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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Burgeoning sport isn’t your grandmother’s roller derby

David Nichols

What comes to mind when someone says to you, “I play roller derby?” For the uninitiated, that phrase probably conjures images of the roller derby that was on television on Friday nights in the ’70s – colorfully dressed Amazons whizzing around banked tracks hip-checking one another over the railings, leading to catfights and hair pulling… the female equivalent to professional wrestling.

But for the women that participate on one of the several area roller derby teams, it’s nothing like that at all. Well, except for the colorful outfits and even more colorful nicknames.

By day, these women are mothers, business owners, teachers, medical professionals, bartenders and photographers – just regular people. But in the evenings and on Saturday nights, they lace up their skates to relieve stress, exercise, compete and join in the camaraderie of one of the nation’s fastest growing amateur sports.

According to the website of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association ( www.WFTDA.com), there are 301 member leagues and 91 apprentice leagues across the country.

The Snake Pit Derby Dames of Coeur d’Alene recently qualified as a member league and played in its first WFTDA-sanctioned bout in late February in Bremerton at the Wild West Showdown, along with nine other teams from across the West.

They beat teams from Fort Collins, Colorado, and Okinawa, Japan, before falling to Cherry City Roller Girls from Salem.

The Derby Dames opened their regular season the previous weekend at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, narrowly defeating Avalanche City, a team from Fernie, British Columbia, and last Saturday faced the Lilac City Roller Girls from Spokane, winning 211-163. The season runs from February through September, with bouts once or twice a month.

There are two other leagues in Spokane, the Spokannibals and Inland EmPower. In August, the city will host the third annual “Spokarnage: A Killer Roller Derby Tournament,” for the third consecutive year. Organizers expect teams from across the country to descend on the Spokane Convention Center, which will host the event, a beer garden and many vendor booths.

If you haven’t seen a roller derby bout recently, teams of five (four “blockers” and one “jammer”) try to score points against each other, skating around an 88-foot oval flat track. The jammers work to get through the pack of blockers. The first jammer through becomes the “lead jammer” and scores a point for each opponent she passes legally in the pack.

The blockers try to keep the opposing jammer from getting through the pack, while also helping their jammer get through. This goes on for two minutes at a time, or until the lead jammer decides to stop the jam for various strategic reasons.

There is no punching, wrestling or even elbowing, for that matter. Players can use their hips, shoulders, rear and chest in attempt to block. There is an exhaustive set of rules that govern play, and players are required to wear approved safety helmets, mouthguards, elbow and knee pads. In WFTDA official bouts, all equipment is inspected before each half.

League matches require at least two voluntary medics which are usually EMTs or nurses, often related to one of the players.

Teams can dress up to 14 skaters per game, with a roster maximum of 20.

It all adds up to highly coordinated chaos on the track.

Most of the athletes involved in derby cite the exercise and camaraderie as major attractions to the sport, but there are other elements as well.

“There aren’t a lot of opportunities for women to be fierce in their daily lives,” said Jada Bellrose, who goes by the moniker “Pippi Headstomping,” one of the leaders of the Coeur d’Alene team. “We go to work like everyone else. Some of us are parents, but we’re also human creatures and we have aggression just like anyone else. And this is that.

“We get to get together and let off steam and feel strength and feel power – together. And it’s all women. I think that’s one of the draws.”

Toni Cartiglia echoed those sentiments. “Once I got to know all the women and realized it was more like a family than anything else, that’s when I really wanted to stay to be a part of it.”

Of course, the opportunity to wear elaborate costumes and makeup while getting out some pent-up frustration is another draw.

“When you play soccer, or basketball, or baseball, you wear a man’s uniform,” Bellrose explained. “Girls didn’t decide what they were going to wear for that. So the cool thing about derby is that you get to still be an athlete, but if you want to wear a skirt and lipstick and fishnet stockings, you can do that.

“And it doesn’t take anything away for your athleticism. So there’s something sort of empowering about that.”

Every season, the teams try out new players – their “fresh meat” program. Some skaters are more attracted to the scene and atmosphere. Some come for a couple of practices and decide derby isn’t for them. Some stay for a lifetime.

Snake Pit has athletes that range from 18 years old to late-40s with over 50 members currently participating between their all-star, mixed, fresh meat and junior programs.

As for the athletes themselves, derby attracts all kinds. Most teams have women that grew up playing soccer, softball, basketball and skating sports.

But none of those other sports were conceived specifically with women in mind.

“Every other sport that we play is a man’s sport,” Bellrose said. “It started out that way – the rules were decided by men, and then the women’s sport is secondary. So here we have roller derby. This is for women, by women. And that’s a pretty amazing thing to be a part of.”

Just like any other sport, there are practices, strategies, injuries and conflicting personalities. But at the end of a practice or bout, these women return to take on their primary responsibilities at work and at home.

“I work full time, and that takes time away from my family,” Bellrose lamented, “and it’s hard to justify doing anything but going to work and being a parent. There are things I’ll miss out on.

“But because I have this thing that’s just for me, I’m a stronger mother. I’m a stronger person. So when I am home, the time is more quality time.”

Cartiglia has five children, and her husband, Harry Ruo, has followed his wife’s footsteps to become the team’s coach.

Derby has become something they enjoy together. “It’s rare to find husbands that are fully immersed in the lifestyle,” she said. More commonly, husbands and boyfriends end up as “derby widows,” left watching the kids or fending for themselves on the nights their wives have practice or bouts.

She’s been able to lean on her older children as the support system for the younger one still at home. Still, many of the players find it tough to the balance the benefits of derby and the responsibilities of home life.

“The women that truly fall in love with derby, they find a way,” Cartiglia said.

Derby has exploded across the country, with thousands of women participating every weekend. The popularity has grown despite the lack of a professional league in the country.

There has been a push for derby to become an official Olympic sport, but organizers fully admit that part of the problem about going more mainstream is that the rule book is extremely complicated and changes multiple times a year.

Until those kinks are ultimately ironed out, derby might have a difficult time gaining traction on a more broad scale, either internationally or professionally.

And Bellrose points out that perhaps those managing the sport currently are intentionally trying to keep derby a grassroots production.

“When someone wants to profit on something they usually have ideas on how they want to change it. And we’re pretty protective over this sport. So, if changes made it go back to what we were talking about – back in the ’70s when it was just a show – then no one would go for it. We’re invested in the sport. So they would have to take us as we are.”