Derby Dames return for a sixth season of brutal hits and gruesome beauties
Ryan McCullough
Combine the speed of hockey with the savage hits of football and you have the Arizona Derby Dames, a local roller derby league. A match, called a “bout” in derby lingo, lasts for 12 minutes. In every bout there are 12 “jams.” There are five players per team, three blockers, one pivot, and a jammer.
To score in derby, the jammer must lap members of the opposing team. Their own blockers try to make way for the jammer while the opposing blockers do the opposite.
The role of the pivot is to control the pace of “the pack”, a derby term for the group all players except the jammer must stay in. The pack cannot be longer than 20 feet.
Every derby girl dresses up to represent her team. The teams have names like “the Coffin Draggers” or “the Bombshells.” Each derby girl has her own derby name as well. These names can be anything from “Malicious Wishes” to “Abbey Arsenic” to “Craven Cadavers.”
“If you saw all of these girls outside of derby, you would not recognize them,” said Monica Perez, jammer for the Brutal Beauties.
Even Perez would be unrecognizable.
“I don’t walk around in fishnets during my regular day. I’m a parent and I’m an architect,” she said.
Just like any other sport, the women of the Arizona Derby Dames practice five to seven days a week.
“It’s definitely a commitment for each of us. A lot of us have families, some are married,” Perez said.
The women of the league also transport the track to and from the venue. They run the concession stands and clean up after the matches.
“The team who isn’t playing along with our ‘fresh meat,’ who are girls who have tried out and are training now, help out,” Perez said.
On Jan. 29, the Coffin Draggers went up against the Runaway Brides. After 43 jams with a final score of 105-86, the Coffin Draggers took a win.
