The Story Behind...The Derby Girls

By the time this goes to print, Midcoast’s first skater-owned and skater-run, all-female flat track roller derby league, the Rock Coast Rollers, will have had their “coming out” debut in their first public competition with a Portland team — and you can bet instead of lace gloves and dance cards, it was a lot of hot pink tights and throwing hip checks. (Update: they lost but had a great time anyway!)

The league first began January 2011 when nearly 50 women gathered at Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education to discuss the possibility of organizing a Midcoast flat track league.  Ranging from 18-year-old girls to 40-something moms and artists, a crackling "hell, yeah!" energy filled the room. Most of the ladies had never been on skates or hadn’t been on skates for 20 years. But that wasn’t about to get in their way.

Nearly eight months later, with formal bylaws and committees in place and with a grueling practice schedule of 2-3 times a week and 2-3 hours a night, the Rock Coast Rollers now have about 20 trained members who are ready to bout, or compete professionally with other teams.

In order to play roller derby, one has to pass a written test on rules, a skills test and an endurance test doing 25 laps in five minutes.

“We’ve passed all of the tests,” says the president of Rock Coast Rollers’ nonprofit corporation’s board of directors Jen Munson, a.k.a. Sookie Stacked. “And we pride ourselves on playing clean.”

She goes on to elaborate why this national underground sport is so appealing to women: “It’s a unique sport. It’s skating; it’s full contact, like hockey. It’s all female and there’s a certain whimsy to it. We take ourselves seriously in that it takes great athleticism to play and sportswomanship is incredibly important to us, but there is also the humor of the uniforms and the derby names. Our uniforms are a mix of traditional athletic clothing and a little bit of crazy.”

The community they represent is one they also strongly support and the Rock Coast Rollers have volunteered in a number of charitable events with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Youthlinks, Knox County Humane Society, as well as Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education, their primary practice spot.

On Oct. 29, at Happy Wheels in Portland, they will have played against Maine Roller Derby’s Calamity Janes, a B-team, which is similar to a junior varsity team.

“It’s our first bout and the Calamity Janes have had years of experience on us," said Munson. "There’s a great deal of nervousness but also excitement. It’s sure to be an intense competition. Maine Roller Derby has acted as our sister league and we want to make them proud.”

Munson says their future plans include starting a junior roller derby league. “I’m a high school teacher and I know there are a lot of girls in the area interested in roller derby. It’s a sport that is to attractive girls who aren’t necessarily attracted to more traditional sports.”

To find out how their first bout went and to learn more details of when they will open the league to new girls, a.k.a "Fresh Meat" with try-outs on Nov. 5 and 6, visit rockcoastrollers.weebly.com.

Here are three Roller Girls you should get to know a little better:

Sk8 Plissken

Why derby?
I had already reached the pinnacle of the sport in all of my other athletic pursuits: Power Napping, Dog Wrangling, and Extreme Eating and decided it was time for a new challenge.

When I'm not down and derby...
Nap, Wrangle, Eat

Bucket List
Be Bill Murray’s x-wife
Eat at the French
Laundry
Vacation in Algeria
Find out what happened to that girl in the Chock Full O’ Nuts.

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Chain Lynx

Why derby?
When I was young I lived on a reservation in Oklahoma where the only two things to do were to hang out with the Medicine Man at the highway " Indian" museum or roller derby in the garage.  I did both and learned a great deal. Thank you, Grandfather, and thank you, roller derby goddess!

When I'm not down and derby...
I am at home working in my studio, helping out at my daughter's school, and raising two children. Oh and I am married to a merchant Marine. Too bad suckers!

Bucket List
Sky diving
Own a great dane
Be on a national champ roller derby team!

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Vegemighty Slamwitch

Why derby?
Because roller derby is trendy, hip, and cool, and so am I.

When I'm not down and derby...
I skate on the ice, too, with a stick and puck.  My other passion is food.  I like cooking food, love growing food, but eating is really my favorite food-related activity.  Luckily, I get to grow food for a living.

Bucket List
Go bowling on all seven continents
Try Vegemite
Get a bruise in the shape of the Virgin Mary and/or the Dalai Lama
Grow more of my own food
Raise chickens and/or ducks
Raise bees
Be a game show contestant
Make the world a better place

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