Girl-on-girl action
Philly Roller Girls wheel into action as roller derby makes a comeback

by Erin Roop
Philly EDGE Correspondent

What do fishnet stockings, helmets and broken legs have in common?
They’re all part of the arsenal of roller derby. This knock-down girl-on-girl display of athleticism on wheels is kicking Philly’s ass – in a good way – and that’s no surprise after talking to the tough ladies of the Philly Roller Girls.
Mishel "Violet Temper" Cobb (more on her name later) thinks “many women love the visceral nature of what roller derby provides: speed roller skating combined with full-contact body hitting. Not only that, it gives women an outlet to express their physicality and more aggressive sides. Most of the women who join roller derby now are very independent, intelligent, ‘take no shit’ women. (Roller derby) fills the niche for us perfectly.”
In other periods of the sport’s popularity (it dates to the 1930s), roller derby was sometimes thought of as pro wrestling on roller skates, with scripted plays rehearsed so that no one was actually hurt.
Melanee "Darth Hater 13" Galoardi explains, “While [the scripting] added flair and excitement to the game, we don't need it. We play hard and we love it. That's all the excitement that our fans need.”
The physical price of that excitement? The members of the Philly Roller Girls currently have among them two broken legs, numerous pulled knees and one skater in physical therapy for a shoulder injury. After most bouts - derby lingo for “game” - there are many black and blue (and green and purple) bruises.
“It would be great to find a chiropractor or massage therapist to sponsor us” Darth Hater slyly added.
Besides the obvious sex appeal of having half-naked women skate and slam into each other, many fans take interest in the aggressiveness, athletic/gymnastic maneuvers and competitive nature of the sport.

The game

In a nutshell, roller derby is a speed race on quad roller-skates (four wheels instead of two) with two teams of five skaters per team - 10 total skaters - racing around an oval track trying to score the most points. Although more historically traditional tracks are banked, the Philly Roller Girls opt to use a flat track.
Each bout consists of scoring segments called jams; each jam lasts a maximum of two minutes. The jams can be called off early only by a referee (because of fighting, injury or equipment malfunction) or the lead jammer, who is the first in-bounds scoring skater to break through the pack without penalty. She may stop a jam for reasons such as falling, fatigue or to prevent the opposing jammer from scoring.
The jam starts in two sections, designated by whistles. At the first whistle, the pack - the opposition simply trying to stop the opposing jammer - starts to skate. When the pack gets 20 feet from the jammers, the second whistle blows and the jammers can then start skating.
Each team scores points when their jammer passes the opposing team's skaters, including their blockers. The jammer scores one point for each opposing player she passes in-bounds without a penalty.
For a block to be legal, the contact point must be between the shoulder and the hip. Skaters may block opposing players with hips, butt, shoulders and upper arms. Skaters may not strike a player with elbows or forearms and may not shove or hit them from behind.
Illegal blocking results in a penalty; three minor penalties add up to one major penalty which sends the skater to the penalty box for the next jam, leaving her team one player short. Fighting is a major penalty and will send the instigator directly to the box.
“There is nothing typical about our bouts,” clarifies Lisa "Bettie Machete" Solis, “it's the good, the bad and the ugly all rolled into one exciting event! Nothing is staged or scripted. If there is a fight, it is real. Tempers fly and everyone wants to win. If someone hits you hard, you will hit them harder... This is not for prima donnas”

What’s in a name?

The Roller Girls began in March, when some of the skaters affiliated with the Penn Jersey She Devils in Bensalem, decided to break away with hopes to form an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) that would be skater-owned and operated. Fifteen girls of all ages and backgrounds from the Philly area heard the roller derby call to action and attended the first meeting.
“In March we did not have a rink to call home. One phone call to Camden's Millennium Skate Center landed us a welcoming home. This is a real sport and we've trained hard for it. I'm so proud of all our girls and to think back to the beginning - there is no comparison!” Bettie Machete boasted.
The Philly Roller Girls organization is now comprised of four teams: the Broad Street Butchers (meat cleaver-wielding maniacs), the Hostile City Honeys (tough biker chicks), the Heavy Metal Hookers (like to rock and look good doing it) and the Philthy Britches (wanted a Philadelphia-themed, historical name.)
The creative names don’t end with the team monikers; every member of a roller derby team is given a name unique to her alter-ego on the track. (i.e. Annie Christ, Derby Sanchez and Chainsaw Guts Fuck)
Besides the fierce names, the roller derby wardrobe is distinctive too. The only mandatory dress code consists of protective gear such as helmets, knee and elbow pads, and wrist guards, but most players toss on some fishnets and itty-bitty skirts before heading to the track to kick some ass. Mouth guards are optional.
“I think that it's quite empowering to play a sport in a skirt,” adds Violet Temper. “It's like saying, ‘Yes, I'm a girl, but I can still kick your butt and do it while wearing a skirt.’”
Skaters dedicate four hours a week to perfecting their endurance, footwork, and honing their derby skills, all in between their day jobs as business owners, webmasters, students, textile designers, mechanics and bartenders.

Bout time

Nine months after the Philly Roller Girls formed, they were able to sell over 800 tickets to their first exhibition bout, their roster now has over 40 skaters, a lengthy waiting list of potential new recruits is forming and the girls have appeared on Fox 29, Channel 10 News, Channel 3 News, as well as in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Camden Courier Post and other publications.
While the team doesn’t have any immediate events scheduled, fans and those interested in roller derby, either for spectator or participation purposes, may check the Web site www.phillyrollergirls.com to help the organization “bring roller derby back to the Philadelphia area after almost thirty years.”

More:
www.phillyrollergirls.com for upcoming bouts and info

Know your roll
Learn the roller derby lingo.

Bout: The actual “game” or compilation of all the jams.

Jam: Two-minute time frame in which the teams are on the track trying to score points.

Jammer: Speed skater who starts at the back of the "pack" and tries to race through the pack to achieve "lead jammer" status.

Lead jammer: The first jammer to make it through the opposing team's blockers without penalties or stepping out of bounds.

Pack: The four blockers who are trying to keep the jammer from scoring.

Pivot: The blocker in the front of the pack that controls the speed of the jam and keeps her pack together; designated by a striped helmet.

Whip: A move a blocker uses to propel her jammer further through the pack; the blocker extends her arm to literally whip her jammer and transfer her speed to sling her through the pack to score.

- Erin Roop

The next big thing?
Five reasons why roller derby is hot

1. The A&E network has taken a liking to this modest sport. On January 2, the national cable channel is set to debut its new reality-based show “Rollergirls” in the 10 p.m. (EST) Monday time slot.
While many fans of the sport are happy that it will reach a wider audience through the show, there is some apprehension from the roller derby community.
“It's a double-edged sword,” skater Violet Temper explains. “It's great that roller derby has been catapulted into such a mainstream media avenue, but it will likely exploit the more sensationalistic aspects of the sport and focus on the obvious - the names, the costumes, the parties, etc. It will probably fail to do justice to the amazing amount of work we all bleed into our leagues.”

2. To promote the upcoming A&E show, the network is sponsoring “The Rock & Rollergirls Tour,” featuring all-girl rock band The Donnas. The five city mini-tour is scheduled to make a stop at the TLA (334 South Street, Philadelphia 215.922.1011) on Saturday, December 17 with Rollergirls cast members in tow.

3. There are more than 40 teams and leagues in the country, like the Penn Jersey She Devils, who practice at the Cornwells Roller Skating Center on Bristol Pike in Bensalem. The Bucks County Courier Times reports that the team is coached by ‘60’s and ‘70’s roller derby veteran Judy Sowinski, who skated for the Philadelphia Warriors.

4. The sport of roller derby was named to Rolling Stone’s “Hot List” this fall. The issue, which featured Lost star Evangeline Lilly on its cover, is the pop culture mag’s ode to all things trendy, chic and of-the-moment.

5. This fall, rapper Bow Wow starred in the film “Roll Bounce,” which was a tribute to the mid-to-late 1970’s, the last time all things roller skating (not blading or boarding) seemed to be cool. The DVD version of the movie was released Tuesday.

- Erin Roop and the Philly EDGE staff