Roller Derby Is Alive And Well

It’s an interesting sport. It’s a fast-paced sport. It’s a sport that tends to fly under the radar from the public eye.

But there’s one thing for sure about roller derby – it’s certainly a physically demanding sport.

Just ask former Narragansett resident Meghan Follett, who is better known by her roller derby team, the Killah Bees, as her rink alias “Cindy Lou Screw.” Roller derby players have to have a contact mentality.

“You have to be able to be prepared to get hurt,” Follett said. “Bumps and bruises are kind of the things you wear as a badge of pride. If you’re really worried about your appearance and not looking like you got beat up at work the next day it may not be for you. But it’s a lot of fun.”

The Killah Bees participate in the Providence Roller Derby league and generally hold practices at the roller rink in Narragansett. Follett frequented the Ocean Club when she was younger, and she combined roller skating and her tough-minded mentality to eventually join roller derby.

It’s true that roller derby does not have as strong of a following as the major sports such as football and baseball, but there are small groups of fans dedicated to the sport. Roller derby has had exposure on ESPN and television commercials.

“We’ve got some really devoted fans,” Follett said.  “It’s a really hard sport and people practice and play really hard to get where there are and I think it’s starting to become recognized as that.”

Roller derby has expanded internationally, with places such as Great Britain, Australia and Argentina organizing national teams and competing against other countries. The 2011 Roller Derby World Cup is scheduled for December in Toronto. Thirteen teams from all over the globe will be attending.

However, the ultimate goal for roller derby organizers is for the sport to become accepted as an Olympic event. Follett believes it’s a possibility.

“It could be because it’s all over the place,” Follett said. “It’s really growing. It’s crazy.”

Whenever Follett tells somebody that she belongs on a roller derby team, she said they usually do not grasp the time commitment the sport requires. Follett said she could be practicing four to five times per week in addition to being the Art Director for the league, which includes making flyers and behind-the-scenes work.

One aspect of the game that may appear odd for outsiders are the rink aliases used for each player. Follett said each roller derby player picks a unique name to have on the rink and are referred to only that name by teammates.

How serious is this portion of the game? There is even a roller derby alias database and Follett had to try three times to get a name that wasn’t already taken.

“I’m not sure where (the names portion) came from,” Follett said. “It’s become like a right of passage if you play roller derby. Once you’re able to scrimmage that’s when you get your roller derby name. Some people go for something clever, some go for something mean-sounding. 

“But it’s kind of fun to skate under a persona and it also kind of gives you the ability to be someone else for a little while so when you go back to work on Monday you don’t have to worry about someone knowing what you did.”

Follett said the game does have plenty of thinking that has to go along with it and once people realize that there will be a greater appreciation for roller derby.

“There’s a lot of strategy involved, believe it or not,” Follett said, “I think once people really get into it and start being able to follow it that’s when it becomes more interesting.”

The Killah Bees have a bout this Saturday against the Montreal Sexpos at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. To learn more about the league, click here.