Roller Derby to hit the flat track in the Olean area!

A new sport is on the rise, and it's taking the Enchanted Mountains by storm. Roller derby has seen a resurgence of popularity in the Untied States, and the Enchanted Mountain region is not going to be left out.

The Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby league has made its way onto the stage, in search of accreditation by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The league boasts a roster of 22 skaters of different ages ans walks of life. 

According to the League's Facebook, they are “A group of powerful women who had been skating together since March of 2010 formed this 100 percent skater run and owned league. Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby brings the excitement and exhilaration of roller skating to a new level.”

The important part of this is that the league is completely owned by the women on the track. They are the ones that control the purse strings.

But why would a group of women, some who have no skills on their wheels, join a roller derby league?

“We are all here for different reasons,” league member, Trixie Pixie said. “Some of the girls come to us for fitness, some come as an escape from home.”

The image of roller derby is one of tough women skating around the track, looking for a victim to clothesline, or someone to plant into the track, for some people. That's not what you'll find in the WFTDA-affiliated leagues.

“That style is the old-school derby,” Trixie said. “We use strategy and we have referees on the track to call out penalties. It's not all about the big hits and the rough skating anymore. It's a game of figuring out how you prevent the other team from scoring.”

The game is now a family-friendly one, she continued. 

“We want this to be something that a family can come to and there not be anything parents wouldn't want their kids to see,” she said. Trixie is a mother, herself.

For those unfamiliar with roller derby, WFTDA rules have been established to help promote that family-friendly atmosphere, as well as promote the sporting idea of the game.

Teams of five skaters take their place on the track, four blockers and a jammer. The jammer is the player doing the scoring. As the players skate around the track, the jammer must make a pass through the pack of four blockers, and back around to the back of the pack before scoring can take place. At that point, the jammers score points as they pass the blockers who, as their name implies, make attempts to block the jammer from passing. There are zones on the body where contact can legally happen, and places that will result in penalties. Ann important element of the game is that all players on the track must continue to be moving.

The girls of the Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby go by names like Jenicidal Maniac, Lynsanity, Icky Thump and Half-Pint Destroy Her, but they are out there for fun and camaraderie, much like the guys that take the gridiron every year to play football. These women are not paid, but do it for the love of their sport, and their friendships developed as they make their way up the rankings within their own league, and, eventually, into the WFTDA rankings.

The Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby league has been fortunate to have considerable help in getting started by the Queen City Roller Girls, a WTFDA-endorsed league, from Buffalo. 

“They helped us in learning the game and helping us set up our governing body,” Trixie said. “Those girls have been a tremendous help to us.”

The Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby schedule for their inaugural season has been set, and will begin May 7 as the girls take on their mentors, The Queen City Roller Girls. Her is the whole season at a glance:

May 7: Queen City Roller Girls
June 11: at Oz (Oswego County )
June 18: Blue Stockings (Ithaca)
July 9: Chautauqua
Jult 16: at Bluestockings
Aug. 13: TBD
Aug. 20: Oz

All of the league's home bouts will be played at the William O. Smith Recreation Center, in Olean, 101 East State St. Door open at 6:30 with the action set to start at 7:30.

Interested in the league? Want to find out more? The girls practice at the Limestone High School every Wednesday at 8 p.m. And on Sundays, starting at noon. 

The ladies will also be holding a benefit at Cojones Cantina, 206 West State St., in Olean, Feb. 12. There will be an auction of the derby girls as a “date for the night.” A portion of the proceeds will go to the Southern Tier Child Advocacy Center.