It is hard to explain roller derby. The rules, while simple in theory, are hard to communicate in a simple manner. People who have played the sport for months and even years are fuzzy on all the nuances of the rules.
It is even harder to explain why I love playing roller derby. It is hard to describe the agonizing fun of a really intense hit. It is difficult to put into words how good it feels to pick yourself up off the floor for the twelfth time in one jam only to trip over your own feet in exhaustion and have to get back up all over again. People think you are crazy when you tell them that you love to take the big hits just to hear the crowd gasp in horror.
When I tell someone I play roller derby, I get a lot of similar responses. Most people have a dazed look of horror on their face as they say, "...But, you are so little."
First of all, I am only one inch shorter than the national average of 5'4". Second of all, being small makes me a small target. When you add in speed and agility, you get a hard-to-hit target.
The next question I usually get is, “What made you want to play roller derby?”
I seem to have a little more trouble explaining why I wanted to play roller derby. My immediate gut reaction is, “Who wouldn’t?” Apparently, a large majority of the population would not. I guess I am just weird.
By the way, I love being weird. Normal is boring. Weird is fun. Normal is tired. Weird is unpredictable.
“Well, how did you get involved with roller derby, Smartass?”
I saw a flyer.
I went to try-outs.
I skated.
I made the league.
It wasn’t hard.
Practices can be hard. It is the good kind of hard. It still isn’t any harder than high school volleyball practice. In fact, I think it is easier. They made me run in every volleyball practice. I only have to run about 3 times a month at roller derby practice. I hate running. I like skating. It makes sense that I would enjoy roller derby practice more than I ever enjoyed volleyball practice.
I guess that I wanted something fun to do where I would get to meet interesting people. Some find book clubs. Some take a cooking class. I started playing roller derby.
I doubt very much that you could find the kind of friendship I have found in derby in a book club or cooking class. I think that what derby offers is a rare thing. Aspects of it remind me of a lot of things I have been involved with in the past. Like a church I attended in my youth, it is a broad community with common values. Like the sorority I belonged to in college, it is a group run by women, governed by women, and set up by women with all the craziness that that entails. Yet, it suits me more than both of these ever did.
To the skeptics. I have a few questions for you.
Do you think it is crazy because women are playing a contact sport? No one seems to think football players are crazy. Women can be strong, too. In a lot of ways, these women I have come to know are stronger than any man I have ever known. Not only do they play this grueling sport, but they also work multiple jobs, take care of their families, run businesses, go to school, and so many other things.
Do you think it is stupid because we are not all young and thin and gorgeous? Not all women are young, thin, and gorgeous. The world just can't seem to figure that out. Roller derby makes me feel young. It makes me feel invincible. Plus, bruises are sexy.
Do you think it is a waste of time and money? A lot of things that people enjoy seem like a waste of time and money.
I pay less to play roller derby than most people pay for a gym membership. Our league is a not-for-profit organization. All of our bout and event proceeds are given to charities.
It isn't always fun and games. We have had broken ankles, a blown out knee, broken ribs, bruised tailbones, gashes in faces, and endless contusions and sore muscles. We have had conflicts and we will have more. Some have been minor and some have been major.
What makes roller derby great is that we are all determined to do whatever it takes to keep playing the sport that we love with integrity and a sense of family.
I feel blessed to have roller derby in my life.
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