Lessons from Roller Derby

By Brenna “Big Red” Digison

“Noise, color, body contact” for all.

This is the way the New York Times recently described my favorite sport: Roller Derby.

What is Roller Derby?
Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, most inside the United States. Roller Derby is a game that pits two teams of 15 players against each other, skating counter-clockwise around an oval track. Each team has 5 players on the track at a time, 4 blockers and 1 jammer.

Gameplay consists of a series of short matchups called jams. The jammers, who are identified by the stars on their helmets, try to score points by overlapping opposing players. The teams attempt to hinder the opposing jammer while assisting their jammer—in effect, playing both offense and defense simultaneously.

Roller Derby first started back in the 1930s on a banked track and in the early 1960s, the sport took a new course: maintaining the athleticism while upping the drama. I am sure many of you grew up watching the WWE style roller derby on TV, with elbows and people flying. This style didn’t last long but it drew big crowds.

Derby saw a resurgence around 2000 in Austin, Texas. Now, roller derby teams have cropped up all over the world with over 20 teams currently playing right here in Michigan.

How it all began — for me.

My saga starts with my husband who is very involved with our local hockey community and has a full schedule. I was finding myself frustrated with the amount of time he was spending away and decided I need to get a hobby. Enter roller derby. I loved roller skating all my life and wanted a good workout so, in January of 2017, I did a google search for local teams and found that Lakeshore Roller Derby skated right down the street from me. They had an informational meeting the next day and I had nothing keeping me from attending. I felt that this was a sign from God, I had to go. I went to that meeting and I never left– I hear this narrative resonate with many roller derby athletes. It just takes that leap of faith to find where you belong.

Playing derby for the last 3 years I have seen incredible growth not only in my athletic ability but also as a human being.

What have I learned, you ask?

It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
Tone can change the atmosphere. As a sport primarily made up of women, many of us wear our emotions on our sleeves (or faces). It is so easy to give what you think is constructive criticism with anger or passion and your tone immediately turns the conversation sour. If you spend any time with me, you know I love to give unsolicited advice! While practicing with my team, I am noticing that joy goes a long way. It is also helping me understand the finesse of message delivery although I am still learning the art of being quiet.

Strong culture equals a strong team.
I have never played a team sport so this one was hard for me.

You are truly only as good as your weakest player. When I started playing our team was very small; we barely had a full roster for most games. Back then you could find me jamming every other jam, sometimes two in a row. Jammers are the only players who can gain points, making us an army of one when we are on the track. But now, when I look to the bench, I see a team full of other jammers and although we are not on the track at the same time, we all take our turns, fighting to gain points for our team. We need each other to make it through a game.

We have worked hard to build our team up. Building up takes time; you need committed people with patience and understanding. You must also share your knowledge for the people around you to learn! To do this better, we had to change our culture to understand that it is ok to help your teammate, it is not going to hurt your abilities or impede your game– it is quite the opposite. As soon as we figured this out, we started to succeed in ways we never imagined.

Change is necessary.
And terrifying and truly difficult but without change, we can’t grow.

Two years ago, our founder stepped down as league president and we pressed deeper into becoming a team governed by by-laws and processes, all of which we had to come up with ourselves. It has been tough to be a part of this emerging Board of Directors and we have a lot of conversations, working to make good decisions for our team. We know what we are doing will set our team up for long-term success which has always been the goal.

Inclusion is not relative.
Roller Derby is a non-traditional sport, it draws a diverse group of non-traditional athletes. We come in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and gender identities:

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) recognizes that individuals who identify as trans women, intersex women, and/or gender expansive may skate with a WFTDA charter team if women’s flat track roller derby is the version and composition of roller derby with which they most closely identify.

It might be a little confusing for those of us that aren’t very familiar with gender identity but what it has taught me is that the most important thing is to love my neighbor. It is not always easy and most of the time it takes me far out of my comfort zone but with questions, I grow my understanding and have gotten the opportunity to build lasting relationships with some amazing people.

“It was both campy and colorful and extremely serious,” she said. “The skaters were having a lot of fun, but they also brought an intensity to it, unlike almost anything I’d ever seen. And I loved the idea of an intense sport that didn’t take itself too seriously.” -Margot Atwell, a.k.a. Em Dash

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Growth is change. It takes time and it requires patience and love — I know I have so much more room to grow! At every practice and every game new knowledge is imparted on me and I am so incredibly thankful for that. And, women, if you want to learn about this first hand, just join me on the oval track.

Editor’s note: If you missed it the first time, you can read more about Brenna, roller derby, and Cystic Fibrosis on our Knickerbocker Film Blog.