http://ipraudio.interlochen.org/2011-05-27%20TC%20Derby%20-%20ME%20FTR.mp3
Tom Kramer
Tomorrow night, roller derby comes to Traverse City. The Traverse City Toxic Cherries make their first home stand
against the Jack Town Rollers, from downstate Jackson. The bout has been dubbed "Memorial Mayhem" and takes place
at the Civic Center in Traverse City.
Competitive roller skating was a popular sport back in the
late 1800's with teams of skaters racing around an oval track. Today's roller derby still takes place on an oval track, but
it has evolved into a hard-hitting, fast-paced bout with two teams trying not
to be lapped by an opposing skater known as the jammer.
One version of Roller Derby is women's flat track which has
seen a meteoric rise in popularity since starting about seven years ago. The Traverse City Toxic Cherries is one of 17 teams in
Michigan. And whe Justin Pierick reads its roster, it sounds like a who's who from a comic strip
villain's convention, "We've got
Rochella Deville, Kung-Fu Cupcake, Beano Evil, Molly McButtkicker, Peachie
Queen, Ju-Ju Kitty, Joni Busta, Ninja Nurse, Dottie Mayhem, Edgy Cate,
Diamondback Dawn, Heathee Breather."
Justin Pierick is the head coach of the Toxic Cherries and Leah Singer is the team's captain - their derby names are, The Quad-Father and
Yoko-Oh-No-You-Didn't, respectively.
Those derby names are a big part of the sport. Each player and coach adopts an on track persona when they suit-up for a bout. That derby persona is made complete with the uniforms -
safety gear - helmets and knee and elbow pads and wrist guards - complimenting
fish-net stockings and short skirts.
This is not your average after-work social sports team. On the track the skaters are tough; elbows flying, sliding on one knee, using their whole bodies
to block and slam into each other as they skate around the track. But off the track, it might be hard to tell these women spend
several nights a week training in an old warehouse for a sport where one team
advertised itself with a poster saying "Blood. The new pink." Leah Singer, when not on skates, actually sounds pretty
normal.
Leah Singer say, "I work in
digital marketing; I've been doing that for about 4 years now. I graduated from Michigan State in 2005 with
a journalism degree. After I graduated
from school I moved back here and have been working ever since."
Doesn't really sound like a woman who enjoys skating around
a concrete track slamming into other skaters at full speed, does it? What about her coach?
Justin Pierick says, "Right
now I'm doing a masters degree in International Relations and I'm working at my
dad's garden store."
So what does it take to bring out the appropriate derby
persona at the right moment?
Leah Singer says, "I don't know,
that's a good question. I think there's
definitely a part of me on the track that doesn't come out when I'm not"
But Singer says there have been times when Singer has needed to restrain
her inner derby girl, "You know, sometimes it's funny like, this
is going to sound awful, but when I'm driving my car I'll just be like, 'Man I
wish I could booty block that person out of my way so I can switch lanes.' But
obviously I can't do that because that would be awful. It's definitely more Yoko coming into Leah
than the other way around."
A little discretion that Yoko needn't worry
about this weekend at the Memorial Mayhem with the Traverse City Toxic Cherries
hosting their first home bout against the Jack Town Rollers.