Derby Daughter

The concept of Roller Derby never crept into my consciousness until my daughter, Bonnie, told me she was going to try out for a league in Sydney, where she lives.

“Roller Derby!” said my brother, George. “Do you know what they do to each other?”

“What do you mean, do to each other?” I responded, clueless.

“What’s her handle?”

“Handle? I don’t know what her handle is. They have handles?”

“They roller-skate around a rink and beat the shit out of each other as they go. Haven’t you ever watched it on TV?”

I don’t think so. I couldn’t imagine being even slightly interested in watching people skate around a rink, having lost my last skate key eons ago. What’s the big deal?

But my daughter said she loves it.  Better find out something about it, I thought. I did some quick research. In the twenties, the roller derby was simply a race on skates. Out of the depression skated Leo Selter’s Transcontinental Roller Derby, consisting of male and female teams skating in marathon sessions. Think, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

The form of roller derby televised in the fifties, and featuring skaters trying to catapult the competition out of the rink with elbows, hips, and fists was suggested by a famous writer and reporter (and a man I will always worship because he wrote Guys and Dolls), Damon Runyon.

During years of wide popularity, the roller derby evolved into a sexy spectacle reminiscent of professional wrestling with elaborate staging, including smoke machines, outrageous names, laser light shows, and phony fights, until the sport declined in the 90s.

Attempts to resuscitate roller derby continued until  2001, when it began to gain momentum again. Currently, there are over 900 leagues world-wide, including Burning Hell Dolls, right here in Costa Rica!

When I couldn’t understand the rules, I began watching videos. I watched  a few clips on YouTube, and the documentary, Hell on Wheels, about the re-emergence of Roller Derby with the formation of two leagues in Austin, Texas. Lastly, I watched Whip It, a 2009 movie about a teenage girl who finds the roller derby and herself. I loved the movie, and now I love roller derby too! If only I were twenty years younger…

I can see the appeal for Bonnie. She’s always been an innovator, an artist, an athletic young woman and, most of all, an individual. She’s strong, and she has tattoos, and may as well use ’em! Have I mentioned that her handle is Vanity Bonfire? She’s feisty and literary. How sexy is that?

What name would I have? I wonder. Using a name generator, I found these: Miss Creant, Faye Tality, Short Fuse, Xana Doom, Rita Hateworth, Nancy Drewblood, and my favorite for literary merit: Jane Ire. Your name? Something sexy, yet literary– I mean strong!