With just a month to go until their first major bout, practices have intensified for the local Roller Derby team. The Carroll County Outlaws will strap on the skates Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Berryville Community Center, where the “Too Cool 4 School” Roller Derby Mashup will include skaters from several regional leagues.
Part of the fun of Roller Derby comes from colorful aliases the skaters use. In an interview last week, Barb Wire introduced teammates with names like Slammabelle Lector, Jane Bonds, and Dolly Spartan. “We get to play a sport we love that allows aliases,” Barb said. She provided a little history of the sport as the skaters went through their warm-up routine.
“It started out as a race,” she said, and evolved into the banked-track warfare of the ‘60s and ‘70s. “The flat-track version of the sport began gaining popularity in the past 20 years, without a need for special tracks. The website of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association notes, ‘While the original version of the sport eventually became more of a spectacle with fights and other staged theatrics, today’s roller derby is a legitimate sport played by true athletes.’”
The older version of Roller Derby featured flying elbows and a high level of violence. As the WFTDA website explains, “It is legal for a skater to block opponents with their hips, rear, and shoulders.” Skaters can’t block in the back, trip, or throw elbows.
“The game has changed, and there’s more focus on safety, but it’s still entertaining,” Barb said. “We still throw girls around the track, and they can end up in the audience.” Only spectators over 18 can sit in the front row, which Barb called “suicide seating.”
Each team will have five skaters on the floor at one time, although teams have up to 15 skaters. One player on each team, the jammer, tries to pass the other team’s skaters to score points. The other team’s blockers try to impede the jammer while helping their own jammer. The WFTDA website has some entertaining clips demonstrating the sport in more detail.
Barb skated with a group in Fayetteville before moving to Texas and starting a league there. She hopes to see her sport gain popularity here, and expressed appreciation for the Berryville Community Center as a place to practice and perform. The Outlaws currently practice on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-8 p.m., and they welcome spectators.
Anyone seeking more information about the Outlaws can check their Facebook page. Barb said the team would need some volunteers to help on the day of the bout, taking admissions or wrangling the crowd.
The doors will open at 4 p.m. on Oct. 13, with the first whistle at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $10, with children 12 and under free. Tickets cost $6 for school staff or members of the military with a current ID.