Roller Derby breaks into scene
Plano welcomes new team to Thunderbird Roller Rink
Kevin Cummings
Staff writer, Plano Star Courier
In a state that places a lot of emphasis in football, a group of women are taking part in a revival of a different kind of sport and making Plano their new home.
Beginning in February, the Assassination City Roller Derby League will be the city’s newest neighbors at the Thunderbird Roller Rink, 3200 Thunderbird Lane. While the costumed women of the four teams that make up Assassination City may be putting on a show, the sport that they play is far from just a game.
“It kind of becomes your way of life, more than just a hobby it’s a passion, an obsession,” said Zena Zom. B of the Deadly Kennedys derby team. “It’s definitely an everyday live, breathe, eat derby. ... Back in the 70s it was scripted, but now no, it’s pure athletic.”
Between the women of Assassination City, there’s been broken bones and nerve damage from play, but according to Zom. B, the question for the doctor is never ‘How bad is the damage’, it’s ‘How long until I can get back on the track,” which shows the sport has come a long way from the days when matches, called bouts, were scripted and the outcomes predetermined.
With rules and regulations from the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, including the type of protective gear the players must wear to the insurance required to play, the sport is pushing to become more professional in every sense and is even attempting to become part of the Olympic games in 2024.
“A lot of people don’t even know we’re here ... and there’s so many people who are like ‘Oh my god I love this, I didn’t even know it was here,’ or people who are older who say, ‘I used to watch this on TV, I didn’t even know it was still around,’” said Cannibal Cupcake, a Plano resident who plays for the Lone Star Assassins. “That’s the thing about this community, is everybody does something completely different, all walks of life, there are no two people that are the same ... it just all different kinds of people.”
The league, which used to call Mesquite home, will be moving to Plano for both its practices, which take place two to three times per week, and its games. With team members, from all over the Metroplex, Zom B said they’re hoping Plano will better suit the league’s needs.
“Texas is kind of the founder of the flat track derby revival; it s definitely a new sport on the rise I think it’s going to be a big thing,” Zom B said. “It definitely pushes you to limits you didn’t even know you could push to.”
According to Southern Vice, a Rowlett resident, mother of two and member of the Viva la Revolucion team, despite the sport’s somewhat violent nature, the bouts are a family event. Children under twelve are just not allowed to sit in the front row, since there is a chance of one of the players being checked over the rail. She also said that roller derby is about more than just a game or pass time.
“It’s addicting ... it’s definitely a stress reliever,” Vice said. “Sometimes it’s just being on your skates, it’s our safe place. It’s like in the real world, everyone of us is somewhat of an outsider, but in this world we all come together. ... At the end of the day we’re all sisters.”
The first bout of the Assassination City league’s 2015 season begins on Feb. 21 and runs through Sept. 19.
“As a woman it’s ... a good empowering sport, it really helps camaraderie,” Cupcake said. “I think that’s what draws people to it, yeah you get to hit people and be all rough, but I think it’s also just the fact that you can go out and be a strong woman.”