What It Takes To Be A Roller Girl

Tomorrow, Saturday 8/20, the A'Salt Creek Roller Girls take on the undefeated Cheyenne Capidolls. Get your tickets at Sonic Rainbow, our studios (150 N. Nichols) and from your favorite roller girl. Today, the roller girls tell you what it takes to be in r0ller derby...

You know what roller derby is, right? The full-contact, super-fast, bump-and-bruise-filled passion that is currently the fastest-growing female sport in America? Maybe you've seen Ellen Page fly around the track in Drew Barrymore's Whip-It. These days, chances are you even know a roller girl or two. Or you are one. Perhaps you've witnessed a bout for yourself. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and find out where your closest league is, grab some friends and go. It just might change your life.

All you need to play the sport is a pair of quad-wheel roller skates (imagine the ones you had when you were a kid, but souped-up like Greased Lightning), elbow pads, wrist guards, kneepads, a mouth guard, a helmet...and everything you've got inside.

All your strength, all your courage. Roller derby is hard work. It truly takes blood, sweat and tears. Practices are long and sometimes involve seemingly endless drills consisting of squats, push-ups, jumps, sprints, stops and falls. Imagine a hardcore boot camp, except your drill sergeant is wearing fishnets and hot pants.

When you're doing something that difficult, you don't have time to dwell on your problems. You can't afford 13 seconds of, "What am I going to do about my crappy job?" because in that time someone will either out-skate you or knock you to the ground. Imagine suddenly realizing two hours went by where you weren't worried about the things that keep you up at night—you hadn't thought about your life for even a second. You'd completely left behind the fog that normally consumes you. Two hours passed (some nights maybe even three or four or six), and now you're covered in sweat and your body craves only two things: a bath and a bed. If this sounds like heaven, you are really going to love roller derby.

Ask any derby girl why she commits probably more than half of her daily schedule to this sport, and she will most likely tell you, "It's what I do instead of therapy."

A few of the A'Salt Creek Roller Girls answer why they got involved...

PunisHer Page "For the unity and it's like Halloween everyday! we get to dress up and have a good time. Exercise for anger management."

Lady DeckHer "It's fun to be with the girls; grabbin' asses and hittin' bitches!"

Queen of Tarts "It's helped gain confidence and develop great friendships"

Gridin' Zone "It gives me an outlet from work. I've always though derby was awesome. It's the first time I've had such a great group of women to hang out with"

Maiden Payne "Derby has been the most powerful thing that's happened to me outside of my kids. It gives me a chance to exercise, spend time with an incredible group of women and really help my community through volunteering. I love to be able to give back to my community.

Tsunami Bomber "It was the best decision I've ever made. It gives all different aspects of people a voice and a place to belong. Its a way to discover a myriad of strengths you never knew you had."

Scatter Yer Bones Jones "As a stay-at-home mom, it's something just for me to get away from the monotony of constantly meeting the needs of other people."