It is tradition before each Bout for the teams to skate around the track and be introduced to the crowd by their derby name. They all crouch down as they are skating so the person being called can stand up and stand out. The crowd, who couldn’t tear their eyes away, was drawn in by the electric energy that the teams were giving off as they got hyped for their Bout. ”Well, I just kind of always loved skating and then I found out that the daughter of one of my brother’s oldest friends lived around the corner from me and she was a roller derby player,” attendee Luisa Garza said. “…my first time was last year for the last match. I think it’s really exciting and I love all the wild names that they have and the hustle and bustle and the falling and just the whole crowd. It’s very exciting.”
The cheers and screams encompassed me as I stood in the middle of the track, the clack of roller skates ringing in my ears as the players went buzzing by and a slight thud at my feet every time a player got knocked forcefully to the floor.
At Cal Skate Chico the NorCal Roller Derby team fosters an environment of love and learning as each player hones their skill.
“I am a skilled skater! No one gets past my booty! My team needs me! I need my team! I am confident on my skates! I am the best skater I can be! I will never quit! And I love roller derby! Who are we? NOR CAL!”
This is the statement that the NorCal Roller Derby team lives by in order to motivate themselves as individuals and as a team during their Bouts. Roller derby takes serious grit and killer balance if you want to push past blockers and stay on your feet.
In Derby they play two 30 minute halves which consist of as many two minute – sometimes less – Jams they can play. Tempest’s Fury started the Jam as the Jammer for NorCal Roller Derby. The Jammer is the only person on the track who can score points and can be easily told apart by the Star Panty they wear on their helmet. “The two Jammers score a point for every opposing Blocker they pass, each lap after the initial,” according to the skater book created by team member Sierra Galloway – derby name Little Miss Menace – for new players. Based on an article published by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage, a sports reporter by the name of Leo Seltzer invented roller Derby in the 1930s during the Great Depression. In the late 1930s Damon Runyon, a sportswriter, advised Seltzer he should “focus on the violence to bring in crowds. It worked.” (Jenna McMahon)
It is tradition before each Bout for the teams to skate around the track and be introduced to the crowd by their derby name. They all crouch down as they are skating so the person being called can stand up and stand out. The crowd, who couldn’t tear their eyes away, was drawn in by the electric energy that the teams were giving off as they got hyped for their Bout. ”Well, I just kind of always loved skating and then I found out that the daughter of one of my brother’s oldest friends lived around the corner from me and she was a roller derby player,” attendee Luisa Garza said. “… my first time was last year for the last match. I think it’s really exciting and I love all the wild names that they have and the hustle and bustle and the falling and just the whole crowd. It’s very exciting.” (Jenna McMahon)
On the track it is an all out battle, derby gals getting shoved left and right, yet off the track you’d think these women had been friends for years. Derby fosters an environment where anyone is welcome and you are immediately accepted into their community. The minute I stepped foot into the chaos that is roller derby I could feel the positive energy as well as the respect and admiration they have for each other radiating off of every single person. “We have that love for each other, and that’s what makes us so passionate when we go out there, because we are defending each other, we’re guarding each other,” Jammer Poison Ivy said. “ We do so much bonding outside. We volunteer, so all of these women are friends outside of Derby too. So when we’re on the track, we’re intense and we’re there for each other. When we’re off the track, we’re checking in with each other. We’re making sure everybody’s not in their own head and it’s awesome. ” (Jenna McMahon)
Drawing and definitions sourced from the Skater Book created by Sierra Galloway.
Each team starts with five skaters on the track, three Blockers, a Pivot and a Jammer. The Jammers start behind the other four players who form what they call a Pack. It is the Packs job to help their Jammer get the lead while also trying to stop the opposing teams Jammer. (Jenna McMahon)
Tempest’s Fury came out as the Lead Jammer and has the ability to end the Jam before the two minutes is up. To end the Jam the Jammer has to make a motion with their hands towards the refs. However, if the Lead Jammer receives a penalty they lose the ability to call off the Jam. According to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association “The sport of roller derby was first conceived in the 1930s, and was played on a banked track and was popular in the United States until it fizzled out in the 1970s. In the early 2000s, modern women’s roller derby got its start in Austin, Texas.” This revival paved the way for the now women-dominated sport that people have come to learn and love. (Jenna McMahon)
Lead Jammer Tempest’s Fury motions to call off the Jam after being blocked by the other team and falling out of the track. Having the power to call off the Jam in this scenario is beneficial so the other Jammer can’t get too far ahead and score a lot of points. Once the Jam is called off new players have 30 seconds to enter the track and get in starting position. (Jenna McMahon)
From left, derby teammates Oswald Clobberpot, Smother Theresa and Shredator prepare the track for their Bout. Each team member has a task assigned to them to ensure they are set up in time. As all the women rushed around to finish their tasks they talked and laughed, I sat back and observed the flawless teamwork on display, admiring the environment that felt like a warm hug. (Jenna McMahon)
The NorCal Roller Derby team warms up on the track before their Bout against the Sintral Valley Derby. They skate laps around the track while stretching and practicing moves they may use during the match. While the padding is worn for protection, they also use it to their advantage to slide on their knees if needed. (Jenna McMahon)
Derby can have anywhere from five to seven referees that also wear skates and protective gear. Depending on how many refs there are, they divide and conquer, some stay in the center circle while others skate along the outside. Each ref is designated either as a Pack ref or Jammer ref to ensure no penalties are missed. As stated in Galloways skater book, “When a skater commits a rule infraction or a foul, a penalty may be assessed as a punishment, handicap, or loss of advantage. Penalties are applied to both a Skater and the Role that Skater is currently playing. Officials signal and enforce penalties and warnings as they occur during a game. Penalties are served 30 seconds each, a Skater can serve a double penalty. When seven penalties are recorded for a Skater, that Skater fouls out of the game.” (Jenna McMahon)
Jammer Poison Ivy battles with Sintral Valley’s Jammer to gain the lead. “Oh my God, these folks are killing it,” attendee Cathryn Carkhuff said. “I love the costumes. I love the fishnets. I mean, it’s just, it’s badass.” “In the study of sport, feminist scholars have noted how sport and physical activity can be a source of empowerment for women. For instance, Nancy Theberge (2000) noted that many female athletes found significant enjoyment in hitting and Lone Friis Thing claimed that female athletes’ physically aggressive contact created a feeling of empowerment that involved ‘both a sense of bodily power and liberation and a sense of release of everyday stresses,’” the Journal of Feminist Scholarship. (Jenna McMahon)
Blocker Celestial Chaos and Pivot Smother Theresa work together to keep the Basin Bombers Jammer from pushing through them. Pivots determine the pace of the Jam and act as a blocker. Until 1972 female athletes could not earn college scholarships. “Gender equality isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s beneficial for the development and mental health of girls and women. According to Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sports Foundation, “sports help to boost a woman’s self-esteem and collaboration skills.”(Jenna McMahon)
Number 48, Poison Ivy, tries to fight her way past the Basin Bombers Blocker in order to score more points. When pushed out of bounds the Jammer reenters behind where they got pushed out otherwise a penalty would be called. “It’s a lot of pressure and it’s really exhausting ’cause you’re fighting against four women who do not wanna let you through,” she said. “And so there’s definitely a lot of pressure, but since we do have that team energy, we’re all supporting each other out there.” (Jenna McMahon)
Skaters – especially the Jammers – often fall or get pushed during their Bouts, so it is important for the athletes to wear helmets and pads to protect themselves. When a skater got shoved and fell it would elicit oohs and aahs from the crowd, but the players would bounce right back up like it was nothing. “…We also found that this increased sense of body awareness suggested to women that they had become ‘a badass.’ Time and time again, we heard athletes refer to themselves or to their teammates as badasses…However, emerging scholarship presents the female badass as a version of femininity that resignifies qualities typically associated with masculinity (Johnson 2014). This redefinition includes, for example, a woman who is confident in her conception of self, who rarely “backs down” and who gets what she wants (Charlebois 2011),” the Journal of Feminist Scholarship. (Jenna McMahon)
Number 495, Tempest’s Fury, rounds turn number two preparing herself to try and break through the Basin Bombers Blockers. Jammers are allowed to push through, go around or even jump corners – as long as they land In Bounds – to try and skate their way through. When a skater attempts to cut corners it is called an Apex Jump. (Jenna McMahon)
Team member Kamikaze Kay hangs up the NorCal Roller Derby merch to sell at their Bout. Other local vendors were also in attendance at the match. The team often pairs with organizations such as Home and Heart and the Butte County Humane Society to hold fundraisers or to raise awareness. “Shannon, [one of the skaters], is on our board and she has partnered with Home and Heart to have this sort of benefit for our work,” Director of Home and Heart, Cathryn Carkhuff, said. “We do housing and specifically with older adults and adults. We do home sharing and that’s basically you have an older adult who has an extra bedroom in their home… and so basically what we do is we help them find their perfect roommate.” (Jenna McMahon)The fans high five the NorCal Roller Derby team after their win against Sintral Valley Derby. Both teams went down the line of fans cheering them on for a good match. The ending score was 109-107. These women play Derby because they love the sport, but they also love their fans and always try to find a way to interact with them or include them in some of the action.(Jenna McMahon)
At the end of the Bout each team named a most valuable jammer, most valuable blocker and most valuable player. Whoever was named received a gift from the other team. Jammer Poison Ivy was named most valuable player at their Bout against Sintral Valley Derby. This tradition is further proof of the sense of community that roller derby creates and shows how they lift each other up no matter the outcome. (Jenna McMahon)
A player from the Basin Bombers being given a gift for being named one of the three most valuable players of the Bout. When on the track these women take care of business, but off the track they are all about hyping each other up and creating a positive environment for everyone involved. (Jenna McMahon)
The players who were shouted out for their performance during the Bout were given tiaras to commemorate the moment. As stated on the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association website “The WFTDA governs and promotes the sport of flat track roller derby and revolutionizes the role of women in sports through the collective voice of its member leagues around the world.” (Jenna McMahon)
The NorCal Roller Derby and Sintral Valley Derby teams pose for a photo after their Bout. “Fantastic energy,” Poison Ivy said. “Everybody loves to dance and part of our tradition is that both teams go to an after party together afterwards.” (Jenna McMahon)
The environment created within roller derby is one that holds a sense of community and empowerment. No matter if you’ve known one another for years or only hours they treat you as one of your own. On the track they duke it out, but off the track they dance it out.
Jenna McMahon is a fifth year student, this is her third semester on The Orion and she is the copy editor this semester. She enjoys photography, reading, anything outdoors, traveling, hanging out with friends and playing soccer for the Chico State club team.
