Professional women on wheels

What has well oiled wheels, advanced degrees, alter identities and whirls in a circle like a tornado?     Assault City Roller Derby, of course!

by D.E. Bentley –

Assault City Roller Derby formed in 2007, Syracuse’s first and only women’s flat track roller derby league; an early league in a sport that has continued to grow in popularity since its re-imaging in early 2000.  So, what is roller derby, those not familiar with the sport might rightly ask.  Let’s start by saying what it is not.  It is not rollerball, a fictitious brutal sport (from the 1975 film by the same name) in which two teams clad in body armor skate on a banked round track, trying to score points by throwing a steel ball into a goal.  It is a full contact team sport.  From what I have seen of the game, as a spectator only, it’s as much about camaraderie as it is about competition – with acceptance of all players for who they are as important as winning.

Modern roller derby has its roots in the 1930s, as marathon transcontinental skate races on raised tracks evolved into a contact sport (for both men and women) with skater collisions and falls a regular part of the sport.  Leo Seltzer trademarked the term Roller Derby in 1935.  Later, under the oversight of Leo’s son Jerry, a more structured version of Roller Derby was televised – beginning in the late 1940s. This media show lent a theatrical edge to some of the leagues – detracting from the sport but also increasing its visibility.  Although today’s game, which I will get to shortly, is much different than these earlier games, the use of stage names for players remains – and is a part of the fun for spectators (and, I imagine, for the players themselves  – who can “become” these alter identities when in the game).

Roller Derby as it is played today – primarily by women – started with a Texas League, Texas Rollergirls, and expanded as additional leagues formed.  From its earliest imaging by Leo Seltzer, bringing legitimacy to this sport has been a goal.  A United Leagues Coalition (ULC) formed in 2004 with a handful of flat track roller derby leagues, each owned and operated by skaters.   In 2005 the ULC was renamed the The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) to reflect the shared goal of advancing Roller Derby as a modern legitimate contact sport.  WFTDA has been influential in establishing guiding principles, standardized rules and expanding participation nationally and internationally.  The Assault City Roller Derby Team is a member league.

Roller Derby is now played on a flat track as the league name implies, expanding the number of locations where it can be played.  More than 100,000 skaters worldwide are actively involved in the sport.

The game is relatively simple to understand, although it takes a few times watching to learn how to track the players and scope out the strategies.  The game is played on an oval track – usually laid out on a gymnasium, roller-skating or ice skating rink (during ice skating off season) floor.  Play is broken into two thirty-minute periods.  These are broken into two-minute units of play called “Jams.” A Jam last for two minutes with 30 second stops between.

There are generally five skaters (on quad skates) from each team on the track for each Jam. One player is the “Jammer” – designated by a star on her helmet.  The other four players – know as “Blockers,” are collectively called the “Pack.”  The Jammers start behind the pack and the objective is for them to lap all the way around the track.  For each opposing Blocker they pass after the first lap, they score points.  Thus, the goal of the Blockers is to slow down the other team’s Jammer while simultaneously helping your Jammer get through their Blockers.  The Jammer that gets through the pack first is the “Lead Jammer” and can call off the bout.

Roller Derby is a full-contact sport – body on body.  Skaters can bump opponents, but can’t use their arms, legs, heads to strike out at opponents’ heads, lower legs, knees, feet or backs.  Skaters are also required to wear approved protective gear.

That said, the game is exciting to watch and requires incredible skill, focus and practice.  Which leads me to my next inquiry – who on earth might want to play a game like this, and what do they get out of it?  Granted, there was a time when I seriously thought about it – when I was in my forties.  I think my desire to become a roller derby skater ended about the same time as my desire to jump out of a plane – well may

 

be I will still jump out of a plane, but you know what I mean.  Roller Derby is a game of professionals, and for three women from Assault City who were willing to share with me a bit about their passion, professionalism applies on and off the track.  Hopefully their stories will inspire more women to give Roller Derby a try.

My first attendance at a game was in 2010, when I was encouraged by a friend to attend a game held in Ithaca, NY.   When the first ever Roller Derby World Cup was held in Toronto, Canada in 2011, we drove north across the border and spent some time watching teams from around the world do their thing.  (Almost) as awesome to watch as it is to play.  I plan to get out there and catch some games soon – from the sidelines, as close to the action as a non-skater can get (best “seat” is on the floor, as close up to the track as allowed).

Assault City Profiles: The Assault City Team name is a pun on their Syracuse home’s “Salt City” tag. Team members come from all across the Central NY region and their lives are as varied as their Roller Derby Personas.

Below are profiles from three women who are part of the Assault City Roller Derby.

Wendy Marsh AKA Toxic Marsh

My day job is partner at Hancock Estabrook, a law firm in Syracuse.  I focus my practice on environmental and zoning law.  My partner, Dave, and I also rehabilitate buildings to bring them back to life in downtown Geneva.  Our fun passion is live music, so we see lots of different live bands and enjoy going to festivals.

Derby found me in 2012, when there was a local team starting up.  A friend of mine mentioned she had joined, and I jumped on the team the next week.  I played only one year with the Lunachicks, then took time off when I focused on Ironman training (and life).  I joined ACRD in October 2017, and super excited to be joining a high level experienced team.  I play both blocker and jammer.

The thing I like best about derby is the people. I have never met a better group of ladies in my entire life, and am so lucky to be part of the team. 

Gwendolyn Aguilar AKA Gwen A Fierce

My name is Gwendolyn Aguilar I’m a nurse, wife, mother, veteran, and I play Roller Derby.

   I met my husband while I was in the army and we had our son about a year later. When we both got out of the service I decided that nursing was the route for me. I’m currently working at the VA hospital as an LPN. I enjoy working with all the vet’s and I get satisfaction knowing that I have helped the people who have served our country.

   Roller derby has been in my life for three years. I joined because I needed to do something that was outside of my normal routine. I love the diversity of people and how we are able to work with each other. I’m primarily a blocker on the team but I’m willing to play in another position as needed. I’m in charge of our practice space and the maintenance of it, also I’m the head of safety for our team.

 

Morse AKA Coach K-MO

do you plan on spending your midlife crisis? I can tell you how mine is going: I spend 5 hours (or more) a week in a dirty warehouse space, blowing a whistle, moving cones around, replacing tape on the floor, and motivating an amazing group of people.

I am a roller derby coach for Assault City Roller Derby in Syracuse, NY. This is not a lifelong dream, although now I realize that it is my calling. I was convinced to coach by my girlfriend, who had been playing for two years. The league went through some major changes, lost a lot of players, and had been through a couple of coaches. I was really apprehensive, I only knew roller derby as a fan and I had never coached anything before. But I took the leap and I haven’t looked back in two years.

This is an amazing sport. It welcomes people from all walks of life. It provides stability, physical challenges, camaraderie, competition, and encourages personal growth. As a coach, I have witnessed my skaters grow not just as athletes, but also as people. They have become stronger in their personal and professional lives. It has done the same for me. I have grown right alongside the skaters and the league.

I still work 40 hours a week for the New York State Department of Health. I love my job. But when I leave work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and drive an hour just to blow a whistle in a dirty warehouse, I am truly happy.

 

Assault City Roller Derby upcoming events face book or https://www.assaultcityrd.com/.

Suburban Brawl Roller Derby-ACRD’s 4-14-18 opponents-at https://subrd.com/league-members/suburban-brawl/

Profile images by MDG Images- http://mdgimages.com / Action shots David Dyte.

Thanks Wiki and WFTDA-  https://wftda.org – for helping Owl grab some history for our readers.