from March to November, and the next upcoming match is at home Oct. 10 at the Skate Center located off Commerce Drive in Opelika.
One of the common misconceptions about roller derby, Holzmeister said, is that it is all about the violence.
"People always seem to think we are getting into fights, but there are a lot of rules in women's flat track roller derby," Holzmeister said. "You are going to see people fall down and you are going to see a lot of legal hits, but you won't see us getting into cat fights or ripping people's hair out."
Roller derby is played by two teams of five, with a pivot, three blockers and a jammer on each team.
It is the pivot's job to set the pace for the pack, and it's also used as a last line of defense.
The blockers attempt to stop the other team's jammer as well as help their own jammer move through the pack.
The jammer scores points by passing the opposing teams blockers and pivots.
The competition is played in three heats, each lasting 15 minutes. Within each heat, there are numerous jams, lasting up to two minutes each. However, the lead jammer can end a jam at any time at her discretion.
Penalties for unsafe or illegal behaviors can be called, resulting in the offending player being removed for one minute and her team playing short one player.
Within the sport, there is definitely a lot of legal physical contact. In fact, it is this physical contact that draws in many of the team members.
"I've always loved to skate, and I've always been an athletic person and played sports," said Amy Baker, who goes by the derby name "Amyn Atcha." "I can also be somewhat of an aggressive person at times; so skating as a contact sport is what got me."
One of the dangers of the sport, however, is injuries.
Holzmeister said there are lots of knee injuries, with the torn meniscus being the "signature derby injury."
"I've had the typical knee injuries," said Laura Bank, who goes by "Lucy Ferocious." Not as bad as a torn meniscus, but I have had multiple issues with it."
But these are risks every member of the team is willing to take.
Roller derby is growing in popularity across the country, and the women of Burn City Rollers are proud to be a part of the movement.
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