Bay Area Derby Girls define toughness

Bay+Area+Derby+Girls+define+toughness

Vanessa Pineda,
Contributor

The Bay Area Derby Girls practice in an old warehouse in Oakland. The door is always locked and there is a buddy system so no one leaves alone. Sometimes people break into cars in the neighborhood, but the B.A.D. Girls make the best out of their location and have made this place their own.

They assembled the track they skate on, have cubbies and lockers where they store their gear and placed couches and chairs throughout. The warehouse has an underground, rustic feel that you would normally only see in a movie like “8 Mile” or “Fight Club.”

Bay Area Derby Girls is a women’s flat track roller derby league composed of four teams: Oakland Outlaws, San Francisco Shevil Dead, Berkeley Resistance and Richmond Wrecking Belles. There are four home teams, one travel team and one gold team.

Every woman has her own story. Sheer Luxe is a school principal in her fourth season with the Oakland Outlaws who enjoys roller derby because it’s her outlet, her stress reliever, a place with good company and a positive community of people.

“At school,” Luxe stated, “I put on my skates, held the school flag and skated around at an assembly.” Luxe is calm outside of roller derby, but on the track she gets feisty. “Everyone on the team is giving their best. You have to fight as hard as they fight on the track.” [mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”300″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#ffffff” txt_color=”#ba1200″]“Everyone on the team is giving their best. You have to fight as hard as they fight on the track.” – Sheer Luxe [/mks_pullquote]

Before a recent bout, Sheer Luxe and other derby girl team members warmed up by skating around the track. A bout consists of two 30-minute halves. In those halves, there are jams that can last up to two minutes. Only five players from each team are allowed on the track at a time. There is one jammer from each team and the others are blockers.

They start in a scrum, with the two jammers in the back of the group. Their goal is to get past the four blockers of the opposing team. The first jammer to get out ahead is the lead. There is only one lead for that jam and the lead tries to control the game and score points. A jammer gets a point every time she passes someone from the other team. Both jammers can score points but the lead can stop the jam to prevent the other from scoring. Once the lead jammer decides to call off the jam, she hits her hips and a new jam starts and a new lineup comes in.

Players who get a penalty during the jam must sit in the box for 30 seconds. The women must wear a helmet, mouth guard, wrist guard, elbow pads, knee pads and skates.

“It requires commitment, and willingness to evolve as a teammate and athlete,” said Kim Fectious, who is a therapist for children with autism. Kim has played since 2007 and immediately fell in love with roller derby.

“I had just got sober and didn’t know what my life would look like. Here I found a community of athletes taking care of themselves.”

Physical fitness is a must in the sport. During the scrimmage, these athletes use the sides of their bodies to block and hit one another. In the chaos, they fiercely skate around the track to gain momentum. People get knocked on the ground and each fall sounds loud and painful. Watching these women battle it out will make you flinch. They sacrifice their bodies with each hit they take. The women joked about how often they get questioned in regards to their bruises, cuts, scars and injuries.

Bun is a teacher who wanted a physical challenge where she could be competitive and make friends. Here she found a gym buddy and changed her diet and lifestyle. “Every inch of my body is used for something,” said Bun, who is in her fourth season with the Outlaws. “I put in a lot of time and even though my body isn’t perfect, I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”

Bay Area Derby Girls is a fairly new league that has been around for 10 years. The league is skater owned and operated by the women, who are team members as well as volunteers. This means their upcoming championship on Oct. 10 will be managed directly by the B.A.D. Girls, including selling tickets and setting up the track.

Bully Elliot is a music instructor who also teaches at the Bay Area recreational league. “I like to give people the skills to do it on their own, to be successful,” she explained. “Teach them how to help themselves. When it comes to roller derby you have to take ownership of the sport. You put in what you are going to get out.”

These women are devoted to their community. This sport is their passion; this warehouse is their home.

Dreadzilla plays for the Outlaws and truly values being a part of the B.A.D. Girls. “You get a community of friends who can relate, and roller derby structures your time and workouts,” Dreadzilla said. “You let go of the stress at work. This is one venue where I can turn my brain over to derby, it’s like a reset button.”