Tattoo clad girls wearing fish net tights, shoving each other to the ground as they race around a skating rink may be what first comes to mind when the words "women's roller derby" are brought up. But there's far more to this sport than what meets the eye.
As the bout (competition) begins, two teams of five women line up on the track to compete. Four of the five women are in charge of blocking the fifth woman, called the jammer, from get- ting through them. If the jammer gets through, she becomes the lead jammer, and can start scoring points from there. Each girl she passes on the opposing team is a point she scores. To stop the jammer from getting through, the blockers will try to knock her out of bounds.
"You've got to be quick on your thinking (as a jammer). You've got to look for your way out," said Vile Vixen.
Vile Vixen, like all the other team members, goes by her derby name and not her actual name. These names are printed on the back of all the girls' jerseys, and receiving them is no light matter.
"You earn it. You don't just automatically get to choose it. You can say your name is some- thing, and we'll start calling you that, but you don't get it on a jersey until you passed your safety test and some other stuff. It's almost a right of passage," said Ziggy Bloodlust.
Along with receiving a name, learning how to fall properly and getting injured are other rights of passages into the world of women's derby. Though there are strict rules on exactly how hiting and blocking can occur, roller derby is a contact sport.
The girls talk about their injured knees, cuts requiring stitches and broken bones. Bazinga Betti even spoke of having to be rushed into surgery and have pins placed in her arms after a match.
"I don't think it would have been that bad if she hadn't have kept playing after she broke it though," said Amyn Atcha.
The sport is aggressive and competitive, but most of the women get something deeper out of roller derby than just that aspect.
"There are so many things I like about it," Bazinga Betti said. "You make life long friends, it builds your confidence and it's very empowering. You're constantly challenging yourself."
Building confidence is a continuing theme that runs throughout this sport.
"One thing I love about it is that your size and shape does not matter at all. I've seen girls al- most 300 pounds skate with such grace, and some tiny girls hit harder than you've ever seen. I love it. I never thought I would be this passion- ate about something, and it's given me so much confidence," said Roberta Murphy, who has yet to earn her derby name.
As important as the confidence building is to many girls, most say their favorite part of being on the team is camaraderie and the bonds they form.
"I really like that you can come to the team and commit yourself, and you automatically have 15 best friends and somebody to call. I mean, it's not all roses and stuff, but I feel like we're just a really tight knit group," said Sabrina Str8 Razor.\0x2028For this reason, many roller derby teams are populated by military wives who are continuously having to move.
"I move around a lot, and it's hard not having friends. The first time I moved, I didn't have any- body because I didn't do derby. It was depressing. I love the friendships I've gotten to make with these women," Vile Vixen said, a military wife.
The derby girls don't fit the norm. Their sport is fierce, their uniforms are unorthodox, but they have something to offer everyone.
"We really want to be able to reach out to the community," Ziggy Bloodlust said. "Anyone and everyone who comes out, no matter what kind of person they are, always has a really good time. They always come back. If we can get you to come to one bout, you'll come again."
The Burn City Rollers' first bout of the season was held at the Skate Center on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m.
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