Hollister Derby Girls look to turn back bad-girl sport to its
roots with good-girl approach
An avid Rollerblader, Shawna McKenzie opened the front door of
her home one day to see a flier announcing an informational meeting
for the start-up Hollister Derby Girls. On it, someone had
written,
”
You need to do this.
”
Although she wasn’t sure who posted the flier on her front door,
she wasn’t asking any questions, either. For McKenzie, who in-line
skates on a daily basis around her Hollister neighborhood,
competing in roller derby was greeted with a
”
why not?
”
attitude, even if she had never played in the contact sport
before.
Hollister Derby Girls look to turn back bad-girl sport to its roots with good-girl approach
An avid Rollerblader, Shawna McKenzie opened the front door of her home one day to see a flier announcing an informational meeting for the start-up Hollister Derby Girls. On it, someone had written, “You need to do this.”
Although she wasn’t sure who posted the flier on her front door, she wasn’t asking any questions, either. For McKenzie, who in-line skates on a daily basis around her Hollister neighborhood, competing in roller derby was greeted with a “why not?” attitude, even if she had never played in the contact sport before.
“I’m beyond the prime of all the women here, but I figured I’d give it a try,” said McKenzie, adding later that her age was “undetermined.”
“It feels good,” she said. “Of course, we haven’t bouted yet. That might not feel so good.”
The physical, no-nonsense nature of roller derby is what has attracted the many who have participated over the years. And while the sport still consists of its bump-and-shove approach, the latest revival has seen many leagues pop up around the country, many of which are looking to return the sport to its roots of speed, endurance and athleticism — all while wearing a pair of quads — as well an all-female approach that has instilled a sense of empowerment among its participants.
McKenzie said she recently watched a friend’s daughter compete in San Jose, and she wasn’t scared off by what was happening. She joined the Hollister Derby Girls, and goes by “Diamond in the Ruff” while donning a pair of skates.
“I like to skate and I think anything new in Hollister should be supported, especially an all-women sport,” said McKenzie, later adding, “I think it’s a wonderful group of women and girls. There’s a wonderful camaraderie here, and it’s something I can do with my daughter.”
That familial, empowering image is one the Hollister Derby Girls hope to maintain. Gone are the days when roller derby delved into the theatrical in the early-1970s, with staged bouts and over-the-top collisions. But that image is still one that many in the sport are trying to rid.
“I want to look at it like any other sporting event, instead of a comical, WWF, staged event,” said Bill Schwartz, who helped start the Derby Girls in June with his wife/coach/derby girl, Ruby Slip-Her. “It’s not an ogling spectacle.”
Schwartz, who is also a derby referee and coach, and who goes by the moniker “Black Francis,” said the sport has a negative and dirty perception that was perpetrated by different leagues years ago. McKenzie’s daughter even, Dusty Domoe, who skates under the derby name “Strawberry Smashcake,” wasn’t sure if the sport’s participants were allowed to legally throw elbows.
She found out you can’t. You also can’t trip with your feet or legs, push from behind, hold an opponent or fight, among other rules listed by the Women’s Flat-Track Derby Association (WFTDA), the team’s governing body. All participants must pass a required skating test, too, while the required uniform includes a helmet, mouthguard, wristguard, elbow pads and knee pads.
“The flagrant, WWF-style you see in the old days just isn’t true,” Schwartz said.
“It’s tough as nails. That’s the empowering image,” said Ruby Slip-Her, who previously competed for the Santa Cruz Derby Girls. “But we want to make it safe for kids to be here.”
Attracting roughly 70 people to its informational meeting two months ago, the Hollister Derby Girls have about 40 participants so far, ranging in age from 8 years old to 60-plus. The plan is to eventually have multiple teams, as well as a junior league team of participants 18 years old and younger.
The Derby Girls aren’t sanctioned by the WFTDA just yet, though. They need a larger area to practice in, twice as large as their current site, and one that doesn’t have posts or supports as obstacles to skate around.
Although the team’s practice area at Hollister Cold Storage may exude an appropriate warehouse feel, the Derby Girls’ humble surroundings didn’t deter its participants from initially lacing up.
Jenn Baumgartner, whose derby name is “Jenn -O-Cyde,” showed up two months ago to practice — a far cry from her cheerleading days in Pop Warner.
“It’s always looked interesting. But I didn’t think it was still around,” Baumgartner said. “My mother and her sister used to talk about skating when they were younger and how it was on TV back then.”
Although she saw the fliers around town — nobody pinned it to her front door — it was Baumgartner’s friend who dragged her to Hollister Cold Storage for derby practice. The 24-year-old loved it, despite the sport living up to its physical billing; Baumgartner recently suffered a concussion when she tripped and fell on the concrete floor.
“I fell on my face. That’s always fun,” she said. “There’s always that danger.
“I wanted to get right back out there, but they wouldn’t let me.”
Black Francis and Ruby Slip-Her are paramedics, after all.
“We’re a family event here,” said Ruby, whose children, Crack-Herz and Banana Split, also compete in roller derby.
That team aspect is what attracted Domoe, aka Strawberry Smashcake. The 29-year-old hadn’t been part of a team since eighth-grade volleyball. But once her mother, Diamond in the Ruff, signed up to bout, she employed that same “why not?” attitude.
Said Domoe, “She started first and I wasn’t going to let anyone hit my mother.”
To learn more about the Hollister Derby Girls, go online to: www.hollisterderbygirls.com
