That's just how they roll
Red Stick Roller Derby skaters are on the track and preparing to play teams from other cities
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Concealed throughout our society, a group of Baton Rouge women live double lives.
By day, they may work as bartenders, designers, students, retail managers, college instructors, or any other number of benign positions.
Unlike Clark Kent, however, they are far from mild-mannered. By night they break out their black eyeliner, hot pants, fishnet stockings, elbow pads and mouth guards. They take on new identities and become “glamazons” — the kind of women men might drool over from afar, but secretly fear they will meet in a dark alley.
They’re the Red Stick Roller Derby girls, and they pack a punch.
Yes, folks, the beloved sport from the 1970s is back — and the participants couldn’t be happier.
Roller derby resurfaced in Austin, Texas, in 2001 and the sport has spread throughout the country, with at least six leagues now on the Gulf Coast.
The Red Stick Roller Derby girls practice every Tuesday at Skate Galaxy and Thursday at Leo’s Rollerland, and watching them is a sight to behold.
Taking both offensive and defensive team positions so all members can learn the ropes, they scramble to push opposing players out of the way while staying within the strict boundaries of the flat-track course and helping their own players move forward. The result is all sorts of falls and bruises, which they display with pride.
The skating attire expresses each woman’s personality in a manner somehow both burlesque and empowered at the same time. Short skirts, tight T-shirts, punk hair and knee socks are combined with a determined stance and padding tough enough to protect a football player.
One mini-skirted skater takes a tumble, revealing a defiant message printed on her undies: “Kiss My Skates.”
Clearly, these are some tough, sexy chicks.
The team was founded in July 2007 when LSU students Mary Koehler and Brandon Roghs read about the New Orleans roller derby team and decided that Baton Rouge should have a team of its own. Taking the skate name “Zarathrustya,” Koehler reached out to interested women through the MySpace networking website. Roghs became “Boutee Ondaflo,” but later left for New Orleans.
Six women showed up at the first practice. “In the beginning we were mainly just trying to stay upright on skates,” Koehler said. “It was my first time skating in at least 10 years.”
More women joined the team, most with little skating experience but loved the idea of bringing back roller derby.
“It’s an easy learning curve,” said Danielle Vignes, a Ph.D. student and college instructor known on the track as “DeeZasta.” “You just have to be committed and daring. It’s amazing how strong and confident you feel skating and being part of the team, being good at something.”
Faith Miller, co-owner of Massage Emporium downtown, agrees. She found out about the team from MySpace and quickly joined, taking the moniker “Delta Bruise.” “I came and started skating, and got better so quickly,” she said. “I gained confidence and had so much fun. I didn’t realize how competitive I was.”
Potential new member Lindsey Waite is still earning her skate name. The stamp and sign shop worker must participate in all practices and be active for three months before she can become a full-fledged member, but her determination is obvious.
“I’ve been a fan of roller derby for as long as I can remember,” she said. “New Orleans was too far away to go practice all the time, so I was ecstatic when I found out about this team.”
The women have become a cohesive bunch, but they’re looking for new members.
“We look for women of all ages and experience, all levels of athleticism, all shapes and sizes,” said Vignes. “I hadn’t been an athlete since high school before this.”
It typically takes a year for a new team to prepare to compete, and the Red Stick team hopes to join the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association and hold its first game against another team this fall. The goal is to start presenting monthly roller derby events featuring cool bands, food, drink and fun.
Rules of the road
While the sight of scantily clad punk chicks pummeling each other is enough to attract a certain appreciative audience in itself, there are actually firm rules to this raucous game.
Roller derby is a very physical, full-contact sport. Players are required to use helmets, mouth guards and knee pads and must carry medical insurance provided by WFTDA.
Only five players per team may be on the track at any given time. The “jammer,” who is identified by the star on her helmet, is the sole point scorer. Her goal is to pass through the pack, circle the track and then go back through again, gaining one point for each opposing team member passed.
Three skaters are “blockers.” These women try to keep the jammer from passing while trying to make holes in the pack for their own jammer to score points
The “pivot,” who has a stripe on her helmet, controls the speed of the pack and is the last line of defense against the opposing jammer. She also helps her team’s jammer move forward.
There are two periods of 20 minutes each, with each round being two minutes long. A 30-second break between each round allows weary or injured players to trade out.
Roller derby is one of the few full-contact sports for women. Players may not use their hands, however, and are limited to elbows and hips to maneuver opposing players.
Offensive moves include the “check,” or hitting an opponent in the arm with the elbow, and the “hip check,” striking the opponent on the hip similar to the dance “The Bump.”
The main defensive move is the aptly named “booty block,” in which the team occupies as much of the lane as possible to prevent passing.
Back to the future
The Red Stick Roller Derby girls hope to eventually acquire their own building where they can practice and hold monthly bouts, and welcome ideas from the public about available warehouses or space. They’re also seeking nonprofit status to make it easier to obtain sponsorships and donations, as they need funds for uniforms, equipment and travel to bouts.
For information on supporting the team, visit http://www.redstickrollerderby.com, or write to info@redstickrollerderby.com or Red Stick Roller Derby, P.O. Box 83821, Baton Rouge LA 70884-3821.
The team has Red Stick Roller Derby merchandise, including the basic T-shirts and sweatshirts, and also boxer shorts, panties, coffee mugs, throw pillows, hats, calendars, dog shirts and teddy bears, all featuring their logo.
Meet the Rollergirls
Fans can meet the Red Stick Roller Derby girls at Red Star bar, 222 Laurel St., at 10 p.m. on Thursday, June 19.
The team invites potential new members age 18 and up to check them out on Tuesdays from 8-10 p.m. at Skate Galaxy, 12828 Jefferson Highway.
Current team members include:
By day, they may work as bartenders, designers, students, retail managers, college instructors, or any other number of benign positions.
Unlike Clark Kent, however, they are far from mild-mannered. By night they break out their black eyeliner, hot pants, fishnet stockings, elbow pads and mouth guards. They take on new identities and become “glamazons” — the kind of women men might drool over from afar, but secretly fear they will meet in a dark alley.
They’re the Red Stick Roller Derby girls, and they pack a punch.
Yes, folks, the beloved sport from the 1970s is back — and the participants couldn’t be happier.
Roller derby resurfaced in Austin, Texas, in 2001 and the sport has spread throughout the country, with at least six leagues now on the Gulf Coast.
The Red Stick Roller Derby girls practice every Tuesday at Skate Galaxy and Thursday at Leo’s Rollerland, and watching them is a sight to behold.
Taking both offensive and defensive team positions so all members can learn the ropes, they scramble to push opposing players out of the way while staying within the strict boundaries of the flat-track course and helping their own players move forward. The result is all sorts of falls and bruises, which they display with pride.
The skating attire expresses each woman’s personality in a manner somehow both burlesque and empowered at the same time. Short skirts, tight T-shirts, punk hair and knee socks are combined with a determined stance and padding tough enough to protect a football player.
One mini-skirted skater takes a tumble, revealing a defiant message printed on her undies: “Kiss My Skates.”
Clearly, these are some tough, sexy chicks.
The team was founded in July 2007 when LSU students Mary Koehler and Brandon Roghs read about the New Orleans roller derby team and decided that Baton Rouge should have a team of its own. Taking the skate name “Zarathrustya,” Koehler reached out to interested women through the MySpace networking website. Roghs became “Boutee Ondaflo,” but later left for New Orleans.
Six women showed up at the first practice. “In the beginning we were mainly just trying to stay upright on skates,” Koehler said. “It was my first time skating in at least 10 years.”
More women joined the team, most with little skating experience but loved the idea of bringing back roller derby.
“It’s an easy learning curve,” said Danielle Vignes, a Ph.D. student and college instructor known on the track as “DeeZasta.” “You just have to be committed and daring. It’s amazing how strong and confident you feel skating and being part of the team, being good at something.”
Faith Miller, co-owner of Massage Emporium downtown, agrees. She found out about the team from MySpace and quickly joined, taking the moniker “Delta Bruise.” “I came and started skating, and got better so quickly,” she said. “I gained confidence and had so much fun. I didn’t realize how competitive I was.”
Potential new member Lindsey Waite is still earning her skate name. The stamp and sign shop worker must participate in all practices and be active for three months before she can become a full-fledged member, but her determination is obvious.
“I’ve been a fan of roller derby for as long as I can remember,” she said. “New Orleans was too far away to go practice all the time, so I was ecstatic when I found out about this team.”
The women have become a cohesive bunch, but they’re looking for new members.
“We look for women of all ages and experience, all levels of athleticism, all shapes and sizes,” said Vignes. “I hadn’t been an athlete since high school before this.”
It typically takes a year for a new team to prepare to compete, and the Red Stick team hopes to join the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association and hold its first game against another team this fall. The goal is to start presenting monthly roller derby events featuring cool bands, food, drink and fun.
Rules of the road
While the sight of scantily clad punk chicks pummeling each other is enough to attract a certain appreciative audience in itself, there are actually firm rules to this raucous game.
Roller derby is a very physical, full-contact sport. Players are required to use helmets, mouth guards and knee pads and must carry medical insurance provided by WFTDA.
Only five players per team may be on the track at any given time. The “jammer,” who is identified by the star on her helmet, is the sole point scorer. Her goal is to pass through the pack, circle the track and then go back through again, gaining one point for each opposing team member passed.
Three skaters are “blockers.” These women try to keep the jammer from passing while trying to make holes in the pack for their own jammer to score points
The “pivot,” who has a stripe on her helmet, controls the speed of the pack and is the last line of defense against the opposing jammer. She also helps her team’s jammer move forward.
There are two periods of 20 minutes each, with each round being two minutes long. A 30-second break between each round allows weary or injured players to trade out.
Roller derby is one of the few full-contact sports for women. Players may not use their hands, however, and are limited to elbows and hips to maneuver opposing players.
Offensive moves include the “check,” or hitting an opponent in the arm with the elbow, and the “hip check,” striking the opponent on the hip similar to the dance “The Bump.”
The main defensive move is the aptly named “booty block,” in which the team occupies as much of the lane as possible to prevent passing.
Back to the future
The Red Stick Roller Derby girls hope to eventually acquire their own building where they can practice and hold monthly bouts, and welcome ideas from the public about available warehouses or space. They’re also seeking nonprofit status to make it easier to obtain sponsorships and donations, as they need funds for uniforms, equipment and travel to bouts.
For information on supporting the team, visit http://www.redstickrollerderby.com, or write to info@redstickrollerderby.com or Red Stick Roller Derby, P.O. Box 83821, Baton Rouge LA 70884-3821.
The team has Red Stick Roller Derby merchandise, including the basic T-shirts and sweatshirts, and also boxer shorts, panties, coffee mugs, throw pillows, hats, calendars, dog shirts and teddy bears, all featuring their logo.
Meet the Rollergirls
Fans can meet the Red Stick Roller Derby girls at Red Star bar, 222 Laurel St., at 10 p.m. on Thursday, June 19.
The team invites potential new members age 18 and up to check them out on Tuesdays from 8-10 p.m. at Skate Galaxy, 12828 Jefferson Highway.
Current team members include:
- “Abita Hoedown” – Melanie Maurin, geoscientist
- “Anita Styph …” – Jessica Bodmark, cosmetologist
- “Brat O’Tat” – Michelle DeVito, tattoo model
- “DeeZasta” – Danielle Vignes, Ph.D. student and college instructor
- “Delta Bruise” – Faith Miller, massage therapist
- “Dropkick Mick” – Lauren O’Neill, industrial designer
- “Hit It ;n Quit It” – Christy Heflin, LSU student
- “Hurt Copain” – Emily Sanders, retail manager
- “Ophelia Plenty” – Noel Glaze, bartender
- “Prissy Von Poppa .….” – Missy Jandura, nonprofit manager
- “RC Rola” – Randee Cunningham, interior designer
- “Sigga Please” – Sigourney Morrison, fashion design student
- “Unholy Horror” – Angel Juarez, retail manager
- “Violet Reaction” – Kristi Norris, TV station control operator
- “Zarathrustya” – Mary Koehler, LSU student and RSRD co-founder
- “Zoom Tang” – Aimee Hardgrave, horticulturalist
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