The Monument Roller-Mamas are preparing for takeoff and getting
ready to launch themselves into the world of competitive bouts in
spring 2009.
Yet between now and then, the two teams that make up the league,
the Blackeye Betties and the High Octane Honeys, are still hoping
to have a few more girls, 21 and over, come out and slip on the
knee highs and lace up the skates.
“One of the best parts is you don’t even have to know how to
skate,” said Moxie Cotton, a member of the board of directors for
the league and captain of the Blackeye Betties. “That is something
we can teach you here… Well, Dropkick can teach you.”
Dropkick Mary, formerly a referee and a coach for the Rocky
Mountain Roller Girls in Denver, is happy to show the new girls the
ropes. Although she doesn’t compete, one will find Dropkick in the
middle of the rink, blowing the whistle at every practice and
preaching the fundamentals.
“It’s not your mama’s roller derby,” said Meg Cryin, director of
new recruits and captain for the Honeys. “It’s not what we used to
watch on TV with our grandmas. It’s completely different. It’s not
throwing people out of the rink, none of that. We practice legal
hits and blocks here.”
Don’t mistake what Cryin is saying either. It’s still a physical
sport. It is in fact full-contact, competitive five-on-five roller
skating around an oval track. This is why everyone is required to
wear knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, a skateboard helmet and a
mouth guard. Primary health insurance is also recommended.
This in mind, what constitutes a legal block is a block that it
is executed using the body from shoulder to hip and only using from
the shoulder to elbow of the arm. There is no tripping, elbowing,
pushing, pulling, or hitting permitted during a block. Any block
that employs any of these tactics, or that occurs above the
shoulder or below the hip, or involves any use of the forearm or
hand, will draw a penalty.
The Roller-Mamas spend a good deal of time at each practice
working on their legal blocking techniques.
“It’s a contact sport, but you need to play smart,” said
Dropkick Mary. “Yes, cheap shots still happen and there are some
dirty players out there like there are in any sport, but fighting
results in immediate dismissal from a bout along with possible
multi-game suspension.”
So who are these women that make up the Roller-Mamas and why do
they all have such weird names?
The Mamas come from all walks of life said Cryin, from
stay-at-home moms to professional photographers to project managers
and currently range in age between 21 and 37.
Cryin is one of the stay-at-home moms on the team and one of the
most attractive things to her is that when she is at the rink she
doesn’t have to play the role of wife or mom. “You can be something
totally different here,” she said.
As for Cotton, she is an Air Force wife whose husband has
already done four tours in Iraq.
“It’s all about the girls and the camaraderie, finding a place
that is just for us,” she said. “We’re nobody’s wives or moms when
we are on the rink. We are just ourselves… This gives me a chance
to get out and do something and not sit at home and think about
everything else.”
Now what about those names again?
“We don’t use real names at all, even when referring to each
other when we are off the rink,” Cryin said. “Most derby leagues
have this rule as a safety precaution. We have a different kind of
fan base, and for that reason we never give out real names.”
This doesn’t mean however that a new member should have a name
all picked out and ready to go when you come and sign up for derby,
in fact they are encouraged not to have a name already chosen when
attending their first practice.
There is a probation period of 30 days in which a new member
will be focusing on the derby skill and rules said Moxie Cotton.
They then have to take a skills test and a written test
administered by Dropkick.
At that point in time a name may be submitted and then it has to
be cleared by the league.
Interested yet? The Roller-Mamas already have enough girls to
fill out one roster and are in need of about five more girls before
they can start live scrimmaging with one another. They hope to be
at that point by October. They need about another 15 girls before
having enough to field two rosters for competitive bouts.
The 2008 season is currently coming to a close, but the girls
will be practicing right up until the start of the ’09 season next
spring. They hope to have two full teams at that point, but will
start competing in bouts regardless of whether they have one or two
teams.
“Everybody has their challenge they have to overcome when they
start derby,” said Moxie. “Whether it’s learning to skate or
getting over the endurance, but we have a great league. Everybody’s
so supportive of one another.”
The current roster is made up of girls from Black Forest,
Gleneagle, Palmer Lake, Monument and Castle Rock. According to
Dropkick Mary they are trying to keep their recruiting base to
Douglas and northern El Paso counties, although she drives down
from Denver every week to coach.
The teams practice once a week in Monument and once a week in
Castle Rock. To find out more please visit the Roller- Mamas Web
site at www.myspace.com/monumentderby.
719-481-3423 ext. 5 |rboldrey@ccnewspapers.com