Girls in fishnets getting hit is what may attract the common person to their first roller derby game but what they’ll witness is something they won’t soon forget.
“It’s an edge-of-your-seat sport. It’s exciting, it’s intense, it’s funny, silly, crazy – all of these things happen in one game,” said Sirius Trauma (real name, Francine) of the Albany All Stars Roller Derby Team. She and Ace Defective (real name, Erica) have been part of this all-women’s league for nearly four years.
“You’re never bored,” said Ace. If you’ve never seen a roller derby game or even heard of the sport before then you’re in for a new and exciting discovery.
The Albany All Stars Roller Derby Team has been active since 2006 when it only had six members. Today it has just over 50. The team consists entirely of women aged 21 to 50.
The Albany All Stars league. Photo courtesy of the Albany All Stars website.
The basics of the game go like this: Each playing team has five players on the rink: one jammer (scores points by passing opposing team members around the rink), three blockers (block opposing team members from getting ahead of them) and one pivot (may be designated as a jammer during the course of a jam; establishes team strategy). The play time is divided into two 30-minute periods and a halftime.
The team members of the Albany All Stars are a diverse group of women. They have day jobs that range from social workers and nurses to teachers and Etsy shop owners. The common denominator is their love for roller derby.
“You join the league and it’s instant 50 sisters,” said Ace. “On top of being a team, we become friends. It’s an extended family.”
Ace calls Trauma one of her best friends. The women have known each other for nearly the entire time they’ve been with the All Stars. Ace is a nanny by day and a coach and skater by night. She attended her first bout, a.k.a game, four years ago at The Armory and instantly fell in love with the sport. She joined the team soon after. Trauma remembers having birthday parties at roller rinks. She’s been skating since childhood and joined the All Stars in early 2011.
Not only is being on the team purely voluntary but members actually pay monthly dues to be part of the league. Roller derby is not just a hobby. It’s a real sport with game rules, a board of directors, national championships and even its own association, theWomen’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The All Stars will soon be part of the association as soon as they finish their apprentice “trial period” to prove that their team is capable of maintaining a league under WFTDA rules.
Unlike roller derby in the 60’s and 70’s which was all staged, today skaters can get serious injuries on the track. Bruises, sprains and broken bones are old news to these tough women.
“We’re all a little bit Type A,” said Trauma. “I think you have to be in order to deal with the rigors of the sport because it’s hard, it’s really hard. You have to be motivated and passionate and intense because it’s an intense game.”
Even if a skater gets hurt, she tries to recover while still being part of the team. Each member is required to be part of a committee whether that means being on the board of directors, doing public relations, running social media, selling tickets, or manning the merchandise table on game nights. The skaters are the league, there are no outside sources.
“If you’re not skating, you’re working,” said Ace.
Short film: Albany All Stars Roller Derby from Gregory Wilson on Vimeo.
A lot of hard work goes into this sport even outside of the rink. The girl all have their own work out routines to keep in shape. They do yoga, CrossFit and running. The team also has five coaches whose job it is to keep up with derby strategies and rule changes. Ace is a coach this year and she spends a few hours every day responding to emails, watching archived and live streams of games and even traveling to see bouts.
“We have 50 plus girls in the league,” said Ace. “The coaches have to know all of their strengths, their weaknesses. We have to be up on the current strategies of derby, plan practices, meetings, emails. It’s very draining on your personal life.”
The sport can be overwhelming, especially for new skaters. It takes an average skater about three to six months to adjust her body to the physical toll that roller derby can have on her body.
“This is one of the few sports were you have to play offensively and defensively, sometimes at the same time…on wheels…with other people hitting you,” said Trauma. “But it’s crazy what love and passion will let you do. If we didn’t enjoy it, none of us would be here.”
The Albany All Stars league logo. Photo courtesy of the Albany All Stars Facebook page.
Their passion is evident on game nights when they leave their sweat, tears and blood on the track. The fans can see that and appreciate it.
Trauma said the two most common comments after people see roller derby for the first time are “Oh my God, you have to be really good on skates to do this” and “Oh my God, that’s really hard. I thought you guys just punched each other.”
Roller derby is not for the weak. While it can be a brutal sport, it’s also a lot of fun to play and to watch.
“You don’t realize how much of a sport it is,” said Ace. “I think the girls in fishnets getting hit is what draws the people in and the game plan, strategy and the finesse of the skaters is what keeps them here.”
Ace and Trauma said the fans are a huge part of our league. Audience turnout can vary from 400 to 1,500 people. Winter days are the most crowded when The Armory can provide a warm environment and an entertaining show.
Trauma likes the variety that roller derby brings to Albany’s sports scene.
“It also brings the women factor into it,” she said. “There aren’t many sports where you get to see only women playing something.”
The 8th official season kicks off on January 10, 2015, at The Armory. A portion of the sale proceeds go to charity.
I know this doesn't fit the current theme, but I wanted to share a photo from a roller derby bout I photographed last night. It was the first time I tried using a studio strobe on-location for a sporting event. It made a world of difference!
I am very much bummed that roller derby is a pricey sport. I was way jazzed to take part in it, but the fees and whatnot! I could afford it, but really, I should be saving my money. Oh, the terrible joys of responsibility. Won't someone just fork over a coupla hundred so that I may roll with the best of them? Please?
