Roller Derby

Tonight, my friend Marissa and her boyfriend Eli, Hannah and myself went to the Terminal City Rollergirls vs. Faster Pussy Cats game for the first time. None of us had gone before, so we all shared a first together!  We sat down, and at first had no clue what was going on! We agreed, we should have read up on the sport and rules a bit before coming.  I think the only thing I was expecting was a lot of violence, and shoving and pushing and cat fights. There wasn't much of this; maybe it was a clean game?  I wanted more violence!

The people in the stadium and players were dressed up in unique costumes/wigs/fish net stockings and anything else that was out of the ordinary. I guess this is part of the burlesque culture of the game.  Like mud wrestling, roller derby has historically been seen as a way to entertain largely male audiences with hot, dirty catfights. And with its bad-gal costumes and prospect of girl-on-girl bruising, roller derby still skates a fine line between sport and spectacle. Though modern skaters have reimagined the sport as a form of self-expression and performance (not unlike the recent feminist revival of burlesque), as well as an athletic contest, the titillation factor threatens to undermine the legitimacy of the game.  According to wikipedia (my favourite source for information) nearly all contemporary roller derby leagues are all-female and self-organized. They were formed in an indie, DIY spirit by relatively new roller derby enthusiasts.  These leagues deploy traditional quad roller skates, (which I REALLY want to buy now) and a punk aesthetic and/or ethic is often prominent. The term roller derby dates at least as far back as 1922, when the Chicago Tribune used it to describe multi-day, flat-track roller skating races, similar to banked-track marathons! 

Wikipedia says, "The names of the teams themselves are typically as sardonic and convoluted — for example, Nightmare on Hull Street (Nightmare on Elm St.), Seasons Beatings, (Seasons Greetings), Night of the Rolling Dead (Night of the Living Dead); Spanksgiving (Thanksgiving), Grandma Got Run Over By a Rollergirl (Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer), Skate & Destroy Her, Cupid's Quarrel, Shamrock and Roll, Pushin' Daisies, Cinco de May-hem (Cinco de Mayo), and War of the Wheels (War of the Worlds) "

Reading the rules after the fact, made me appreciate what I had watched.  It looks like a great way to let out some steam, and push people around while roller skating at the same time. How is this a bad thing? It sounds AWESOME!! Maybe I'll join?

Today was a very awesome first and I definitely recommend you go and check out a game for yourself! There are more coming up in Vancouver, so just go to this link, to find out more:
click here Now I'm going to go watch that Roller Derby movie, called "Whip It"  Here's the trailer to find about more about it.