Roller derby players create an inclusive space in central Kentucky
Originally published by WEKU.
Last weekend marked the return of roller derby in central Kentucky.
Roller Derby of Central Kentucky, or ROCK, for short, brought high-speed action to fans at the Central Bank Center in downtown Lexington.
The indoor sport is played on a flat track and on roller skates. Players called Jammers try to skate untouched past opposing Blockers to earn points. Team President Jodi Brewer says the sport is best understood by watching it.
Shepherd Snyder
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WEKU
“(Explaining it) is really hard to do verbally. I usually use pennies on a table to explain it, but each team has four blockers out during a jam,” Brewer said. “A jam lasts up to two minutes, and those four blockers are attempting to keep the opposite team’s jammer from passing them.”
ROCK went up against rivals who represented up the road in northern Kentucky: the Covington-based Black and Bluegrass.
Heather Glaros, also known by her derby name Shrieking Violet, calls the women-led sport a great stress reliever.
“I don’t really know how to say it, it’s maybe kind of freeing, when you can just kind of let go of what you do in your day-to-day life and your job and family, and you can just get out there and just let everything go and put it on the track,” Glaros said.
Roller derby gained popularity in the mid-20th century with a reputation of theatrical, scripted “sports entertainment” similar to pro wrestling. Players say they’ve been pushing against that perception since a grassroots revival two decades ago.
“I get a lot of people asking, ‘Do you throw elbows? Is it like it was in the 70s?’ And it’s not. It’s much more athletic and it’s a legit sport, and it’s just like any sporting event,” Glaros said. “You go to where you want to cheer on your team, and maybe you have a favorite skater you want to cheer for.”
As the sport gets more mainstream recognition, players say roller derby’s culture is also starting to more resemble traditional athletics. But traditions like derby names have stuck around and allowed their athletes to show off their personality.
Player Nicole Begg’s derby name is 50 Shades of Cray.
“Before derby, I think my identity really came from my profession,” Begg said. “I’m a psychologist. So it was a given. My husband came up with it, it was perfect.”
Begg says individuality is part of what drew her and many others to the sport.
“I feel like a lot of people who are drawn to derby don’t really like other sports,” Begg said. “We’re in uniform, but we personalize it with our makeup and our style. And I love that part of it.”
Pride month was celebrated as part of their game last weekend, with players donning rainbow accessories and makeup. Non-skating official Melly Rose – derby name Villa Ness – says organizers make it as inclusive as possible.
Shepherd Snyder
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WEKU
“I am a different body type, I do have a disability, I am queer, so all of that space is important to me personally, but it’s also important on a broader scale, because the more spaces we can build for people who feel othered, the less they will feel othered,” Rose said.
Rose says that spirit of inclusion is what helps grow the sport and draw in new players.
“Last year, at the bout, I talked to a lot of people who were maybe a little bit older, who were maybe a little bit not, quote, unquote, athletic,” Rose said. “And they were like, ‘This looks so fun. This looks like such a good time.’ And I told so many people, ‘You can do it. You can walk in the door and do it.’”
That mentality can also be traced back to other local subcultures.
Joe Manley began refereeing games because he wanted to support some friends in the local punk rock scene who got interested in the sport. Now, he’s a coach for ROCK.
“In Lexington, our music scene was everything from folk to metal and various things in between,” Manley said. “And we just had to be inclusive because we weren’t big enough to support any small scene on its own. And with roller derby growing out of that same mentality in other places, we grew out of that here, too.”
ROCK has two more home games scheduled for this season: one July 13, and one September 17.
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Originally published by WEKU.
Republished with permission.
