Fast,
Full-Contact and Skates
The grueling sport of roller derby and the Arizona league that plays.
By Mickey Jackson
The Game
Teeth gritted and elbows sturdy, a skater with a star on their helmet emerges through a wall of blockers to score four points. The points appear on the projected scoreboard, and the crowd erupts. Welcome to the fast-paced, full-contact sport of roller derby, a game that the Arizona Derby Dames in Phoenix know like they know how to skate: backwards and forwards.
Banked Roller Derby is played with two teams of skaters. The goal: score more points during the game's four quarters than the opposing team. Simple, no. As a full-contact sport, scoring points is easier said than done. However, through strategy, speed, teamwork and commitment, each team in the Arizona Derby Dames works together to score as many points as possible without incurring too many penalties.
An official game lasts 60 minutes and is composed of four quarters, each lasting 15 minutes. After the second quarter, players are given a minimum 15-minute break to rest.
Each quarter consists of multiple jams. Jams are races between the two teams to score points. Jams do not last longer than one minute, and there is a 30-second break between each one for players to get into formation at the starting line.
For roller derby, speed extends beyond just how fast the players move, but also to how quickly each jam starts and finishes. By the end of the game, players likely have circled the track a hundred times or more.
The Moves
The jammer initiates a star pass by handing the cover to her team’s pivot.
The jammer initiates a star pass by handing the cover to her team’s pivot.
By keeping close together, blockers can form a defensive wall to block the opposing jammer from passing and scoring points.
By keeping close together, blockers can form a defensive wall to block the opposing jammer from passing and scoring points.
The more players forming a wall, the more difficult it can be for jammers to pass through and score.
The more players forming a wall, the more difficult it can be for jammers to pass through and score.
The Positions
In roller derby, there are three positions: jammer, blocker and pivot. A player is not limited to a single position and can change it during any given jam.
To distinguish between the different positions, players wear helmet covers to show their roles.
Blocker
The first position is a blocker. Blockers play a defensive position, working to block the opposing team's jammer from scoring. Blockers also work together to make openings for their team's jammer to break through opposing blockers and continue scoring.
There are a maximum of four blockers in a jam. Blockers wear no helmet covers.
Jammer
The second position is the jammer. Jammers play an offensive position, aiming to pass the opposing team’s players to score points.
After the first successful pass, jammers score each time they lap an opposing skater. The jammer that legally passes the opposing team’s blockers first becomes the lead jammer. The lead jammer can stop the jam at any time by tapping their hands on their hips. If the jammer chooses not to end the jam, it automatically stops after one minute.
Pivot
The third position is the pivot. There is only one pivot per team. A pivot acts as a blocker but can also perform a star pass.
A star pass is when a jammer removes their helmet cover and passes it to the pivot. After putting the cover on their helmet, the pivot becomes the new jammer and can score points for the remainder of the jam.
The Teams
The Arizona Derby Dames league comprises five home teams, one travel team and one junior team. Each team has a maximum of 20 players.
The league holds a draft yearly for players to try out for one of the five teams. Each team has 20 players or fewer, with a maximum of 14 skaters allowed per roster for any specific game.
Every team is unique and consists of a close-knit group of players, all eager to log time on the track. The following teams and their self-described play styles and attitudes are:
Bombshells
With their vintage flair and explosive energy, the Bombshells are a force to be reckoned with on the track. They skate with style and finesse, dazzling the crowd with their flashy moves and killer teamwork.
Brutal Beauties
The Brutal Beauties are a fierce combination of beauty and brawn, bringing new meaning to the phrase "beauty with a punch." They’re glamorous, tough as nails and ready to rumble.
Runaway Brides
The Runaway Brides say "I do" to chaos. The Brides are a team of roller derby rebels who don't know the meaning of mercy. Having left good manners at the altar, the Brides are here to break hearts and break ankles.
Coffin Draggers
Where gothic vibes meet roller derby madness, the Coffin Draggers are the track's spookiest team. Their wicked skating sends cold shivers down their opponents’ spines.
Doomsday Valkyries
A force of nature, the Doomsday Valkyries embody the strength and ferocity of apocalyptic warriors. They’ll skate even during the end of the world.
Hot Shots
The Hot Shots are the Arizona Derby Dames travel team representing Arizona on banked tracks nationwide.
Minor Assaults
The Minor Assaults are the Arizona Derby Dame’s junior roller derby team. The Minor Assaults represent the next generation of skaters and Derby Dames.
The Dames
#4 Cherry Kiss
Cherry Kiss is a Runaway Bride and co-captain for the team. A veteran player, Cherry has played for 15 years, first starting in 2010 as a Minor Assault. Primarily a jammer, Cherry describes the sports as indescribable and loves every second of her time on the track.
#19 Skeletori
Skeletori is a Brutal Beauty who primarily plays as a jammer. A Derby Dame for eight years and counting, Tori has fallen in love with the sport and its community, always looking to spend time with the other players from her team and league on and off the track.
#100 Kryptic Kaly
Kryptic Kaly is a rookie trainer, current coach and former co-captain for the Runway Brides. When she plays, Kaly primarily skates as a blocker, forming formidable walls against jammers. A teacher and a player, Kaly loves the hands-on sport and all the skaters in between with a passion.
Cherry Kiss
Cherry Kiss started skating while she was still learning to read and write in elementary school. At 8-years-old, Cherry’s mom, a player in the league, introduced her to the sport after helping create the Minor Assaults team for younger players. Skating for 15 years now, Cherry is a co-captain of the Runaway Brides, the current undefeated team in the league.
Even though Cherry has never sustained any major injuries from the sport (knock on wood), she notes that most people do not understand how aggressive and serious the game can be.
“Old school roller derby was very much like fish nets and a cool name, and like watch pretty girls hit each other. And now we take it a little more seriously. This is a sport. It’s aggressive,” said Cherry.
However, despite the aggressive and brash nature of the sport, Cherry notes that most players are actually introverts. Being part of the team and sport lights players up with the confidence derby fans love to see.
“It’s funny because we do seem so confident and cool, but because this is our space, that is where we came to be confident; it builds us up,” said Cherry.
Cherry quotes the tagline of the sports film Whip It, a story about a roller derby team, to encapsulate the confidence roller derby gives skaters.
Skeletori
Skeletori joined roller derby in 2018 and has not looked back since. She is a fan of the sport's competitive spirit and the close bonds she’s formed with teammates and other skaters. Tori warns that the sport is aggressive, even if players do not intend to harm one another.
“I always joke that the only person who wants me to play roller derby in my life is me because, you know, it’s a dangerous sport,” said Tori.
Despite this, Tori is always willing to join her team’s game roster and hit the track. As a jammer, she enjoys an evasive playing style, opting to weave and find gaps in the blocker’s walls rather than bulldozing her way through.
“But yeah, I like the best, I don’t know, I like to do kind of spinney moves and stuff when I’m jamming. It’s always really fun and silly when that happens.”
Although dangerous and having sustained injuries before, Tori believes the sport is still worth playing, despite the bumps and bruises.
Kryptic Kaly
Kryptic Kaly is a long-time athlete in the sport. Putting on her first pair of skates at 13, Kaly has now played and trained with the Arizona Derby Dames for 13 years and counting.
Like Cherry, Roller Derby is in Kaly’s blood. Her mother played for the Coffin Draggers, and after graduating from the Minor Assaults, Kaly joined her mother as a Dragger.
Kaly was recruited for roller derby life. After visiting a game in which her mom’s friend was playing as a Coffin Dragger, Kaly was told that she would be perfect for the sport.
“So I was like, okay, yeah, I’ll definitely try it. It looks fun. And then I came to that first Tuesday practice, and I was just hooked and couldn’t stop,” said Kaly.
Even Kaly’s two sisters play in the league, making the sport a family matter.
Kaly highlights the significance of the community she’s found in the sport, stating that Roller Derby has given her confidence and purpose.
The roller derby community is a place for outsiders and mavericks. Players of all ages grace the track, making the space a multi-generational and diverse environment. The Arizona Derby Dames' goal is to create a respectful, welcoming and exciting space.
To empower players to make the space their own, skaters are welcome to choose their own number and nickname and decorate their locker.
To many players, the arena feels like home. In this sport every skater knows one another. Attending late-night practices, long games and community events is easy when you're in skates and good company.
"When you don't know where else to go, you find roller derby."
Cherry Kiss
