So You Wanna Be A Roller Girl?

by Caroline Crawford
Photos by Nate Glenn
March 26, 2008

Roller-derby mania has come to Jackson, with all its brash and violent style and panache. It’s a DIY sport that’s as much about show as it is about skill. Maretta Allen, 27, is a Capitol City Roller Girl who agreed to show us the accoutrement—and the attitude—it takes to step into the role and skates of “Rowdy Reeta Ricochet.” She and her Jackson team, 8 Wheeled Mafia, take on the West Texas Roller Dollz in Jackson’s first flat track derby bout at Kroger Gymnasium at Tougaloo College, March 29 at 8 p.m., $10. Visit http://www.capitalcityrolrollerderby.com

HELMET[/B] Not only does it protect the cunning roller girl brain, it also serves as a potential weapon in the ring.

[B]MENACING STARE[/B] In a game where attitude matters almost as much as talent, a good menacing stare goes a long way.

[B]ELBOW PADS[/B] These pads hit more flesh than they do rink; elbowing through competitors is a way of life.

[B]WRIST GUARDS[/B] There is nothing pretty about broken wrists, which leave a roller girl no way to style extreme hairdos and apply game-face makeup.

[B]SKIRT[/B] Gives easy viewing of what the other team can kiss.

[B]CUTE SOCKS[/B] Hide rink rash and three-day stubble because a real roller girl is always skating, competing or recovering.

[B]KNEE PADS[/B] If it weren’t for these pads, a roller girl would have no knees. Rink rash shows no pity.


Talking The Talk — lingo definitions excerpted from http://www.rollergirls.com

2 Lap Duel: Two skaters, two laps, anything goes ...

Cannonball: Deliberate fall to trip several skaters on the opposing team at once.

Catching the Lip: Can rip your skate off, or break your ankle.

Cha Cha Challenge: Anything offensive and hard to accomplish, especially in public.

Clawing/Swimming: A jammer pulling her way through a tough pack.

Clothesline: Straight arm block against a jammer’s throat.

Cutting the Track: Crossing the infield to rejoin the pack after you fall.

Fishnet Burn: Similar to masonite burn, but an attractive, semi-permanent fish-scale pattern, resulting from falling while wearing fishnets.

Getting Railed: When a skater rams another skater up onto the outer track rail.

Give a Whip: An assist move in which a skater extends her arm and whips her jammer around the track, propelling her with momentum and quite possibly taking out unsuspecting blockers.

Jam: A single play in roller derby, usually lasting 1-2 minutes.

Jammer: Scoring skater position designated by a star on her helmet. Her objective is to score one point per opposing blocker she laps.

Lead Jammer: The jammer in the lead and the only one that can call off a jam.

Over the Rail: Pushing a skater over the barrier rail onto the floor.

Pack: The defensive skaters, including three blockers and a leading pivot.

Pivot: Defensive skater position designated by a stripe down the middle of her helmet and known as the front pace setter for the pack. She may take over the jammer position if her jammer is taken out during play.

Pull a Chola: Starting a drunken bar fight with two ugly guys.

Purple Heart Award: Awarded to the most heinous injury of the year, usually taken home by recipient of a broken bone.

Pushing to the Inside: When a desperate blocker pushes opponents onto the concrete infield.

Red Rover: Effective block by two skaters with linked arms.

Riding the Lip: One skate on, one skate off the track—now illegal for jammers.

Snake Drill: A practice drill in which all skaters skate single-file around the track, while a single jammer weaves through the entire line from back to front.

Spank Alley: Where you go when you’ve been bad.

The Corral: A play in which the pack forms a line and links arms to pull/push all opposing team members into the upper rail, leaving the inside path of the track open to their jammer.

Track Rash or Masonite Burn: Stinging, red streak across buttocks and/or legs resulting from too-short skirts/pants/shorts and exposed skin hitting the banked track. Accompanied by painful skin-sticking-to-masonite-board sound.

T-Stop: Dragging the back skate perpendicular to the front skate.

The Thunderdome: An old airport hanger in Austin that is the official site of the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls bouts. The location is also often used by film studios for shoots.