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This appears in issue four of Love, Chicago, available at Quimby's, Chicago Comics, Women and Childern First, and several other vendors throughout the city. Let me know what you think, and check out www.lovechicago.org to see articles from previous issues!
Sisterhood and Scuffle
By Jenny Seay
The women of the Windy City Rollers are tough - that's a given. You have to be tough to endure the physical demands of the sport of roller derby. Then there's the roller girl image: tattoos, punky hair, funky makeup and fishnets. The stereotypes are inevitable, but don't offer a whole lot of insight into this dynamic sport. The best way to understand the life of a roller girl is to get to know one.
Val Capone of the Manic Attackers is one of the WCR's original members - a group playfully referred to as "The Dirty Dozen."
“I don’t even remember what my life was like before roller derby," she says. “It’s really taxing on you physically, but you also have to be really emotionally stable, because it really does affect your whole life.”
Twice a week Capone joins other league participants at an old Standard Steel and Wire building, where for three hours, a cavernous room with a high ceiling and long hardwood floor serves as practice space. They discard their duffle bags in a pile beyond the entrance, and sit on one of several vintage sofas where they strap on skates, laughing and chatting before kicking off a vigorous workout.
“We usually do fifteen minutes of warm-up, maintain pace lines for thirty-five minutes, scrimmaging… never mind all the behind the scenes work.” Capone says. This disciplined routine is supervised by Double Crosser Ivana Krushya, who is a certified personal trainer by day. Krushya also provides supplemental training in the form of an optional weekly boot camp, and many girls put in additional exercise hours on their own time.
With such a grueling schedule, you'd think the Windy City Rollers would tire of seeing each other. Not so according to Val Capone, who, like many other derby girls, joined up seeking aggressive physical activity, later discovered all sorts of other benefits. "I was never really friendly with too many girls," she says. "And then all of a sudden I started hanging out with seventy women everyday. We're like the tightest bunch of family I've ever had in my life."
Capone is not the only league member to gain unexpected perks from roller derby involvement.
Violet Nature, who also joined the Rollers when it initially formed, got started because she found the idea intriguing. "I don't normally do things with large groups of girls," she starts off," and I've never been much of a group person, so this is actually kind of an unusual thing for me to be involved in."
Once she got going, Nature was pleasantly surprised to discover she had a natural talent for skating, and credits derby for helping boost her confidence and providing the motivation to create change when things were not working. She quit a graphic design job that made her unhappy, finding a new one she enjoys more. And when asked to reflect on this, she giggles and says, "It kind of makes me feel like I can do anything now. It's definitely an inspirational kind of thing that I have in my life."
Other girls appreciate the world of derby for a variety of reasons. Abby, another graphic designer, was attracted to its interesting mix of sport and spectacle, and began volunteering at Windy City Rollers events and practices soon after discovering their existence. She refereed bouts during the league's first full season, and is anxious to compete during tryouts for the next season.
"A friend of mine is good friends with Athena DeCrime's boyfriend," she explains, "and she dragged me to their first real bout, and after I saw it I was like, damn, someone tailor-made a sport for me. I have to get into it somehow."
The Belles' Dayglo Daygo on the other hand, has always been an artist, but joined to indulge her passion for skating. "I just fell in love with it. It seemed more interesting than just [traditional] roller skating, I guess."
Now that she's fully involved, she has found a number of things to love about this group. "It keeps you in shape, I've met a lot of great people, [that became] close friends…. And I've never been an athlete before so it's weird, [but I'm] learning about all these things I never knew, like competition and athleticism."
Dayglo's participation, like many of her other "sisters in crime," goes well beyond practices. She served on the end-of-season dinner committee, and helped plan a banquet to honor everyone's contributions. More than that, she used her talents as a textile designer to create uniforms for her team, the Belles.
"We don't really contract anything out here," she says. "We have enough talent and knowledge amongst everyone to get everything done that we need."
This holds true even when the only need is an individual girl's desire to step up her game. Lucy Furr, one of the Double Crossers, was not initially comfortable on wheels. But this is something she's overcome as a result of persistence and practice. "Roller derby is indicative of so many things that are happening in my life. To become this I've experienced starting from nothing, not knowing how to skate, to becoming better and better and trying to acquire the skill it takes to play derby."
Furr is definitely a student of the game. Having formerly received training in martial arts, she knows the importance of gradually increasing her repertoire as she gains mastery of each new technique. "I didn't come into derby with a lot of confidence, but I've never been an aggressive sports person. I've always done things technically well, been very interested in learning how to do things, but in derby you HAVE to become aggressive. You've got to find ways to take down a girl, not just brace yourself. And that's really changed the dynamic of how I think about life."
More and more women are gaining this sense of empowerment as roller derby catches fire in other cities across the country. The phenomenon is even receiving national exposure on A&E's "RollerGirls," a reality TV show that profiles derby girl drive and drama in Austin, Texas.
As the Windy City Rollers moves toward its second full season, it appears that many new developments are on the way. The group assembled a traveling all-star team of sorts, (including Furr) which competed at Dust Devil: The 1st Annual National Flat Track Derby Tournament in Tucson Arizona this February. The rest of the girls continue to hone their skills, as well, in order to prove that owning the track is about a lot more than a sleeve of tattoos and torn fishnets.
"I like to think we do it for the love of the game, not the love of the fame, you know?" Capone says.
I don't think girls would have stuck around [as long as they have] if this group wasn't worth it."
Sisterhood and Scuffle
By Jenny Seay
The women of the Windy City Rollers are tough - that's a given. You have to be tough to endure the physical demands of the sport of roller derby. Then there's the roller girl image: tattoos, punky hair, funky makeup and fishnets. The stereotypes are inevitable, but don't offer a whole lot of insight into this dynamic sport. The best way to understand the life of a roller girl is to get to know one.
Val Capone of the Manic Attackers is one of the WCR's original members - a group playfully referred to as "The Dirty Dozen."
“I don’t even remember what my life was like before roller derby," she says. “It’s really taxing on you physically, but you also have to be really emotionally stable, because it really does affect your whole life.”
Twice a week Capone joins other league participants at an old Standard Steel and Wire building, where for three hours, a cavernous room with a high ceiling and long hardwood floor serves as practice space. They discard their duffle bags in a pile beyond the entrance, and sit on one of several vintage sofas where they strap on skates, laughing and chatting before kicking off a vigorous workout.
“We usually do fifteen minutes of warm-up, maintain pace lines for thirty-five minutes, scrimmaging… never mind all the behind the scenes work.” Capone says. This disciplined routine is supervised by Double Crosser Ivana Krushya, who is a certified personal trainer by day. Krushya also provides supplemental training in the form of an optional weekly boot camp, and many girls put in additional exercise hours on their own time.
With such a grueling schedule, you'd think the Windy City Rollers would tire of seeing each other. Not so according to Val Capone, who, like many other derby girls, joined up seeking aggressive physical activity, later discovered all sorts of other benefits. "I was never really friendly with too many girls," she says. "And then all of a sudden I started hanging out with seventy women everyday. We're like the tightest bunch of family I've ever had in my life."
Capone is not the only league member to gain unexpected perks from roller derby involvement.
Violet Nature, who also joined the Rollers when it initially formed, got started because she found the idea intriguing. "I don't normally do things with large groups of girls," she starts off," and I've never been much of a group person, so this is actually kind of an unusual thing for me to be involved in."
Once she got going, Nature was pleasantly surprised to discover she had a natural talent for skating, and credits derby for helping boost her confidence and providing the motivation to create change when things were not working. She quit a graphic design job that made her unhappy, finding a new one she enjoys more. And when asked to reflect on this, she giggles and says, "It kind of makes me feel like I can do anything now. It's definitely an inspirational kind of thing that I have in my life."
Other girls appreciate the world of derby for a variety of reasons. Abby, another graphic designer, was attracted to its interesting mix of sport and spectacle, and began volunteering at Windy City Rollers events and practices soon after discovering their existence. She refereed bouts during the league's first full season, and is anxious to compete during tryouts for the next season.
"A friend of mine is good friends with Athena DeCrime's boyfriend," she explains, "and she dragged me to their first real bout, and after I saw it I was like, damn, someone tailor-made a sport for me. I have to get into it somehow."
The Belles' Dayglo Daygo on the other hand, has always been an artist, but joined to indulge her passion for skating. "I just fell in love with it. It seemed more interesting than just [traditional] roller skating, I guess."
Now that she's fully involved, she has found a number of things to love about this group. "It keeps you in shape, I've met a lot of great people, [that became] close friends…. And I've never been an athlete before so it's weird, [but I'm] learning about all these things I never knew, like competition and athleticism."
Dayglo's participation, like many of her other "sisters in crime," goes well beyond practices. She served on the end-of-season dinner committee, and helped plan a banquet to honor everyone's contributions. More than that, she used her talents as a textile designer to create uniforms for her team, the Belles.
"We don't really contract anything out here," she says. "We have enough talent and knowledge amongst everyone to get everything done that we need."
This holds true even when the only need is an individual girl's desire to step up her game. Lucy Furr, one of the Double Crossers, was not initially comfortable on wheels. But this is something she's overcome as a result of persistence and practice. "Roller derby is indicative of so many things that are happening in my life. To become this I've experienced starting from nothing, not knowing how to skate, to becoming better and better and trying to acquire the skill it takes to play derby."
Furr is definitely a student of the game. Having formerly received training in martial arts, she knows the importance of gradually increasing her repertoire as she gains mastery of each new technique. "I didn't come into derby with a lot of confidence, but I've never been an aggressive sports person. I've always done things technically well, been very interested in learning how to do things, but in derby you HAVE to become aggressive. You've got to find ways to take down a girl, not just brace yourself. And that's really changed the dynamic of how I think about life."
More and more women are gaining this sense of empowerment as roller derby catches fire in other cities across the country. The phenomenon is even receiving national exposure on A&E's "RollerGirls," a reality TV show that profiles derby girl drive and drama in Austin, Texas.
As the Windy City Rollers moves toward its second full season, it appears that many new developments are on the way. The group assembled a traveling all-star team of sorts, (including Furr) which competed at Dust Devil: The 1st Annual National Flat Track Derby Tournament in Tucson Arizona this February. The rest of the girls continue to hone their skills, as well, in order to prove that owning the track is about a lot more than a sleeve of tattoos and torn fishnets.
"I like to think we do it for the love of the game, not the love of the fame, you know?" Capone says.
I don't think girls would have stuck around [as long as they have] if this group wasn't worth it."
