Skate or Die Trying

By day, they are moms, graphic artists, and financial advisers.

At night, they don names such as Dixie Whiskey, Slash Borden and Grave Robin – and they dish out the hits on the flat track.

Westchester's Suburbia Roller Derby League attracts all sorts of characters, from all walks of life, including three women from Tarrytown.

"We all work full time jobs, or some are stay-at-home or single moms with tons of stuff on their plates," said Tarrytown resident Heidi Bernhardt (Grave Robin), who has been a member of the league for about a year. "We just put it all out there and don't let getting hurt hold us back."

Roller Derby is a fast-paced, contact sport that pits competitive teams against each other in the quest for rankings and a national title.

The basics of the sport involve eight blockers (four from each team) that comprise "the pack"; each team also has one additional player called a jammer, who scores points. The job of the jammer is to skate through the pack, while opposing blockers attempt to bump and block the jammer back or out of the rink. Points are scored for each opposing player the jammer passes, which makes for a lot of flying bodies and bruised extremities.

"It's very intense, the intensity is always there. And I like the aggressiveness, I've always been an athlete," Liz Dyckman (Slash Borden) said. "Skating is just awesome in general, but then there is also a huge part of it that is about camaraderie and the culture."

Roller derby is arguably the most unique, sassy, crowd friendly sport in the nation – and athletes dress the part. Decked out in eccentric garb that runs the gamut from chic, retro outfits to bloodied nurse uniforms and punk-rock inspired chains and fishnets, roller girls put on a show while pushing the competitive edge.

"The rock 'n roll part and the punk part is fun and good and it really pumps you up; so part of it is about entertainment," Dyckman said. "But most of us, we're more concerned about the competition and working our way up in the rankings."

Last year was the first time the league was part of Women's Flat Track Derby Association, the international governing body of flat track roller derby. WFTDA promotes the sport and hosts regional and national tournaments for the 78 affiliated leagues across the nation.

However, the sport also has a strong DIY ethic and, for the most part, leagues and teams are on their own to organize bouts and raise money to keep their programs afloat.

The Suburbia Roller Derby League is member funded and organized. It is the first league of its kind in Westchester, with roughly 50 women between the ages of 20 and 50 currently participating. The league has two travel teams (Suburban Brawl and Backyard Bullies) that play other teams in the East Coast region, and two intramural teams (Indian Point Sirens and Botoxic Avengers) that play within the league.

Karen Kuhn (Dixie Whiskey), a stay-at-home mom in Tarrytown, has been involved with the league for over three years.

"For me it's about being able to bring myself back out after giving so much to the kids," she said. "It's a real relief, even if you are bruised at the end of the day."

Since joining the league, Kuhn is now taking the reigns as an organizer as well, and is handling the monumental task of organizing the Eastern Regional Tournament scheduled for September. At the tournament, the top ten teams in the region will be coming to the Westchester County Center for their chance to move on to nationals.

"It's going to be a great opportunity to see some of the best roller derby," she said.

Hosting the event in Westchester comes at a time when roller derby is experiencing an explosion in the region.

"The league is really changing, and it's exciting," Kuhn said. "We've become a more mature league so we have a lot more of a training process for fresh meat (new recruits). It could take time to get out there and bout, but it's worth it because its tons of fun."

Recently the league took on 23 new members who tried out and gave enough dedication to become a part of the league.

"The popularity of the sport is on the rise all the time," Dyckman said. "People see it and they are like, 'Oh, it's derby, this is really cool.' It's not like being at a soccer match or a tennis match where you golf clap."

"The competitive edge is what makes it what it is, and Derby rocks!"

Want to see a bout?

Suburbia Roller Derby and their team, Suburban Brawl, will take on an all-star team from the Dutchland Rollers of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The bout is this Saturday, Feb. 27. It will start at approximately 7 p.m. at the Yonkers Police Athletic League building at 127 North Broadway.

"Its a great night out, very family friendly, with cheap food, beer, merchandise. It's just a great sport to watch," Kuhn said

Find out more information on the Suburbia Roller Derby website, or purchase tickets beforehand through brownpapertickets.com.