Bruises and Rink Rash, it’s all FoCo Girls Gone Derby

Stinky knee pads, rink rash and bruises the size of a softball are the badges of honor with these ladies.  You run into them every day; dropping the kids off at day care, having your family portrait taken, and getting the dog groomed.  Regular Fort Collins women by day, super skaters in hot pants and fish nets at night, these stay-at-home moms, family counselors, and business women blow off some steam by taking on their alter ego with aliases such as Texas Chainsaw Mascara, iOna Switchblade or Tammy Faye Slayer.

This is Northern Colorado’s first Roller Derby League – FoCo Girls Gone Derby.

Roller Derby as a sport got its beginning way back in the 1930′s when skaters endured physical contact and developed teamwork in flat-track roller skating races.  The sport lived through an ebb and flow of popularity, eventually collapsing in the 1970′s.  In the early 2000′s, a grass roots effort developed to revive the sport, creating the modern-day roller derby that we see today.  Now it’s all over the world reaching as far as  Europe and Australia.

The Fort Collins league got its start in 2006 by Jerica Trevena (known in the rink as “Urrk’n Jerrk’n as Booty Block ‘Ya”) and the Trevena family.  They own Rollerland Skate Center, where the derby league practices and competes in bouts.  Jerica is a Nationally ranked speed skater and helped to coach the women on their skating skills.  Many of them had never been on skates before trying out for the Roller Derby league.  After a few years of practice, some blood, sweat and tears, the FoCo Girls Gone Derby League became the 67th WFTDA-certified league in the nation, giving them the ability to compete with other leagues for national ranking.  FCGGD has three teams:  The Chanel Cartel, The Deathrow Dolls -  both home teams that skate against each other at Rollerland and their travel team, the FoCo Micro Bruisers (I love this team name) to bout against neighboring leagues.  In 2010, the league has close to 50 skaters!

Here’s the scoop on how it all works:

• Each game, called a bout, consists of two 30 minute halves.
• Each period contains several jams that can last up to 2 minutes.
• Before each jam, 5 players from each team line up on the track.
• The pack is released at the single whistle. The jammers shoot off in hot pursuit at the double whistle.
• The first jammer to make it through the pack legally is called lead jammer.

You can read more about how they score and details about player positions on their website.

If you’ve never seen these women compete, I highly suggest you do.  The rules are easy to understand (an important factor for me when it comes to sports) and it’s very entertaining.  I might be biased since some of my best friends are in the league and I’m the league’s personal trainer, but even still, these bouts are action packed!  I will never forget the bout a few months back where a skater actually jumped over a ref that had been taken out by another skater to avoid a spill.  It was an insane demonstration of skill and the risk that lurks in the game.

Roller Derby, while super exciting, can be dangerous as well.  There are EMT’s on hand at every bout.  Besides the common mild injuries of scrapes and bruises,  there have been broken bones, separated shoulders and skates to the face.  These women are tougher than nails.

The next bout is on Saturday, August 14th at Roller Land Skate Center at 7:30pm (doors open at 7:00). $15 (or $10 pre-sale), you can check out how to purchase tickets on their website.  This is sure to be a huge bout and one you’d regret missing!  The veteran skaters will be ready to rock after a short break to rest their weary feet.  The new recruits, after months of training and practice, are skating their very fist bout.  I know I’m excited to see how it all goes down!

Go check out one of Fort Collins’ fasted growing trends and see how awesome these ladies are for yourself.  Stinky knee pads and all.