Roller Derby Women Out to Prove Toughness
By Brian Desarro/Staff Writer | September 10Racing 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.