Q-C area divas roll with the punches
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By Tony Stivers | Monday, December 31, 2007 |
Doom Kitty. LizaDEATH. Q.C. Banshee. Brusin B. Legs Diamond.
No, these are not names of WWE Divas on the pro wrestling circuit.
They are the names of members of the Quad-City Rollers, a tandem of local divas hitting the roller derby rink.
The actual term roller derby dates to 1914, when it referred to flat track roller-skating races, but the sport evolved in the 1930s to what it is today: Five women on each team bent on mass destruction.
Three local women began meeting in May to begin a roller derby team.
By summer, they were holding practices three nights a week at Beyond the Baseline Fieldhouse in Davenport, the old Marycrest campus. There are about 15 players on the roster for the Rollers, whose original name was the Quad-City Bi-Polar Rollers.
“Our goal is to get our numbers up and have several teams here in the Quad-Cities,” added LizaDEATH, one of the founding members who began as a speed skater before taking up rugby. “Roller derby was the perfect marriage of the two.”
She said that once more teams get added to the Quad-Cities, they will go back to their original name, the Quad-City Bi-Polar Rollers.
Slamazon, the tallest lady on the team, showed up at one practice and was hooked.
“They taught me some cool crap I could do on skates I never thought I could do,” she said.
And you don’t have to be a great skater to get involved.
“We will teach anyone,” said LizaDEATH. “The Jammer is the only one who really has to be a great skater. We do a lot of drills to help prevent injuries. We want to have the proper foundation and building blocks so we don’t get hurt.”
During a typical practice, the Rollers go through time trials, bout (which is what a match is called) situations, technique drills and falling drills. There have been no major injuries that have kept anyone out of action, but there have been a few close calls. One of those was a rib injury by another founding member, MsJeevious.
“She had to go to the chiropractor for a while,” one of her teammates said.
“Everybody gets hurt a little bit,” said LizaDEATH, “but nothing major yet, knock on wood.”
And of course, with players such as Q.C. Banshee, the other team needs to watch out because they might suffer one of those major injuries.
“I like the feeling of hitting other girls and not going to jail,” she laughed. “A banshee comes to get you when you die. So look out. I’m coming to get you!”
Other members, such as Legs Diamond, knew other players on the team and wanted to join.
“I knew Red Roller was into it, and I had always wanted to do it,” Legs said.
Doom Kitty, the third founding member, added it’s not all glory out on the floor or in practice.
“It’s a good workout,” she said.
Equipment isn’t very expensive compared to many sports, with members spending $150-$200 on the necessary materials, including skates, helmet, mouth guard, knee and elbow pads and wrist guards.
The Rollers hope to recruit enough players to field more than one team in the area.
Their first live bout will be May 16 in Evansville, Ind., against Demolition City Derby, but they already have had a scrimmage with Rockford, the Stateline Roller Derby Divas.
“As far as recruiting, it’s been word of mouth mostly,” said LizaDEATH. “But we would love for anyone to come out who wants to check it out or give it a try. We are also in desperate need for referees, a bench coach or anyone else that would just like to volunteer.’’
Contact the sports desk at (563) 383-2285 or sports@qctimes.com.
For more information on the Quad-City Rollers, go to quadcityrollers@yahoo.com.
The Rules OF
ROLLER DERBY
A roller derby bout consists of either two 30-minute halves or three 20-minute periods with a 10-minute intermission between periods or halves.
There are five-team members on each side — a pivot, a jammer and three blockers. The pivots and jammers wear colored sleeves on their heads with a stripe for the pivots and a star for the jammers.
The bout begins with the pivot in the front setting the pace for the group, followed by the three blockers from each team with the jammers lagging in the back. The referee blows a whistle, and the pivot and blockers start skating in the circle counterclockwise. A second whistle blows, and the jammers take off.
The jammers’ goal is to catch up to and lap the pack. Once they re-enter the pack, they score one point for every opposing team member they pass. A jam lasts up to two minutes, but the lead jammer, whichever one is in the lead, has the option of calling the jam off at any time.
Although it might seem there are no rules and everyone is out for blood, there are penalties for infractions such as false starts, excessive skating out of bounds, holding, illegal blocking such as using elbows or hitting in the face, intentional tripping and falling or illegal use of the hands. Back blocking, or hitting someone from behind also is illegal.
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