Rage City delivers roller derby mayhem

  • Published
  • By David Bedard
  • JBER PAO
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  When an average person thinks of roller derby, perhaps images are conjured up of a woman wearing a viking helmet, throwing an elbow to brutally catapult an adversary over a banked-track rail into a bewildered crowd.

Jennifer Schober, Pratt and Whitney field service representative at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and bout production chair for the Rage City Rollergirls, where she is better known by her skater name "Hurtz Generator," said roller derby has changed greatly since its 1970's zenith.

"The modern women's flat track roller derby is a sport first and foremost," she explained. "It's one of the fastest growing sports in the world, really, it is international at this point.
"The big difference between the old banked track and today, was banked track was probably a little bit more like (professional wrestling)," Schober continued. "It was a little bit staged, a little bit more hair pulling, elbowing and all that stuff.

"Modern flat track roller derby, first and foremost is played on a flat track, not on a banked track, and it's not staged at all, it is real."

What hasn't changed is roller derby athletes still wear roller skates with old-fashioned trucks and wheels, despite the fact inline skates have largely replaced their older forebears.

Because roller derby is still a full-contact sport, Schober said competitors are required to wear helmets, elbow and knee pads, wrist guards and mouth pieces.

She said the basic premise of the sport is to score points. Jammers, identified by a star on their helmet covers, are the only skaters who can score.

A bout is usually divided into two 30-minute periods. The periods are further broken down into two-minute jams.

Four blockers from each team constitute the pack and are released from the pivot line to circle the track counterclockwise at the first whistle.

When all blockers pass the pivot line, a second whistle is signaled, releasing the two opposing jammers from the jammer line, 30 feet behind the pivot line.

When the jammers catch the pack, they attempt to pass through the pack, with blockers playing defense and offense simultaneously, trying to get their jammer through while also trying to stop the opposing jammer.

The first jammer who gets cleanly through without a penalty is deemed by officials as the lead jammer, giving her the ability to call off the jam before the two-minute time limit. Calling off the jam is a strategic move to prevent the other jammer from scoring.

On the initial pass, no points are scored. When a jammer laps the pack, she picks up a point for every blocker passed.

If the jammer is struggling to get through the pack, she can remove her helmet cover and "pass the star" to a special blocker, called the pivot, marked by a striped helmet cover.
Though passing the star is rare, Schober said the pivot nonetheless plays an important role in the pack.

"The pivot is the mother hen," she said. "They're usually the ones who keep the pace of the pack, and they call out commands to the other blockers."

Schober said there are minor and major penalties called for illegal hits, blocks and other transgressions. Four minor penalties combine for a major penalty and call for one minute in the penalty box, setting a power play for the other team. Seven major penalties calls for the expulsion of a skater from the bout.

Schober said roller derby requires athletic prowess to skate for two minutes straight while throwing and catching blocks.

"An extreme amount of endurance is required for roller derby," she said. "It's a fast-paced sport, especially for the jammers who are full out sprinting the entire time they are on the track, and they're getting hit left and right. It's like kill the carrier."

With tattoos, over-the-top outfits and skater names like Lethal Lavender, Pain Maker Sally and Killa Magilla, Schober said roller derby is a world where women can reinvent themselves.

"Our league is probably a little older than a lot of the leagues in the Lower 48," she explained. "So you have a lot of women who have kids. Roller derby gives us an outlet to have fun, to maybe relive our youth a little bit, get a little crazy.

"You can have the most reserved person in everyday life, and they can be the craziest person on the track," Schober continued. "You're kind of schizophrenic I guess."

She said seven bouts are planned for the 2010-2011 season from October through May, playing teams as close as Fairbanks and as far away as Hawaii.

This year, the team is moving from a smaller venue, where they routinely sold out, to the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center downtown.

"The Dena'ina Center is a significant step up for us in terms of space," Schober said. "We're doubling, almost tripling, our total floor space and increasing our seating capacity a little more than four times, so we can get a lot more people in the door in a more comfortable setting."

Schober said Rage City Rollergirls is a non-profit organization who, this year, is donating their proceeds to area women's shelters.

Though many may struggle to put their finger on the widening appeal of roller derby, team member Angela Ramirez, skater name "Sarah Impale 'em," offered her thoughts on the matter.

"Derby, I think it just calls to you," Ramirez said. "When I first started skating (roller derby), I hadn't skated since I was 16. I wasn't good then, and I'm still trying to learn the game, but there's just something about it that called me.

"There's just a bond between this group of women that's just, I don't know how to explain it, it's just really unique," she continued. "When you talk to derby players from anywhere, people will say, "Why derby?' and it's like 'I don't know, it's just this bond we have.'"

For more information, visit www.ragecityrollergirls.org.

Editor's note: This story is part of a continuing series highlighting major attractions in the area.