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Butterflies in my stomach… can I do this? Excitement, fear, and confidence in myself; all of this goes through my mind. “I CAN DO THIS!” I think to myself. Blockers, GO…. Jammers, GO and I’m off. I’m no longer thinking about falling or getting hurt. There is only one thing in my mind and that is to get up to speed as quickly as I can and get through the pack as quickly as possible. Before I know it, I’m on them and in the middle before I take a hit from my right. That’s okay because I’m low and I’ve got speed. I throw my body into a girl on my left and break through the pack. My heart races not because of the physical exertion, but the excitement and thrill of having done it. I note where the other jammer is; awesome my girls have her trapped for the moment. Anything can happen and it’s not over until it’s over so I’m skating hard and as fast as I can to catch back up to the pack. This is my chance to score points for my team and the other team’s blockers are ready and waiting to prevent that from happening.

The first thing I ever heard about roller derby was when Rollergirls, the reality TV show, was being marketed before they aired the first show. Something about the way the commercial for the show got my attention and I scheduled my DVR to tape it just in case I forget. Well, I didn’t forget and from that first episode, I was hooked. My attraction to the sport was immediately. The idea that I could play hard and serious in a highly competitive sport that required a great deal of skill was great. On top of that, being able to create a persona, almost a caricature of myself tapping into elements that I thought I had buried as a girl because I had to “grow up” and be a part of society was definitely appealing. Most of all, the idea of being able to prove skill, strength and still be attractive and sexy is amazing and so achievable in this sport. In fact, Roller Derby is more than a sport, it’s an alternative lifestyle that you can step in and out of depending on the time of day.