It may take balls to play field hockey, volleyball and tennis—but it takes bruises, brute beauty and bravado to roll with Bux-Mont Roller Derby Dolls.
The wild-on-wheels, kick-ass-and-take-names-later female sporty swagger that is roller derby is beginning to change the way people view female athletics. Helping to turn the norm around are the 38-member-strong, Hatfield-based Roller Derby Dolls corps, who are now new, internationally-ranked members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. All in all, 423 member leagues and 46 apprentice leagues make up the WFTDA.
“Our goal, as an organization, is to promote athleticism and confidence in our skaters, while developing our league into a competitive member of the roller derby community,” said Bux-Mont Roller Derby Dolls Vice President Amy Cleary Hughes, aka A-Pain. “The value in this is that healthy and confident people will have a positive self-esteem and serve as better contributors to society.”
Roller derby matches span two 30-minute periods, with two teams of up to 15 players facing off against one another, skating counterclockwise on a circular track. Five members per team head onto the track and take part in a “jam,” where the one designated the “jammer” becomes the sole scoring player for the jam. The other four members are “blockers,” with one blocker allowed to become a “pivot.”
Blockers keep the opposing jammer from getting through the pack and help their team’s jammer score. The pivot can switch between blocker and jammer during the course of play. Jammers score a point for lapping any member of the opposing team.
Roller derby has matured from its bank-tracked heydays of WWE-style showmanship and theatrics to a legitimate competitive sport, complete with a substantial rule set. While female-dominated, roller derby has even seen the growth of unisex, men’s and junior leagues.
The members of BRDD range in age from 18 to 52. They are stay-at-home moms, teachers, hair stylists, medical professionals, police officers, engineers, scientists—you name it. Hughes said everyone has a different reason for joining BRDD, but the love of skating unites them.
“Yes, many of us have tattoos, multiple piercings and brightly-colored hair. We’re not boring,” said Hughes.
Hughes was a roller rink fanatic when she was a youth. She went on to be active in team sports at the high school and college level. Then, life set in, and marriage, children and a work career lessened her roller skating and sporting opportunities. A viewing of the Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore roller derby movie “Whip It” reignited her desire to get back on the track.
“I knew it was something I wanted to experience,” she said. Hughes went to recruitment clinics, but found the commute disheartening. Fortunately, a chance post in a local online newspaper calling for the formation of a North Penn roller derby league changed her life.
Lara La Sala, aka Locahontas, likes how roller derby attracts people for different reasons.
“For women or for people in the LGBTQ community, I think it’s a place where you can break out of the traditional gender roles that have kind of been pushed on us by our families or society,” La Sala said.
Roller derby, especially within BRDD, has become a community, a haven where men and women alike can be their true selves. Often, most members of roller derby discover the values of diversity and inclusion are at a higher standard than what is common in more mainstream sports.
“Being a part of BRDD, and roller derby in general, is like being a part of a huge family,” La Sala said. “Within our league, we always rally around each other and our community.”
Certainly, roller derby impacts its members physically, but it also bolsters mental stamina. It’s a moment for a player to take a break from the stresses of home life and work. It’s the time to be forced out of your comfort zone and boost your self-confidence and perseverance.
For Kimberly Zlakowski, aka Breakimberly, BRDD renewed her self-esteem and gave her an outlet, away from a troubled relationship.
“They say derby saves your soul and I truly believe that,” Zlakowski said. “We are always here for one another, whether it’s due to injury or life in general.”
“A lot of us have become really great friends outside of derby as well,” La Sala said. “There’s a huge level of camaraderie and support within our league.”
It’s not uncommon to find the opposing team cheering on their competitor during a scrimmage, or complimenting one another after a match for a game well-played, or offering some pointers for next time.
“We’re all here to empower and challenge each other both physically and mentally to make each other better players and people,” La Sala said.
When Donna Roberts Hilton aka Hot Donna took a two-year hiatus from the team, she was welcomed back with open arms.
“The sisterhood—derby love—you feel is indescribable,” Hilton said. “I was going through quite a lot when I found BRDD. It gave me an escape. It gave me hope. It gave me life again.”
Recruiting “Fresh Meat” Keeps the Wheels Rollin’
BRDD’s roots go back to March 2013, the brainchild of sisters Trisha (Betty B. Prayin) and Rhonda (Raven LunaChic) Kulp, who held the first league meeting at Franconia Park. Around the same time, roller skating rink InLine 309—the old Spin-Around at 2117 Bethlehem Pike in Hilltown—was about to open. The best laid plans for BRDD were to make InLine 309 the league’s practice venue.
Today, BRDD boasts three teams: BRDD Sirens, Perkiomen Punishers and Nockavixons. And it isn’t a proper roller derby without an alias that instills fear in the enemy—BRDD is chock full of them. Among the 38 members, there’s Rajun Cajun, Julia Bullya, Short Fuse, Slayin Gtrezky, Moon Child, Brit Michaels, Lady McDeath, Blitzen Vixen and Red Snapper, to name just a few. In fact, everyone in the league has an alias, from the male (Sir Lance A Lot) and female (Scooch, Stac-Cadet, Steel City Kitty) referees, to the non-skating officials (Mz. Hyde, Chairman Meow, Titanium Malloy, Axa’Dental Doll).
BRDD is only a successful as those who dedicate their lives to the league. Thus, recruitment occurs all year long, specifically a big campaign every November.
“I think rolling enrollment for ‘fresh meat’ has been a good idea,” said Mz. Hyde, aka Vicki Hengeveld. “It allows someone to start when they are interested and they can progress at their own pace. We are growing as a league and developing strong players. It is our first season being ranked, so even though we aren't where we want to be yet, we can make achievable goals.”
“We are always excited to welcome new members, both skaters and officials. We have members that are retiring out of skating, leaving for personal reasons or who are transitioning to being officials,” La Sala said. “There's strength in numbers and every new person we welcome brings something new to our league.”
“Hot Donna” Hilton credits retention on the excitement of practice and game play.
“Our coach does an awesome job teaching and training us. When we learn a new skill or master a new skill, it is very exhilarating, especially when we get to use it during a bout,” she said.
The 2018 season is coming to an end. BRDD had a big win on Oct. 27 against Black Rose Rollers, and its last home game is Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. against Two Rivers Roller Derby. After that, Hughes said, the league will continue to practice twice a week and work on fundamentals and conditioning in anticipation of the 2019 season.
The Battle of the All-Stars Rolling Into Hatfield
Next year also brings something huge to BRDD and Hatfield as well—the Battle of the All-Stars from Feb. 21 to Feb. 24.
The top 16 women’s roller derby teams from across the continent will descend upon InLine 309, giving people a chance to see skaters that are at the top of their game. Team Pennsylvania will include two of BRDD’s own: Lauranimal and Julia Bullya, and it will be BRDD’s sixth year co-hosting the tournament.
La Sala said people can expect crazy footwork, apex jumps, and a high-level of athleticism and “sportspersonship.”
“It's a really amazing opportunity to see what high-level derby looks like and we're so grateful that we get to share that with our local community and to share our community with the visiting skaters and their families and fans that travel to see it,” she said.
To join Bux-Mont Roller Derby Dolls, email [email protected] and visit https://www.facebook.com/BuxMontRollerDerby.
Practices are Thursday and Sunday evenings at InLine 309, 2117 Bethlehem Pike, Hatfield, PA 19440.
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