Scandi Lust, Janie Jawbreaker and Roxy Balboa go wild in Fort Smith
by June 6, 2010 10:29 am 164 views
story and photos by Ruby Dean
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Roller Girls Gone Wild Rumble in the Jungle sounds like a name from a bad movie, but it was a bout between the River Valley Roller Girls and the Oklahoma City Tornado Alley Roller Girls.
About 250 spectators came out to Crystal Palace Skate Center in Fort Smith to cheer for the home team. A portion of the proceeds from the event went to support the Sebastian County Humane Society.
Roller derby is an American invented contact sport which includes pivots, jammers, and blockers skating around an oval track.
How is the game played? Each team sends out five players onto the track (one jammer (scorer), three blockers (defense), one pivot (a blocker who may become the jammer later in that jam). Helmet covers are used to display the players’ positions: a cover with two stars is used for jammers, a striped cover is used for pivots and no cover is used for blockers. Points can only be scored by the jammers which are designated by helmets with stars on them. A pivot wears a striped helmet.
The pack which includes everyone, but the jammer lines up 30 feet in front of the blockers. The referee blows a single whistle and the pack starts out. Thirty seconds later, the referee blows the whistle twice which signals the jammers to start. The jammers main objective is to pass the pack and lap as many times as possible scoring one point for each lap obtained.
The first jammer to pass the pack becomes the lead jammer. This then becomes known as the jam which lasts two minutes in which each jammer tries to score points. If the lead jammer sees that the opposing team is about to score points, they can call the jam off and are the only ones who can.
Each game consists of two 30-minute periods. At the end of each jam, teams field another line up of players and the next jam starts exactly 30 seconds later. Penalties are given to skaters who block illegally, fight or behave in an unsporting manner, or otherwise break the rules. They are sent to a penalty box for 1 minute immediately upon incurring a penalty.
Costumes are usually worn and can be rockabilly, humorous and theatrical. Tutus and tattoos are common, as are fishnet stockings. Most players in these leagues skate under aliases, many of which are creative examples of word play with satirical, mock-violent or sexual puns, alliteration, and allusions to pop culture.
In the first half of play, the Tornado Alley Roller Girls’ jammer had no problem scoring points as they racked up 108 points while the River Valley Roller Girls skated for 17. Just before halftime, Sunni Lively (Scandi Lust) was thought to have broken her ankle and had to be taken out of the game and to the hospital.
Spectators saw pushes, shoves, elbows, and even a little cheek during the game. The game was very physical with a few players kissing the ground. Luckily, Scandi Lust was the only real injury of the night. The TARG’s defense wouldn’t allow a comeback in the second half of play as RVRG tried to get some momentum going. The second half was basically a repeat of the first. The Tornado Alley Roller Girls went on to win the game 250-54.
The River Valley Roller Girls won in 2008 and the Tornado Alley Roller won in 2009.
