‘SUGAR BEATERS’ HAVE A ROLLING GOOD TIME REPRESENTING SUGARBEET INDUSTRY

The Sugar Beaters say they are nice people but that there is nothing “sweet” about roller derby.

“It’s a full-contact sport,” said head coach Jules Amundson. “Injuries happen. We get bruises and we’ve also had some head injuries, torn muscles and broken bones.” However, all 13 members of the Sugar Beaters say that the health benefits of physical activity and strong bonds of friendship far outweigh the risk of injury.

The Sugar Beaters are celebrating 11 years of roller derby this summer. They are the sole team within the Forx Roller Derby League, started in 2010 by Cheryl Lawsen and Kelly Grey. “We all wanted a name that would reflect this region. The sugarbeet industry is something that is really unique in this area. That’s why the

BY LAURA RUTHERFORD

team is called the ‘Sugar Beaters,’ and the American Crystal Sugar Company has sponsored us from the very beginning,” said Amundson.

The team’s name and the names of the players reflect the one-of-a-kind culture of roller derby. Name selection is serious business because the name a player chooses will be their name for as long as they are a derby skater, and becomes their persona in the sport.

“We pick a name that is unique and individual, and shows attitude. It tends to be puns or plays on words, and expresses your personal interests,” said Jo No Mercy, 28, of Grand Forks. “Names are also a rite of passage. You get your name after you learn how to skate, learn the skills and understand the rules of roller derby.”

Roller derby prides itself on inclusivity, and any woman who is at least 18 years old is welcome to join the Sugar Beaters. According to Amundson, the only requirements are a sassy attitude, enthusiasm and a strong desire to learn.

New team members are referred to by the team as “fresh meat” or “sugar babies,” and must successfully pass Amundson’s six-week boot camp held in June and July. “‘Fresh Meat’ is level one.

You learn basic skills like standing, moving forward safely, falling the right way, and skating backwards,” said Mighty Mouse, 24, of Grand Forks. “Coach Jules decides when you have generally mastered all the skills and can pass this level. When I started the Fresh Meat boot camp, I had to take it twice in order to pass. When you pass, you get your derby name.”

Mighty Mouse and teammate Sky describe roller derby as having the footwork of hockey combined with the speed of speedskating and the blocking of basketball. Roller derby is played on a flat, oval track, and matches are called “bouts.” The bout is broken up into two 30-minute periods, and those periods are broken up into units of play called “jams.” A jam can last from 10 seconds to two minutes, and there are 30 seconds between each jam.

Each jam starts with five players from each of the two teams playing. There is one “jammer,” who has a star on her helmet, and four “blockers.” There is one blocker with a stripe on her helmet, called a “pivot.” The blockers are collectively known as “the pack,” and skaters are not allowed to be more than 10 feet apart in a pack.

The jam begins with the players skating counterclockwise around the track. Each team’s jammer starts behind the pack and scores a point for each opposing blocker they pass on each lap. Points can only be scored by the jammers, who must get through the pack and then all the way around the track to be able to score.

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The opposing team’s main objective is to play defense and stop the other team’s jammer, while helping their own jammer make it around the track successfully. During a bout, blockers will play both offense and defense simultaneously. The team with the most points at the end of the bout wins.

Players always rotate between jams, because of the sheer physical effort required. “Each jam is like a sprint. Because of this, people from other teams called ‘foster players’ will come on to the team to play and help out,” said Mighty Mouse. “We’re all competitive and want to win, but we all love playing the game, and that is what always comes first.”

There are three to seven referees at each bout. Play that is unsafe or illegal will send a skater to the penalty box for 30 seconds of jam time, or result in expulsion from the bout. A typical practice for the Sugar Beaters consists of drills to build endurance and work on game strategies.

“We do planks and sprinting, which is the team’s least favorite activity. We’ll do 50 laps in a row, 20 minutes of sprints, and footwork drills. We also work on transitions, which is switching between skating forward and backward,” said Shernobyl, assistant coach of the Sugar Beaters. “During the last part of the practice, we do a scrimmage. On our team, every player learns every position. We go through the rulebook and enact every possible scenario, and the veterans help the beginners learn. We also spend a lot of time teaching new members the rules…so many rules.”

Shernobyl, 47, owns and operates

Mike’s Pizza and Pub in East Grand Forks with her husband. She joined the Sugar Beaters in 2016. “I was going through a time in my life when I just needed something new. I saw an ad for roller derby in the paper and then I saw the team practicing outdoors on the greenway. I just started seeing them everywhere,” she said.

Shernobyl said her favorite parts of roller derby are the friendships she has formed with teammates and the confidence she has developed from participating in the sport. “I had never skated before doing roller derby and am still learning all the skills. We surprise ourselves by what we

Laura

can learn to do. The confidence you get in roller derby carries over to all other parts of your life,” she said. “We all have busy schedules, but make time to practice. I also love the encouragement we give each other on and off the track.”

The Sugar Beaters are a diverse group who range in age from 19 to 47. Sky, originally from Fairbanks, Alaska, is currently working toward her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of North Dakota. She is also very close to earning her roller derby name, which will be “Psycho Sis.”

Sky, a former middle school football player and collegiate volleyball player at Rocky Mountain College in Montana, said roller derby is an excellent way to relieve stress and find new friends. “It’s hard coming to a new state and making friends as an adult,” she said. “It’s a great way to meet people.”

The friendships are also what make the long drives to practices well worth it for blocker and third grade teacher Crash Bandicoot, 24, of Dazey, North Dakota. She is also part of Triple H Simmentals with her husband and his family in Hannaford, North Dakota, and fits in skating between teaching and hauling hay. My teammate Rachael brought me to a practice last summer and I had so much fun that I kept coming back,” she said. “The whole team are nonjudgmental, supportive friends.”

Blocker Kitty Blockins, 29, of Grand Forks and jammer Artie, 30, of Hallock, Minnesota, are both busy moms who juggle roller derby with their kids’ schedules. “I love the physical activity. Roller derby is good for your mental health and it always makes me smile,” said Kitty Blockins, who works for Easter Seals and has two children in elementary school. “My younger kid wants to try skating, which is really exciting. I can’t wait to take the kids to a bout.”

Other Sugar Beaters include Rachael, a social work student, Thumper, a pilot, and Violet Tendencies, a veterinary assistant.

The Sugar Beaters are a lot like the plant they are named after. Many things have tried to “block” the sugarbeet crop this year, such as lack of rain and excessive heat. However, the sugarbeets skate around it and keep on rolling, just like the Sugar Beaters.