It involves knocking girls onto the ground. It involves racing. It involves roller skates.
"We are a really diverse group of women who defy categorization," said Cho Cold, head coach of the Burn City Rollers, Auburn's roller derby team.
"We come from all walks of life, but we are all athletic, hard-working and we enjoy knocking other chicks down."
While the team lost Saturday to the Greenville Derby Dames, Cold said they hope to jump back in the next bout May 7 against the Red Stick Roller Derby of Baton Rouge, La.
Although the team is not affiliated with the University, many of the team's skaters either work or study at Auburn.
"In that way, we are truly part of the Auburn community," said Neecee Matthews-Bradshaw, fourth year Ph.D. student in English.
Originally from Macon, Ga., Matthews-Bradshaw said while she had been skating since she was 5 years old, roller derby is something that she recently became interested in.
"I joined Burn City Rollers in August of last year," Matthews-Bradshaw said. "2011 marks my first bout season. I've only been in a few bouts, but I definitely love it and want to get better at it."
Others on the team are veterans. Suzanne Samples has been a part of the team since its founding.
"I've been with the Burn City Rollers since our inaugural practice in September of 2008," said Samples, a native of West Virginia and fourth year doctoral candidate in Victorian literature.
The team will compete in 13 matches, called "bouts," during the 2011 season with teams from around the South.
The team also has official skating practices Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.
"We have two mandatory practices a week, and then there are probably four other times we can practice on or off skates as well," Matthews-Bradshaw said.
"I love to push myself physically, even when it hurts. We do a lot of endurance and scrimmage drills. A lot of those extra practices help us to focus on individual skills training."
While the team only has a few scheduled practices a week, team members are constantly training and trying to improve their skills.
"We do much more than just skate," Samples said. "We also do plenty of suicides, plyometrics, strength training and endurance drills.
"We have optional off-skates practices, and a lot of us do strength, endurance and skate training on our own time.
I'm doing something related to derby at least six days a week."
With a season that lasts nearly year-round, members said roller derby is too much of a time commitment to be just a hobby.
"Derby is more of a lifestyle than a part-time hobby," Samples said. "Burn City Rollers basically skates year-round.
"We take a month off in December, but it's back to practice come January."
Samples said roller derby has played a huge role in her everyday life during the past few years.
"I'm also a writer, and I use derby for my stories and novels," Samples said.
"My boyfriend is the bench coach. It's safe to say that derby has weaved itself through every aspect of my life."
For those who may have misconceptions of the sport, team members are looking to set the record straight.
"I heard a really good analogy at my first scrimmage that boiled down to derby being like football with the jammer as the ball and the blockers as the players," Matthews-Bradshaw said.
"Players can't get a touchdown without the ball; blockers can't score in derby without the jammer.
"As well, though many people are familiar with derby of the past, today's derby teams, for the most part, have really professionalized the sport and most derby players look down on dirty derby, like elbows, fighting, etc. We are here to compete, but we also want to have fun."
Samples stresses, however, that nothing is staged.
"Roller derby is a full-contact sport," Samples said. "Everything you see is real; we're taking hits, giving hits, falling, getting up, strategizing and going full speed.
"Another plus is that roller derby allows players to express a feminized toughness that simply can't be found elsewhere."
Roller derby gives members an opportunity to participate in a competitive sport they could not find elsewhere.
Matthews-Bradshaw said she was on the track and dance teams in high school and participated in intramural flag football while earning her undergraduate degree.
"Though it's been a while since I've participated in an organized sport, derby really appeals to me because it combines something I love with a fast pace and contact," Matthews-Bradshaw said.
"I love the women on my team; they come from so many different walks of life. There isn't one thing I like or love about it. There are many things."
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