“All glamour to the jammer,” they say. I wanted none of it. I joined derby because I thought exercising on roller skates would be more fun than going to the gym. I was right about that, but I realized after passing my WFTDA skills there was more to it than that and the “more to it” was actually playing roller derby. Some people never take to that part of it and I didn’t at first. (Oh, you mean people are going to hit me? Hard? And I’m going to get so winded I think my lungs might explode? I’m going to see multiple people break their limbs? And then my reward is skating around in form-fitting shorts while hundreds of people look on? Yikes.)…
Reflections on roller derby
Posts from the “WFTDA skills” Category
So everyone in derby seems to have some story about how the sport changed her (or his) life. It seems to come on something like a tsunami. Suddenly you have a million friends. You start celebrating milestones like skating 25 laps in five minutes without barfing. That thing you hated about your body your whole life miraculously fails to matter anymore and, in fact, you’re cavorting around in public in glittery panties, unashamed. Your friends, coworkers, strangers even, give you approving nods of respect when you mention you play roller derby. Ta da! Life transformed. It wasn’t like that for me. I became a fan of roller derby after seeing my first bout between the Windy City Rollers’ home teams at the Cicero Stadium…