BRUISED AND PROUD: THE FIERCE FAMILY OF THE B.C. ROLLERS

We all need a place where we feel safe, loved, and supported in order to grow maintain a sense of confidence and self-worth. For some, this is the same place where you can get knocked to the ground by another person’s butt while on a pair of old-fashioned roller skates.

On a recent Thursday night, this place was the West Endicott Fire Station gymnasium; the sport was roller derby, and the people making it happen were the BC Rollers.

From the moment I entered the building, I could hear the rumble of the skates, whistles blowing, and people yelling. I was greeted by a smiling woman in a tie-dyed shirt known affectionately as Momma Bomb, who directed me to Lee-Bola, the Head Ref for the league.

“It was, pretty much, WWE on skates,” he recalled when asked about the roots of derby. “There was a lot of athleticism, but also a lot of show. A lot of the leagues are getting away from that now.” Modern derby took what was once a campy televised spectacle and turned it into an ever-expanding community of athletes. “As of right now, roller derby is the fastest growing women’s sport in the world. There are over 3,000 leagues worldwide. Our league is five years old.”

Their league is the BC Rollers, the first and only flat track roller derby league in Broome County. The league consists of two teams- the Parlor City Tricks, an all-women’s team that adheres to the WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) rule set, and the burgeoning Aces on 8, a co-ed team that follows M.A.D.E. (Modern Athletic Derby Endeavor) rules.

And just what are the rules? “Oh goodness- that’s a lot of pages,” sighed MoFo, one of the Tricks’ newest members. “Basically, the person with the star, you want them to get as far ahead as possible. The covers that you put around your helmet are called panties. There’s a jammer panty, which has a star, and there’s a pivot panty, which has a stripe. The jammers are the points-makers, which you would think would be your most important person, but it’s not, because your blockers are protecting them. So the point is to stop the other star from coming through, and make sure your star gets through.” Gets through what? “The pack.”

Derby has its own vernacular (their matches are called bouts), and everyone involved has a derby name. Even the two young men- aged six and eight- who were present at this practice, go by Bull DoZher and Darth Skater. These names usually come from some passion or facet of their daily lives, and also provide an impetus for engagement on the track. Bad Czech (a mother of four) commended the powers derby life: “When I’m not doing roller derby, I’m an evil shark that wants to eat people. It’s hard work, and it’s awesome stress relief. It gives me my own identity away from the house and the kids. This is my superhero identity.”

As for MoFo (who has had that name long before derby came into the picture), her teammates describe her as having that “fresh meat derby passion.” And passion she has: “I love it! You wanna skate. You have awesome people that support you all around. Right now, I’m off of skates because I’m hurt, but they find something for you to do; they keep you involved. Everybody wants everybody to do good, because it’s a team sport.”

And derby has changed her life off the track as well. “I have better habits. You can’t go out drinking before practice; you can’t go out drinking- I personally can’t- before bouts. It curbs everything. You’re at practice three times a week- if that’s what you want to do, and that’s what you want to be good at, you cut a lot of the other BS out. There’s a lot of support from people within team to help us train physically, to feel better when we’re off skates, eat better when we’re off skates, so it helps. If you want to do good, you’ll sacrifice just about anything to do it.”

The Rollers are a special bunch; not just anyone would sacrifice as they do. Malice (as in Malice in Chains), is a founding member of the Rollers. After she had her son, her dad told her about the roller derby league up at his rink in Sydney. “We practiced for two weeks, and then all of them quit.” Malice, however, was not prepared to surrender. She studied, went to bouts, recruited, started practices immediately, and worked up to 23 girls in three months. “We started as the Southern Tier Savages, then changed our name to the Parlor City Tricks, BC Rollers.”

Despite the growing popularity of the sport, misconceptions abound. “People don’t realize that we’re actual athletes,” Malice emphasized. “A lot of girls come in and think they’re just going to prance around and that they’re just going to be cuties in roller skates and fishnets, and it’s not like that at all. They actually have to learn how to hit properly and be disciplined and controlled in their hitting and strategy, and work hard.”

Cherry Bomb-daughter of Momma Bomb- has been skating for almost three years with the league. “I was at the First Friday Art Walk in Binghamton, and a couple of big, scary girls came up to me and said ‘Hey, you should play roller derby!’ That’s pretty much all it took. I didn’t realize derby existed in this area.”

Once she was in, her life was changed: “It’s definitely improved my self-esteem and confidence a lot. Everyone in this sport is always so positive. There’s so much support in it.” She was not an athlete growing up, but even the last kid picked could end up in roller derby. “A lot of girls, you don’t think they’d be doing it- like Bomber, she’s like this big around,” she said, holding up her pinky. “She’s fierce, though.”

While it is still predominately a women’s sport, roller derby is now co-ed, and very welcoming. “We’re not all super-intimidating and scary,” says Cherry bomb.

“It’s a sport that appreciates any body type, any ethnicity; it doesn’t care. Everybody’s accepted. It all comes down to your skating ability,” elucidated Papa, a referee (or zebra), and also the oldest member of the team. His wife makes their panties.

Lovette Ruff has been skating for a long time. “My parents are now divorced, but they did meet in a roller rink. So it’s been a thing. I shuffle skate, which is kind of like dancing on roller skates. I fought [derby] off for a little bit, and then I tried it, and I haven’t stopped.” Once she got hooked, it was hard to avoid. “The thing about derby is- it’s like community. So when I go to Ohio, I practice with a team there. Chances are, you can just email the local team and say, I’m traveling, can I practice with you? And chances are, it’ll be okay.”

After practice, I followed a few of the Rollers out of the fire station and into the bar across the street, which, much like the team, was much more wholesome than I expected. Mish Masher is a zebra-in-training, who has been with the Rollers since October. “Initially I wanted to be a bouting skater, until at the first bout, I knew I wasn’t ready, so I reffed, and I fell in love with reffing.” She was a shy person when she joined the group. “It took me a few months to break out of my shell, but once I realized how cool everyone on the team was and how friendly everyone was- like a family- it brought me out.”

The women all agree that, even if you come to the Rollers shy, you won’t stay that way for long. Foxy Firecracker is in her second season with the Tricks, and she remembers her first practice: “I was like, I love derby! I’ve gotta do this all the time!” Her derby name was actually a gift from a teammate who was going to use it, but let her have it instead. With her red hair, it suits her, and as she says, laughing,“I like to ignite the fire.”

Toxic Beveridge, who is President and Head Coach of the league, started derby as “kind of a dare. I had a big butt, and someone was like, You should play derby and have fun. So I tried it out, and at my first practice I fell in love with it, and I’ve been dealing with it ever since.” And how is a big butt connected to derby? “Blocking purposes. Hitting purposes.” Toxic went on, “My derby wife, Therapissed, we are called the A.O.D.- Asses of Doom- because when you put our two butts together it’s like a double-wide, and it’s awesome.”

Bomber, a wry veteran of the league, has been participating for five years. How has it changed her life? “It allows me to hit things, which I like. It’s like a boyfriend- it’s better than a boyfriend- it fills that fantastic void, right there.”

One skater, Rolly Grail, derives her name from her studies of British Literature. She also played roller hockey for a decade. “I like this better- a lot better.” The overarching theme of derby seems to be one of complete inclusion: everyone is welcome. So much so, that on my way out of the bar, Toxic had one last question for me: “When are you joining?”

Keep an eye out for kickass posters advertising the Parlor City Tricks’ first home bout on May 16th (hand-drawn by the talented MoFo herself). The rest of the home bouts this season will take place on May 30th, June 20th, and June 27th, all at the Chenango Ice Rink, located at 614 River Road in Binghamton. Visit parlorcitytricks.com or facebook.com/bcrollers for more information. And they’re always looking for new members!