“Plow!” yelled Little Miss Trouble, a coach for the Sierra Regional Roller Derby. Skaters rolled to a stop in sync. Then, “Skate!” Ten skaters– eighty little wheels– danced across the sport court at Futsol Sports Arena.
Eight of those wheels belonged to Dobby Sock Em’s, a skater who lives and works in Reno. She’s a big fan of the city– “I love the vibe, how eclectic it’s become. I love everything about it.” For her, Reno and roller derby just make sense together. “I feel like derby is perfect for Reno,” she says. “I would love to see more people involved with it. Because it’s fun, it’s bad *ss. It just gives ‘Reno vibes’ to me.”
The sport of roller derby was born in the 1930s, and over time it has developed into a staple of global feminism. The derby track was one of the first settings where women could compete in an “aggressive” sport. The basic rules are relatively simple: there are five skaters per team on the track, ten skaters total. On each team there is one “jammer” and four “blockers.” All eight blockers form the “pack,” and the jammer’s goal is to break away from that pack. Once free, the jammers skate around the track and attempt to lap the opposing blockers. A point is scored for each blocker that the jammer passes. (You can find the official flat track roller derby rules here).
Rolene preparing to block Savage in photo.
Rolene is a member of Sierra Regional Roller Derby who was born and raised in Reno.
Rolene recalls roller skating frequently as a middle schooler. She was a regular at Roller Kingdom, the big rink at the corner of E. 7th St. and Valley Road. However, when Rolene was a kid, the rink went by a different name: King Skate.
“Every Wednesday it was 97 cents to get in,” she remembers. “Going to Roller Kingdom was something we did on the regular…that does not mean I was a good skater. I was a wall clinger through and through. I could not skate.” (There is a legendary, well known outrageous “commercial” for Roller Kingdom, produced by Rhett and Link, that you can watch here in case you haven’t seen it yet).
Years after her wall-clinging career at the local rink, Rolene decided to pick up the skates as an adult. She and Dobby are both by-products of COVID skating. “In the pandemic, you know, (I was) trying to find outlets to relieve stress, and to find positivity,” says Rolene. “I wanted to find something for myself. And so skating– teaching myself how to skate–was that outlet.”
Rolene and Dobby both decided that they wanted to take their new hobby to the next level. They emailed SRRD, interested in signing up for the league's new skater program. But, like many groups that required in person meetings in order to function, COVID proved to be a difficult time for roller derby.
Stretching is important before you practice. If you’re interested in attending the upcoming Legion Sports Fest, where the group will showcase their talents, more information can be found here: https://centerpodium.com/legion-sports-fest/
Legal 2000, another member, started at SRRD before the shutdown. “During COVID, a lot of (venues) were lost,” she recounts. “We got down to five members. We almost folded. But we came back from COVID with our five or six members. We kept it going.”
Rolene and Dobby were just two members who benefited greatly from SRRD’s survival. They were among 103 new skaters who signed up, 60 skaters who showed up for the first class– and about 40 skaters who stuck around to skate with Sierra Regional.
But, for both Dobby and Rolene, finding community in roller derby wasn’t just about learning a new sport. It’s been life changing. “My thick body has been such a struggle,” Dobby says, her voice laced with emotion. “And I love it now.” Rolene agrees: “We see that (acceptance) within each other. I think it’s contagious. You know, coming to a place where you literally see athletes of all shapes and sizes, work together as a team– there truly is a place for everybody on the track in roller derby.”
If you want to see this incredible and inclusive team in action, they’ll be skating at the upcoming Legion Sports Fest. This event takes place October 7th-8th at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. SRRD will be showcased along with body building, armored combat, muay thai, and other jaw-dropping sports you may not be able to spectate on the regular.
Legal encourages everyone to come and support SRRD this October. Not just because roller derby is fun to watch, but because it’s vital to uplift these sports that are cultivating inclusivity and safe spaces. “For us it’s super important,” says Legal. “We want to showcase a sport where not everyone looks like a bodybuilder. That’s part of our whole thing…there’s room for everyone. We’re bringing nine teams of women of all different sizes, from as far away as Vancouver.”
Self-love and acceptance can be hard to come by. But at Sierra Regional Roller Derby, that is not the case. They’ve formed a community in Reno where folks of all shapes, sizes, colors, and backgrounds are welcomed to their team. Anyone is encouraged to lace up their skates and come try “hitting their friends,” as Coach Little Miss Trouble says.