When you think of roller derby, you might remember watching professional wrestling-style brawls on skates on TV in the 1970s and 80s. But the sport has grown up. Today in Northeast Ohio, the sport is open to participants from all walks of life.
“Roller derby is football on wheels on a track," said Sari Whims, aka “Sari NOT Sorry," a member of the Burning River Roller Derby Club and manages its public relations.
“It is a very high-intensity sport," said Whims. "Lots of contact, lots of hitting. We now play on a flat track because it is much safer, and it is a little bit less theatric than it was back in the day.”
On a Saturday morning at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, the ladies of Burning River laced up their skates, donned their blue team tank top jerseys and helmets and prepared for a match with a team from Ontario, Canada.
As the match began, skaters, including four blockers and one jammer, from each team, lined up along the taped-off skating oval.
The skaters began whipping around the track. Occasionally it got rough as the jammer fought their way through the line of blockers.
Teams score points when the jammer laps members of the opposite team. Their teammates try to help by blocking while the other team tries to stop the jammer's progress.
The Burning River team fell behind early that Saturday, but that didn't deter fan Alissa Alson of Cleveland.
“I saw a game two months ago, and I had such a fabulous time," said Alson. "I just immediately wanted to come back.”
The organization started in 2006. It's part of the Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Association.
Burning River has three levels of competition: two traveling competitive teams and a developmental league.
The first team, known as the “All-Stars,” includes more experienced and professional-level players. The level under that is known as "HazMat Crew." There is also a feeder team known as the "Pyromaniacs," which is the onboarding team for new skaters joining the program.
Skaters don’t usually go by their real names. They pick something edgy and fun like “Gal Fawkes” and “Lady Macdeath.”
Players said the league's emphasis on creating a welcoming community is as — if not more — important than the scoreboard.
“Roller derby in and of itself has a lot of neurodivergent people and a lot of queer people because it's a safe space," said Brianna Bozin aka "Cheeky Blinders" who played in the game against Ontario. "Myself, I skate with a hearing aid, which is a little hard with such a loud sport.”
“Our officials are great," continues Bozin. "Really good with eye contact because sometimes I might not hear them, especially if there's a lot going on. But everybody's just so accommodating for anything that you need. Just really great.”
The sport attracts many members of the LGBTQ+ community, including many transgender and gender nonconforming individuals including Madeline Hoyle aka "Murderline," who officiated during the Saturday match.
“The idea of a sport, something that looks really fun and something that's like really social and that could be potentially really inclusive was something that was really appealing to me," said Hoyle. "I was just like, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen. And I just wanted to become the skater then.”
Cleveland is also home to a decade-old inclusive men's roller derby team.
“It's incredibly diverse. We got a wide range of personalities, shapes, sizes and just awesome people that come out on the track and just have a good time,” said Jeremey Copeck, one of two captains of the Cleveland Guardians.
Burning River and the Cleveland Guardians roller derby leagues support each other.
“None of us get paid to do it. We do it because we love it," said Copeck.
Both clubs pride themselves on helping those interested in the sport learn the basics. Their training programs for beginners teach participants how to fall, how to stop and skate and finally how to play on a derby team. The season lasts 11 months of the
year — teams take July off.
Last season, Burning River had its largest class of new players in over a decade.
Derby member Ali McCarty, who goes by "Chewie," joined derby in 2016.
“We have so many folks waiting for their turn to jump in," said McCarty. "And it kind of gives you a good feeling for the longevity.”
