AS blaring rock music fills the indoor sports arena, ten women dressed in tiny
hotpants skate at breakneck speed around a track, their faces painted like
warriors.
But despite the neon clothing and eye-liner, this is no roller disco.
These skaters are not dancing, they are engaged in serious competition — doing
everything they can to smash each other out of the way.
This is the frantic, lively and often violent world of roller derby.
There are more than 100 teams and growing in the UK and Ireland, as women fall
in love with its athleticism, competitiveness and punk attitude.
A roller derby involves two teams on a track, each with a “jammer”, who scores
points by passing members of the opposing team. The opponents do whatever
they can — within reason — to stop her.
It’s a full contact sport and there are plenty of crashes along the way as the
“blockers” barge and jostle to clear a way for their own jammer.
Roller derby, the subject of 2009 Drew Barrymore film Whip It, began in the US
in the Thirties and would draw huge crowds. But by the end of the Seventies,
its popularity had faded. It re-emerged in Texas in 2001 and made its way to
the UK and Ireland five years later. Now there are teams in more than 40
countries.
Skaters take the sport very seriously, with most training several times as
week. There is even talk of inclusion at the 2020 Olympics.
Those hooked say it is one of the most enjoyable things anyone could do, with
competitors wearing colourful uniforms and creating wacky aliases. And there
are waiting lists to join the bigger squads.
Kirsty Quinn, 33, who set up the Wakey Wheeled Cats in Wakefield, West Yorks,
four years ago, said: “The fun side attracts people and the competitiveness
keeps them there. Maybe it is an acceptable way for them to become
aggressive or mouthy and get in touch with a different side of themselves.”
The sport does have its downsides, as roller derby widower Eoin Flynn, of
Dublin, knows.
He said: “When my wife took up roller derby two years ago I figured it was
another short-lived interest. How wrong was I? I’ve barely seen her since.
“But marrying a roller girl has advantages too. Not even rugby’s Brian
O’Driscoll could dodge and hipcheck his way to the bar in a crowded pub like
my missus.”
Here we meet four women who say their lives have been changed by roller
derby.
The rules
NO tripping.
NO pushing from behind.
NO deliberate falling in front of another skater.
WHEN using arms for blocking, the arm must be bent.
NO use of elbows as a weapon to the chest or face.
NO blocking 20ft ahead of or behind the pack.
NO grabbing or pulling a skater from the ground.
IT is illegal to grab, hold or pull an opposing player.
The lingo
JAMMER: Breaks through the pack and laps it before scoring by passing
opposing team members.
LEAD JAMMER: The first jammer to break through the pack passing all the
opposing blockers and the pivot in bounds and without penalties.
PIVOT: Skates at the front of the pack and controls its speed. A line
of defence against the opponents’ jammer.
BOUT: A 60-minute game that can be played in three 20-minute periods or
two 30-minutes periods.
BLOCKERS: Must stop the opposing team’s jammer getting through the
pack. They can also move the other team’s blockers out of the way.
FRESH MEAT: A new skater.
Raw Heidi
NAME: Amy Ruffell, 30
FROM: Brixton, south London
JOB: TV producer
I’D never heard of roller derby when my friend invited me to watch a game. I
thought it sounded great and I wasn’t wrong. As soon as I saw it, I knew I
had to try it.
I skate for the top team in the country and I’ve been in the national team.
I’m going on tour to Vancouver, Seattle and Washington this year. It’s
incredibly exciting.
I think the fun aspect is really important and there is room for that
alongside the serious stuff. We train very hard and take it very seriously.
But I also like to put on my shiny hotpants and paint war stripes on my
face.
It is an intense sport but it is not an out-and-out fight. There are lots of
rules we stick to. It’s fun and it’s competitive – and that’s why it’s
exploding around the world.
Vampira77
NAME: Maria Sowden, 33
FROM: Exeter
JOB: Marketing
YOU become someone completely different when you are out on the track. You are
your own superhero.
I picked the name Vampira because I was born just before Halloween and I’m
really into vampires. I used to be kind of shy but there’s no way you can be
like that while you are playing roller derby.
I’ve been playing since March 2010 and train three times a week. It might look
like a bit of fun but it’s a proper sport – and hard work too. You have to
be pretty dedicated.
You get a lot of bruises every time you skate, that’s pretty much guaranteed.
But we wear those bruises with pride – it shows you’re doing it right.
Nesta Vipers
NAME: Claire Bagnall, 37
FROM: Wakefield
JOB: NHS prescription pricer and mum of one
THE best thing about roller derby is that if anything is falling apart in your
life, on the track that just disappears.
I’m really busy – I work, I’ve got a 16-year-old daughter and I’m studying for
a degree. I need something that can help me get all that stress out. Leaving
the normal me behind and becoming Nesta Vipers helps me do that.
Our team is really close and they are all brilliant girls. They might not look
it with all their tattoos and warpaint, but they are such lovely people.
In two years my daughter, Holly, will be old enough to join. It’s my dream for
us to play together. But she’s seen me dislocate my hip, get a lot of
bruises and a bad back – and at the moment she’s adamant it’s not for her.
Juicy Lucy
NAME: Lucy Tyler, 25
FROM: Holloway, north London
JOB: Teacher
I GOT into roller derby at university after seeing an advert in a pub. I
thought it would be a fun hobby but it has kind of taken over my life.
My secondary school students can’t believe the sport I do. They’ll say: “Miss,
you do a full contact sport on rollerskates?” I’m only 5ft so they think
it’s a bit weird.
We train really hard – five nights a week. The sport is growing incredibly quickly
and I’d like to see it taken seriously rather than treated as just a
spectacle of girls skating around in little shorts and hitting each other.
The best thing about it is that you have a ton of friends straight away and
you get really close because you’re always together training. I love the
thrill of it, too.