Derby Life

The English dictionary defines the word dazzle as,

"Dazzle: to overpower or dim the vision of by intense light: He was dazzled by the sudden sunlight."

It also defines it as,

"Dazzle: A grouping of zebra."

I skate with a dazzle and I’m proud of it!

By: TK-Oh! #3 South Bend Roller Girls

“I got you, TK,” a voice off my shoulder called, somehow sensing I was afraid I'd fall behind the rest of the pack. There were around 20 or so of us clustered together; this was... lap, what, 10? 12?

By: Tiger Beatdown, #26, Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls

When I was elected captain of the Serial Thrillers, I was a little freaked out. I had only been playing roller derby for five months and had never even bouted. Now, a year and a half later, I’m the longest-running team captain in our entire league and I get to lead a tight-knit group of fierce, dedicated teammates. Most of the credit for our team’s unity and success can be chalked up to the awesomeness of the other Serial Thrillers, but I have discovered some secrets along the way.

By: Merchant Of Vengeance

“OK, captains, choose your teams.”

Oh dear god. Oh no she didn’t. Our coach did NOT just utter those, the 5 worst words ever to profane the derby practice track.

But she did, and she does, so at least several times a month, the innocent women of the Denver Wreckin’ Roller Rebels are subjected to the kind medieval torture usually reserved for special types of elementary school PE hell.

by Devilina Detail, creator of JammerUp

I love hearing the stories of how people got into roller derby, especially those who had zero interest in sports before finding their lives consumed by it.

Has it really been two years? Have I been wearing this “Cancer Sucks” wrist band so long?

Surely not. It was just yesterday that I saw you come to practice for the first time. I can so vividly remember thinking “This may be the worst skater I’ve ever seen.” It did not take long for you to prove me wrong. I remember the determination on your face as I helped you move up and down the side of the track, barely staying upright, and the unwillingness to give up in the face of difficulty or adversity. We would be seeing a lot of that later.

The term "athlete" is one that is being used a lot in derby at the moment. I guess in part to ensure that our sport is taken seriously and not dismissed as a bunch of girls in fishnets throwing elbows. But also possibly as a way of pushing those skaters that are in this sport to take themselves more seriously.

Personally being called an athlete makes me nervous. To me an athlete is someone that gets up at 6am every day to hit the gym or run up a mountain. When I think of athletes, I think of Suzy HotRod’s daily workout routine or Beretta Lynch's road racing past.

By Anonymous, Blue Ridge Rollergirls

April 13, 2010. My first derby bout.