It’s a whole different derby than you might expect this time of year. No frilly bonnets or mint juleps here… the wild names, bright colors and muscle power? Oh yes! The ladies of roller derby are one part show pony and ten parts beast. The roller derby league in Tampa known as “The Derby Darlins',” is comprised of six teams: The Black Widows, The Bruise Crew, The Switch Blade Sisters, The Tantrums, Aces on Eights and the Cigar City Mafia. There are over six hundred leagues worldwide with participants ranging in age from their early twenties to well over fifty years old. The sport gained national exposure from the movie Whip It, starring Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore and there is even a documentary in the works called Derby Baby to be released this Fall. The media attention has pushed women’s roller derby to the forefront of female sports, and the ladies could not be happier. After all, it is the only female dominated, female organized, female funded and female governed sport to reach mainstream popularity.
Becoming a Derby Darlin’ is comparable to joining the army. Adventure, new friends, excitement… and then there’s boot camp. Three months of hardcore training both in the gym and on skates, not to mention the time commitment, financing and medical insurance issues. Ballroom dancing may start to look like a viable option. The best dancers rock bruises and broken bones all the time, right? The payoff comes far down the rusty nail littered, pothole covered road. Once you graduate from “fresh meat” status you are initiated into a sisterhood that few ladies could explain or understand. That’s when you choose your alter ego. Here’s a shout out to some crowd favorites to get your wheels a’ spinnin’: Bettie Kruger, Brawl Marx, Slambuca, Lunch lady and Spank Sinatra. The names are registered on a website to ensure no two darlin’s dare to don the same nutty nickname. The alter egos are just the beginning. Team uniforms are often just as creative and spunky using fishnets, ripped T-shirts, sweatbands and anything else that conveys the “don’t mess with me” attitude. It’s the freedom of expression and release from everyday life that draws the Darlins' together for practice twice a week and monthly bouts in the rink. Most women who play roller derby in Tampa are apart of the workforce whether it be nursing, teaching or owning local businesses. Needless to say, the women of derby certainly stay busy. One of the League leaders who is a social worker by day and Derby Darlin’ by night explains why she loves the sport so much, “I can hit people and not go to jail for it.” Enough said! If you think you have the skills to pay the bills and perhaps a hint of pent up frustration, visit the Derby Darlins' official website for information on the next open call.
