Villainelle

Name: Villainelle

Number: 19LN

What are the reasons behind your derby name/number?
When I’m not playing derby, I’m a writing and literature teacher. A villanelle is a kind of poem with a 19-line structure (19LN!). I like to think that derby is sometimes a lot like writing; it requires a certain combination of elegance, intuition, and intelligence.

Which position do you play?
Pivot and jammer

What is your favorite thing about derby?
The learning curve. I get better at something every time I set foot on the track. As a born perfectionist, I used to have a lot of trouble doing anything if I couldn’t do it right the first time. But derby has taught me to enjoy the feeling of screwing something up, then getting better. It reminds me how much I love learning.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned playing derby?
I’ve learned a lot about my own strength, and the strength of the other women on my team. I’m an outspoken feminist, and when I’m faced with someone who tries to argue that women are catty or petty or weak, I can produce hundreds of counter-examples of members of my league overcoming obstacles or resolving conflicts where others might simply give up.

What is your most memorable derby moment?
At our 2011 awards banquet I won Most Improved Player; knowing that my league mates had seen my growth enough to select me helped keep me pushing to do better. But also, this past weekend I got to play in Beaumont with the Diables as we took home a win with only 9 skaters. The high I felt blocking in that game was incomparable to any feeling I’ve ever had.

What are your goals in roller derby?
To keep learning and developing as a player; to go into each bout knowing I’m playing better than I did the time before. But more specifically, right now I’m trying to become a more flexible blocker – playing more positions, working with more people.

Who is your favorite roller derby player?
Do I have to choose just ONE? There are so many amazing girls. Right now I’m working on becoming a better pivot, so I love watching Marquee de Squad of the Mississippi Rollergirls. She controls a pack with tons of confidence and grace. At the Southern Belle Ringer Tournament this past fall, I was transfixed every time she was on the track.

What first attracted you to derby?
I honestly don’t really know. Probably the bizarre challenge that it posed. I’ve done a lot of different things in my life, but nothing remotely similar to this. The social component is amazing too, though. It really is true that my league mates are my family. I love those girls, undeniably.

What type of gear do you prefer?
My strongest allegiance is to my wheels – I use Reckless Evaders and you could not pry them from my cold, dead feet.

Villainelle jamming

What do you do when you’re not playing derby?
I teach English at Southern University here in Baton Rouge. So it follows that most of my free time involves reading and writing. I’m also passionate about women’s issues and gay rights, so I do lots of research and advocacy based around women’s health and equality. Basically, I yell a lot about the PATRIARCHY. I appreciate that my teammates find a way to tease me affectionately about this, rather than saying, “Vill, SHUT UP!” which is what most people say.

Do you have a favorite skating song or a theme song?
I love to skate to Janelle Monae’s whole catalogue. But my personal theme song is The Old 97′s “Roller-skate Skinny”. Because it’s totally true that there “ain’t nobody gonna see eye to eye/with a girl who’s only gonna stand collar-bone high.”
Do you have any advice to anyone thinking about playing derby? Don’t be a damn perfectionist about it. You CAN get better.

Is there any teammate with whom you work best?
SO MANY. Skating with different players is one of the cool things about derby because it allows you to form very intimate connections with a lot of people. And so, in lieu of providing a long list of everything I like about everyone (y’all are awesome!) I will instead give a shout-out to Jams P Skullivan, who has always been my favorite blocking partner – even though she defected this season to full-time jamming status. Our skating styles were always complimentary, and we had good on-track psychic powers.

Did you play any sports before roller derby?
Anytime I tried to play team sports as a kid, I was the one standing out in the field staring at bugs. My competitive spirit was mostly reserved for things like debate team and raising my hand first for all the questions in class. I considered intellectual ping pong a full-time sport. But I was a dancer (mostly ballet) for a good bit of my adolescence, and I think some of those skills translated into derby.

When did you join Red Stick Roller Derby?
April 2010

Name

Number: 9MM

What are the reasons behind derby name/number?
The name started as a joke when people said my name should have something to do with my occupation. Somehow, people loved it and it stuck.

Which position do you play? Blocker, jammer (sometimes)

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned playing derby?
I’ve learned how much I enjoy the sport and doing something outside of work.

What is your most memorable derby moment?
Locking arms with an opposing skater during my 1st bout ever. Also, how my best friend made t-shirts with my face on them and got a group of people to wear them to the bout.

What are your goals in roller derby?
Continue to have a strong, competitive team. And keep enjoying the sport.

Who is your favorite roller derby team?
So far, I like ALL teams.

What first attracted you to derby?
My friends and I, the same ones who made the shirts, went to a home bout in BR. I had never seen it and knew nothing about roller derby. After the first 5 minutes, all I wanted to know was, “How do I join?”

What type of gear do you prefer?
187 pads. I love Atom wheels.

What do you do when you’re not playing derby?

Glock Strap blocking; AKoch Photography

Outside roller derby, I work in the Uniform Patrol Division of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.

Do you have a favorite skating song or a theme song?
There are many songs I love skating to, but my favorite is “Footloose.”

Do you have any advice to anyone thinking about playing derby?
Learn to skate before joining. It’s like learning to swing a bat before joining a baseball team. It’s kinda important. Skating is the base of the sport.

Did you play any sports before roller derby?
Nope. I didn’t play sports in high school or college.

When did you first join Red Stick Roller Derby?
After that 1st bout, I joined the league. June 2010.

CherKhan

Name: CherKhan

Number: 1031

What are the reasons behind derby name/number?
I thought it would be hilarious to hear someone shouting, “KHAN!!!” in the middle of the pack.  1031 is my favorite holiday, and it’s also my wedding anniversary.

Which position do you play?
Blammer

What is your favorite thing about derby?
I love that there is no specific derby body type…every size and shape has different strenghts and weaknesses.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned playing derby?
Everything happens when you least expect it—keep your head on the swivel! (Also a good mantra for life)

What is your most memorable derby moment?
During my first bout, I hipchecked an opposing blocker, totally throwing her to the ground.  She looked up and said, “nice hit!”   

CherKhan playing - CajunCandids.com

What are your goals in roller derby?
To score more points than the other team–duh!

What first attracted you to derby?
The gratuitous violence and the pretty girls

What type of gear do you prefer?
I haven’t tried many different pads yet, but I just got new Vanilla boots–the most amazingly comfortable footwear ever!

What do you do when you’re not playing derby?
I enjoy making balloon animals, decorating cakes, and sleeping.  I really love sleeping.

Do you have a favorite skating song or a theme song?
It’s a toss-up between ”Tea” by King Diamond and “It’s Raining Men” by the Weather Girls.

Do you have any advice to anyone thinking about playing derby?
DO IT!!!  Never hesitate!

Is there any teammate with whom you work best?
While I like working with different teammates, I have to admit it’s a real treat to play alongside my derby wife, Blu.

Did you play any sports before roller derby?
I was a cheerleader and captain of my golf team (don’t judge me), although I did have a short, humiliating run in fourth grade playing girls’ fastpitch softball.  I should just stick with roller derby!

Jams P. Skullivan

Name: Jams P. Skullivan

Number: A113

What are the reasons behind your derby name/number?
I wanted a derby name that could play off my own last name and express my love of Disney. Since Monsters, Inc. is one of my all-time favorite movies, I decided James P. Sullivan, aka Sulley, was the perfect character to mold my name after. I picked the number A113 because that number is hidden in every Disney/Pixar movie, except Monsters, Inc.

Which position do you play?
Jammer, mostly.

When did you first join Red Stick Roller Derby?
I entered the Fresh Meat program in October 2010 and bouted for the first time in January 2011.

What is your favorite thing about derby?
Knowing that I’m part of a truly amazing subculture. Finding derby was like finding where I belong.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned playing derby?
Attitude is everything. Natural ability can only carry you so far. The rest is in your hands.

What is your most memorable derby moment?
Being awarded my bearing necklace. It’s a rite of passage in our league to earn a skate bearing on a chain after bouting for the first time. I wear that bearing with pride every day.

What are your goals in roller derby?
Never stop learning. Never stop improving. Never stop striving to play better. Never stop having fun. I want to evolve with the game and I want to continue to enjoy every second of it.

Who is your favorite roller derby player?
Isabelle Ringer of the San Diego Derby Dolls. I took one of her classes at RollerCon last year and it was phenomenal.

What first attracted you to derby?
The pure athleticism of it. I’ve been an athlete my whole life, and I loved skating when I was a kid, so I knew this was a sport for me.

What type of gear do you prefer?
In my opinion, Atom Wheels and Riedell skates are the way to go. The rest of my gear is Triple 8 and so far it’s working great.

What do you do when you’re not playing derby?
I work at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. My job title is “Coordinator of Fiscal Operations.” That just means I pay bills and plug stuff in spreadsheets all day long. When I’m not at work I’m usually hanging out with my two dogs.

Do you have a favorite skating song or a theme song?
If I’m just skating around to work on endurance, I prefer listening to bouncy power pop bands. If I had a theme song, I’m pretty sure it’d be “Pump Up The Jam” by Technotronic.

Do you have any advice to anyone thinking about playing derby?
You might not know what you’re doing when you start, but if you’re really dedicated to it and you pour your heart and soul into it, you will succeed.

Did you play any sports before roller derby?
I grew up playing softball and I’ve played just about everything else there is. But I’d have to say derby is the best sport I’ve ever played.

Kat Attack

Name: Kat-Attack

Number: SK8

What are the reasons behind your derby name/number?
I wanted my name to be part of my derby name. My favorite number is 8.

Which position do you play?
Jammer & Blocker.

What is your favorite thing about derby?
Being part of a powerful team/family.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned playing derby?
Being a team player. We win together and lose together.

What are your goals in roller derby?
I just try to give my best when I am playing.

What first attracted you to derby?
My first bout I went to with a friend, I looked over at my husband and said, “I have to do that.” And here I am playing.

Kat-Attack Skating

What do you do when you’re not playing derby?
I am a foreclosure specialist. I love the outdoors. You will find us in the woods hunting in the winter, and you will find us on the water in the summer, fishing and boating.

Do you have any advice to anyone thinking about playing derby?
It is a BIG commitment. You have to give it your all. You cannot just give a little.

Is there any teammate with whom you work best?
I try to work with everyone I am with.

Did you play any sports before roller derby?
When I was much younger I did speed skate. My mom always told me skating was in my blood. I am now almost 40 and still love skating.