Women in Roller Derby Breaking Gender Rolls
W By Sophie Nicolas
hen you think of Roller Derby your first thought is probably of that movie Whip It with Ellen Page in it. Or maybe you think of a bunch of potty mouth women on skates. Or maybe you’re thinking “what the hell is roller derby?”
For those unfamiliar, it’s a sport played by women on roller skates who basically beat the crap out of each other. The main gist is that there’s a jammer for each team who scores points by lapping all the other players. There are blockers who want to prevent the opposing team from scoring a point, so they have to try and bump the jammer out of the rink. And “bump” is a very tame way of saying it, because if you were to get bumped out of the ring by these ladies, you will go flying. But not to worry! The first thing you learn in Derby 101 is to fall safely when you go sprawling, and Derby girls are no strangers to bruises. In Roller Derby, there is a lot of strategy and skill involved. You have to know how to position your blockers so your jammer can get through, use an amazing amount of strength and endurance to skate multiple times around the rink, while getting smacked into on all sides…and try doing all that while balancing on skates!
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The Women In a world where women’s sports are seen as frivolous and not competitive, Roller Derby prides itself on women who value strength and fierceness. And you’ll find women of all different backgrounds. Lawyers, mums, students, teachers who all come together to kick some ass. Here’s a couple: DERBY STORIES Tahlia Sanders – Psychology student Fresh meat (or Beginner) What made you want to try roller derby? Initially, I just thought it sounded really fun! Any sport that doesn’t require much hand-eye coordination is a good one in my books. But when I attended the first information session, I was told that it is very common for people in support-worker roles (as I do) to get involved in derby for the emotional release. I found this idea empowering and was keen to get involved! Why is derby important to you? Derby is always challenging! Every week at training we