Orlando is "Falling" for Roller Derby
Monday, March 28, 2011
By: Nicole Creston

March 28, 2011 | WMFE - When it comes to sports, Orlando is best known for Magic basketball. But the City Beautiful is also getting swept up in a grassroots revival of a sport that was most popular in the 1950s and 60s...roller derby.

Video Caption: Some of the sights and sounds of roller derby, during March's "Shamrock Smackdown" match between the Sunnyland Slammers and the Bellevue Bombshells. Voices: Tiffany Maitland, Sabrina Napolitano, Amanda Vickers. Announcer: "Tiger Beatdown."

The game begins with a rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner," like any other sporting event...but instead of “Play ball,” the announcer kicks things off a bit differently.

“What you are about to witness is fast and furious, rough and tumble, no room for sissies, it’s all guts and no glitter,” she intones over heavy guitar and a thumping bassline. “Girl versus girl for all the glory. This is pain. This is pleasure. This is ROLLER DERBY!”

The loud music drowns out the woosh of the players’ skates as the “derby girls” take the rink. Fishnets, tattoos and retro-chic styles mix with helmets, elbow- and kneepads and traditional team jerseys as each team is introduced.

Today’s matchup at the Universal Skating Center in East Orlando pits the Sunnyland Slammers against the Bellevue Bombshells. Each player’s “derby name” rings out as women of all ages and builds zip around the rink. Venus Deathtrap. Chemi Kills. BlochNess Monster. Brooklyn DeckHer. Cupquake. Even the ref and the announcer have derby alter egos – Vanilla Ice Pack and Tiger Beatdown, respectively.

This isn’t your mother’s roller derby…and it isn’t your grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s, either. Roller derby first started in the late 1800s as a test of endurance – no elbowing the competition. But in the 1940s, it became a contact sport, and the new derby evolved from that later version.  It’s enjoying a grassroots revival all over the world, with nearly 800 leagues in 25 countries so far. Orlando’s league has expanded from a handful of players early last year to four teams with about a dozen players each…and counting.

Tonight’s crowd is about 200 strong. Attendees are waving signs for their favorite players, but since derby is just hitting its stride here, many are friends or relatives. Colin is one of them. He’s finding it’s a short trip from friend to fan.

“My girlfriend got me into this. She’s skating right now – [derby name] Punk N. Drublic,” Colin says, gesturing to his sign that also sports the name. “So, I’m here supporting her and the Sunnyland Slammers, and it’s awesome. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

A couple rows back is first-time derby fan Danielle.

“It just sounds so cool and I love the idea of it and I knew it was happening in town," she says. "I couldn’t pass up another game.”

Danielle says she’s enjoying herself. She adds that the game was a bit hard to understand at first, but now she’s got the gist.

“I think I have a pretty good idea of, like, this person needs to go fast and get to the front, and everyone else has to get out of their way,” Danielle says. “Or, they’re going to try to keep that person from getting to the front.”

Turns out, it’s pretty common to find the game a bit confusing at first, so league co-owner Tiffany Maitland takes care of that by directing the players in a quick, theatrical primer at the beginning of each game. Maitland is a player herself – derby name Vegas, since that’s where she first joined a league. She says she came home to Orlando to be closer to her family and was surprised to find derby in her own back yard.

“I tried out, made the league, and then come to find out that in order for them to go further, they needed owners,” she says during a brief moment of downtime as the game continues. So Maitland and partner Melissa Biddle stepped in, she explains, organizing the league into a non-profit and managing the business aspects of derby.

Maitland says it’s been a bumpy road at times, but it’s well worth it to watch derby in Orlando grow. She says she wants to see the players grow, too.

“When I did it, I didn’t know who I was at that time,” says Maitland. “I really wanted to find who I was, what my strengths were, what my weaknesses were, and derby actually helped me find that, and helped me find who I want to be. And it’s not just the sport, it’s in general. And that’s what I’m finding from a lot of girls. I want to give them the same experience, and that’s why I do this.”

The game ends with a Sunnyland Slammers win, but there’s no time for celebrating.  Everyone is hustled out of the rink quickly because the league’s only rented the place for a few hours – it’s saving up so one day roller derby will have a venue of its own. But for now, the after-party for the crowd and the players is at a nearby seafood joint.

Players from both teams mingle there. Amanda Vickers – derby name No Quarter – plays for the Sunnyland Slammers. She says the interactions between teams are more supportive than competitive.

“You know when you have that many women all in one place, there’s always going to be drama, but I think that everybody does a really good job of looking out for each other and having each other’s backs,” Vickers says.

“But when it comes time to skate, all bets are off,” she adds with a laugh.

Sabrina Napolitano – derby name Ellen Rage – plays for the Bellevue Bombshells.

“We all love each other, we stick together, everyone helps everyone out,” agrees Napolitano. “And then the game itself is just fun. Derby is the rock ‘n’ roll sport.”

She says there are physical risks involved, but derby’s worth it.

“I love it so much that it’s worth the possibility of a bad injury. It is a real possibility, I have been hurt badly before,” she says. “But you get up and you keep doing it.”

The next roller derby game is the season-ending double-header on April 10th, with all four of the league’s teams in action. Then in June, they’ll head to Jacksonville to face off against another league for the first time.