TIGER TV ONLINE REPORTER
A blur of knee pads and helmets whiz by as members of Baton Rouge’s first women’s roller derby league, Red Stick Roller Derby, learn to block, jam and jump during practice.
“Roller derby is a full contact, predominantly female sport,” said co-captain Mary Koehler, who is also known by her derby name Zarathrustya. “The original inception of it was coed and a product of the Great Depression.”
Koehler co-founded the team in July of 2007 after seeing photos of roller derby online.
“We began with about seven girls here at Leo’s [Rollerland] for our first practice and out of those seven I think only one of us had any background in skating,” she said. “We’re very self taught.”
Kristy Norris, the team secretary, treasurer, web administrator and recruitment guru, said the team grew to approximately 20 members before Fox Searchlight released the 2009 roller derby film Whip It.
After the movie’s release, the team grew to about 40 members, she said.
Norris, also a founding member, goes by Violet Reaction.
Koehler said derby names came about with the resurgence of the sport.
“It’s easily embraced by the girls,” she said. “Some people think of it as a persona you would adopt and it definitely shows the fun nature of roller derby.”
But roller derby can be as painful as it is fun.
“We were in Panama City and there was massive huge woman,” Koehler said. “Everyone was terrified of her because she’s this huge Amazon and our jammers are tiny so they’re just getting obliterated and they’re airborne all over the place.”
Koehler, exhausted near the end of the bout, saw the woman coming for her.
“I was halfway collapsing by the time she got to me and I definitely felt my legs go over my head,” she said.
Health insurance is highly recommended, Koehler said.
Skaters and referees can acquire insurance through USA Rollersports for $40 a year, Norris said.
But what exactly is roller derby?
“We say it’s a combination of football and NASCAR on skates,” Koehler said.
Like most sports, the object of the game is to score as many points as possible.
A player known as the jammer has to pass as many of the opposing team’s blockers or jammers as possible.
The jammer must fully pass other players by bumping them with her hips to earn points.
“That is why your blockers are going to be trying to hit the other team’s blockers because obviously if the blocker’s on the ground she’s easier to pass and she can’t get to your jammer to knock her out,” Koehler said.
The game demands offense and defense simultaneously, she said.
“You want to get your own jammer through the blockers while trying to hit other jammers and blockers,” Koehler said.
A bout lasts for two 30 minute periods with a 10 to 20 minute halftime in between.
Jams last no longer than 2 minutes.
Jammers can call bouts off before the 2 minute mark.Then the game has 30 seconds to reset.
Koehler jokes that the rules include no punching, biting or kicking.
However, those offenses are in the 37 page rule book.
“It’s a common misconception in roller derby that it’s all elbows and punches but elbows is one of the worst grievances you can have,” Koehler said.
Contact is allowed in legal contact zones which are from the top of the shoulder to the elbow area. Arm and hip checks as well as rear blocks are also allowed.
“A booty block would be when someone runs into the back of you,” Koehler said.
The bumping and pushing leads to full body checks, which are extremely aggressive, she said.
Though full body checks are legal, they can easily go wrong and become penalties.
During practice, the players learn basic skills like stopping and falling.
“Falls are of number one importance in this sport,” Koehler said. “We have to learn to fall safely and controlled so as not to inure ourselves.”
During hip check drills, the players would fall to one knee.
But the team is more than just a fun sport for the women.
The women formed friendships and spend time together outside of practice and even have a big sister little sister program.
“My drinking team has a derby problem,” Koehler joked.
Koehler went from having one female friend to a family of 40, she said.
Amber Wilson, a blocker and jammer, said the camaraderie meant the most to her. She also enjoys hitting the opposing team’s players, she said.
“It becomes like a family,” Norris said. “The camaraderie is amazing.”
The team means the world to members, she said.
“The sport is completely addictive and so much fun,” she said.
Women interested in joining the team must be 18 years of age or older, available to attend 75% of all practices and events and pay monthly dues, Norris said.
The dues are $40 per month.
New members can borrow skates from the rink until making a commitment and buying their own.
Other female roller derby leagues are the Big Easy Roller Girls in New Orleans, the Cajun Roller Girls in Houma and the Acadian Good Time Rollers in Lafayette.
