By Vanessa Oswald
Buffalo’s own Queen City Roller Girls are gliding their way into the New Year to raise money for the WNY Food Bank on January 2nd at 7:30PM.
Women’s roller derby continues to gain popularity nationally and within the media, especially with the 2009 film Whip It starring Juno’s Ellen Page, directed by Drew Barrymore. Attendance for local roller derby events has tripled in ticket sales with the upcoming derby, guaranteed to be a sell-out. The grueling sport, which has taken on somewhat of a rough girl aesthetic and emphasis of female empowerment, has brought several women together who have similar ambitions in giving back to the community, and just getting together for a good time.
Buffalo’s derby team features several girls dressed in punkish apparel, sporting traditional quad roller skates for bouts held on flat tracks. They compete against each other to raise money for local charities.
“The Food Bank of WNY was chosen because the bout was close to the holidays,” said Maria Hollander aka Crazy Legs, PR director of QCRG. “It made sense to support such an important organization during this economic recession.”
The QCRG themselves were founded in 2006 by the three skaters: Sissy Fit, Flo Torious, and Sweet Pea. Their love for roller derby inspired them to get a league together by approaching a number of roller rinks; finally, the Rainbow Roller Rink agreed to let them recruit members and hold practices. Most leagues are formed through all-female grassroots groups, going all the way back to the Victorian era.
“There’s a really long-standing tradition of women, roller skates, and freedom. Research has been done on women and skating with early documented accounts of women on skates and how they would evade their chaperones,” says Shannon Smith aka Sheer Tara of the QCRG, who is also on the sponsorship committee.
With this particular league attracting over 100 women from across the WNY region, they are now comprised of five home teams: the Alley Kats, Devil Dollies, Suicidal Saucies, Nickel City Knockouts, along with an all star travel team called the Lake Effect Furies. They have hosted and been hosted by leagues from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Hamilton, northeast Ohio, Rochester and Ithaca, along with several other locations.
There is also the Queen’s Court, a practice group made up of those who haven’t made a team yet, but still want to be involved and try out next season. Trying out for the QCRG consists of being put through rigorous training and boot camp, in order to work up the stamina to be able to physically prepare for the intensity to come. Once an applicant passes the mandatory assessments, they will be deemed eligible for a team. Girls ages 18 and up can be assigned jobs as referees, but it isn’t until the ages of 21 and up that girls are allowed to be competitive skaters.
As for these women who make up QCRG, their day jobs range from nurses, receptionists, librarians, doctors, and several other areas. Dessarae Lenz, who goes by the name “Notorious V,” says she’s a speech pathologist by day, but she wishes she could get paid to solely be a roller derby player. Her co-workers have attended several games to cheer her on, even dressing in her team colors to show their support.
“By being a part of the Queen City Roller Girls, I have met the most amazing people, positively impacted the community, learned to play a difficult and demanding physical sport, challenged my body to be strong, and I’ve learned a great deal about myself and the other women in our league,” says Lenz, who is also a volunteer chairperson for the league. “I believe that many roller derby players find something important and rewarding within themselves when they lace up their skates and head to the rink. In short, roller derby saved my soul.”
All the women who have joined share an interest in volunteering to give back to the community. For each public match, the leagues team up with non-profit groups, with partial proceeds given to various local organizations that help support our WNY region. Past partners include the American Cancer Society, Crisis Services, Girls Inc., Hope Chest, ReTREE WNY and Aids Community Services. Other volunteer work through their league has included raising hefty amounts for organizations like Locks of Love and participating in landscaping and building shelves with Buffalo ReUse.
“Being associated w/ QCRG has impacted my life in many different ways, the main one being the level of pride I have in Buffalo as a whole,” says Tiffany Gilbert aka Jaded Sins Ability. “Through our community service activities, like tree planting and helping with Habitat for Humanity, I can see Buffalo in a different light.”
The diversity among these women, along with all their past achievements through this association, proves it doesn’t matter where you come from when it comes to making a difference in your community. Women from all walks of life unite to participate in this entertaining, fun-filled time for a good cause.
“My teammates are like my best friends and my sisters,” says Smith. “I think every derby girl has camaraderie, and through roller derby I’ve made the best friends I’ve ever had.”
Currently the QCRG are in the process of being approved to be ranked among other leagues in the WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association). Almost every major city around the nation has a roller derby team of their own, which brings about competition when attempting to get their league noticed. Not only is there a physical caliber to work up to, but there is also a lot of paperwork, and the girls are hoping to be added to the roster this coming year in May.
Each team member has a colorful and sometimes even humorous nickname they go by when competing in bouts, from Crazy Legs, Lamb Chop, HerAssHer, B’kini Whacks, all created to complement their unique personalities and skating abilities.
“The name will come to you, like in a dream, or somebody will give it to you. When I first started out I didn’t know how to skate very well, so that’s why they call me Crazy Legs,” says Hollander. “The name finds you.”
The principle of modern day roller derby is for two girls from each team, who are designated as the jammers – easy to spot because they wear the star on their helmets – to race to lap their opponents. Their job is to pass the blockers, whose job is to keep them from getting around the rink before their team’s jammer does, while staying within twenty feet of each other. The jammers score points every time they pass an opposing blocker or jammer. There is also one player, who wears stripes on her helmet that skates alongside the blockers called the pivot; she works to control the speed of the pack. The pivot can also take the jammer’s place if the current jammer decides she wants to pass it on to her for the rest of the game.
Penalties and fouls are a part
of the game when players make illegal hits. There is no elbowing or punching allowed – only body and hip checking. Minor illegal moves are called fouls, with four fouls equaling a major penalty. Players who earn a major penalty are forced to sit in the penalty box for an entire minute without being replaced by another teammate. The QCRG hardly ever see problems with players getting into major altercations over “players who play dirty” or give illegal hits such as these.
of the game when players make illegal hits. There is no elbowing or punching allowed – only body and hip checking. Minor illegal moves are called fouls, with four fouls equaling a major penalty. Players who earn a major penalty are forced to sit in the penalty box for an entire minute without being replaced by another teammate. The QCRG hardly ever see problems with players getting into major altercations over “players who play dirty” or give illegal hits such as these.
“Not only is it not productive to fight, but at the same time there’s so much going on that it doesn’t even occur to you until much later, after you’ve gotten the spit knocked out of you, that someone did something illegal,” says Smith.
After a bout, these women regularly walk out with massive amounts of bruises, sprains, cuts, and sore limbs due to the rough nature of the sport. Sometimes the bruises have been so large they have even been given names. As with other contact sports, roller derby can be just as dangerous, with players having to suffer injuries such as broken ankles, shoulders and wrists, along with messed up knees and ribs. Most of the women feel that enduring the pain and soreness is worth it because of the exhilaration and rewarding feelings they get in return for community betterment.
“I have fallen, had bruises and scrapes on almost every part of my body, twisted my ankle, landed on my face, and have been hit so hard I flew into the second or third row of seats,” says Lenz. “Every time I put my wheels on, I learn something new about my abilities.”
One myth about roller derby is that the outcomes of games can be pre-determined, like in pro-wrestling. In some leagues this is practiced, but in Buffalo this is not the case. The girls of QCRG attest that they are the “real deal”. These women own up to being real athletes who train and execute hits to each other that are not scripted. Of course, they like to get the crowd excited, but everything the audience sees is stimulated by real competition. None of their performance is an act, despite what people may have been exposed to in the past when watching 70s television roller derby.
“There’s this funny balance between the athleticism and the funky DIY glamour of it. It’s a sport, but there’s also a derby culture,” explains Smith, who enjoys donning fishnets, lots of makeup, and sometimes colored streaks in her hair. “I think there’s this thing where you play roller derby, but then to another extent being a roller girl is also a lifestyle.”
For those who will be coming to the January 2nd event to see the Devil Dollies vs. the Alley Kats, make sure to get your tickets soon. Pre-sale cost is $12 and $17 at the door, with doors opening at 6:30 and the event starting at 7:30. Tickets can be purchased at the Rainbow Roller Rink, Village Beer Merchant, Shoe Fly, Terrapin Station, Redhouse Tattoo, or online at QCRG. Be sure to get there early because seats fill up fast. This is an all-ages event, although alcohol is served. Small children are not allowed to sit in the front row for safety purposes, and can only be admitted with the an adult and a signed waiver.
To find out more about the Queen City Roller Derby, contact Maria Hollander at pr@qcrg.net. If you’re interested in sponsoring these girls, the forms for this can be found at sponsorship.
Additional links: