Roller Derby Alive and Well

Roller Derby is alive and well in these United States.  I attended an exhibition bout in Phoenix a week ago between the Lady Lux Roller Girls and the Team Excalibur Hockey Girls sponsored by the Arizona Derby Dames.  What a kick!  Two teams with ladies from 18 to 45, dressed in outfits as skimpy as they could get by with and still be legal, racing each other around the Ring of Fire.  Each team has a Pivot, a Jammer and 3 blockers.  The Pivot leads the pack and when the whistle blows, the Jammers try to get through the pack without being annihilated, or breaking any bones.  Once the first Jammer has cleared the pack, the scoring starts; one point for each person on the opposing team passed by the Jammer.  There are several referees…in this bout, Ben Dover, Tigger and Oliver Klozhov who pace the Jammers and keep score.  I was surprised at the diversity of people in the audience, as well as the skaters themselves…lawyers, students, pierced, covered in tattoos, little kids, big kids…everyone was having fun.  The girls have “professional names” such as Blue Brawls, Suzy Homewrecker, Sally Whacker, Rowdy Roulette, Razen Hell, Miss Elle Crisis.  I was told it was a great game with lots of fights, a bloodied nose and sprained ankle.  To find out more about roller derby check out the www.azderbydames.com site and take in a bout yourself.