Sat 5/27 @ 5PM
Every spring when Euclid’s C.E. Orr Ice Arena melts its ice, there are dozens of competitive women who get the itch to lace up their roller skates, don a helmet, and slide on knee and elbow pads with the intent of barreling around a rink.
Yes, roller derby is alive and well in Northeast Ohio with the Burning River Roller Derby. The league consists of three teams: Burning River All Stars (A travel team), Burning River Hazmat Crew (B travel team) and Pyromaniacs (C travel team).
In a nutshell, roller derby is played when two teams put five members into the track. Each team has two minutes to try to get their jammer through the other team’s blockers. As the jammer gets through, that team scores one point for every opposing skater they lap. In the meantime, the blockers are also attempting to keep the other team’s jammer from getting through. The games are called bouts and the energy is fast-paced.
CoolCleveland talked to Burning River Roller Derby VP of public relations Allie “ChewRockYa” Mackerty.
Tell us about the Burning River Roller Derby.
Right now, we’re in the middle of our home season. We started on May 6, and we have our next bout on May 27. We have five or six home weekends and those consist of doubleheaders. That goes from May to July. For women’s flat-track roller derby, they call the teams leagues. We’re actually the Burning River League, and we play other teams in the area. There’s a league in Toledo, Columbus, etc.
How many members are in your league?
We have about 50. That includes all three teams, but we also have a class of about 15 or 16 that are currently in our Skater Tot program. Skater Tots aren’t full members yet. It’s just a way of indicating these players are new to roller derby. They’re starting their journey so they’re a little bit fresh to the sport. You have to be 18 or over to play with us.
Would you characterize Burning River Roller Derby as comparable to a weekend softball or basketball league?
It’s a little more organized than that. We charge admission to our games. It’s not necessarily an adult league like rec things. ESPN3 has been airing the championship the last couple of years. No one gets paid and all of the leagues are run by the skaters. Some of the top-tier players in the world will get sponsorships and things like that. We are our own board and each player pays dues to play and each player helps do things like organize sponsors, get our liquor license, etc. And every league in the country is run that way.
What’s the biggest misconception regarding the sport of roller derby?
When I started, the biggest misconception was people think it’s staged. When I got into it in the ’90s, there were a lot of staged roller derby matches, kind of like professional wrestling. Today, a lot of skaters still wear fun makeup or outfits, but the sport is very much real sport. None of the hits are fake. It’s all very intense, and these women are definitely amazing athletes. You have to imagine the football player doing the running around and diving over people and dodging people and getting tackled while on skates. So, it’s definitely a legitimate sport. People don’t realize how intense it is until they watch it.
Is it dangerous?
It can be pretty dangerous. I just had a concussion. I was out for two months. Girls have broken their feet, arms, legs. I mean, it’s definitely a pretty intense sport, but no more than any other sport.
How did you get involved with roller derby?
I played softball and hockey since I was little. A lot of the skating for roller derby translated pretty easily. There are differences going from a blade to four wheels. You roll a lot more, but I think it served me well when I came to Burning River.
Finally, who would enjoy either watching a bout or giving roller derby a go?
Honestly, we have people of all backgrounds. We tend to pull in people who are fans of Cleveland sports, but we also have a lot of people who just enjoy something different and enjoy seeing women being empowered. We have skaters who have never played a sport before they started playing this one. We cover a lot of bases in terms of people we attract. We’re definitely trying to get more people who are interested in seeing something new, but still something very challenging and very athletic.
Find a full schedule of bouts here.
[Written by John Benson]
Euclid, OH 44123