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Blood, Sweat and bruises is what drives the women of the Gem City Rollergirls as they participate in the fastest growing sport in North America, flat track roller derby. Beneath their rugged exterior are hearts impassioned with a love for the sport.
Blood, Sweat and bruises is what drives the women of the Gem City Rollergirls as they participate in the fastest growing sport in North America, flat track roller derby.
Beneath their rugged exterior are hearts impassioned with a love for the sport.
Let’s be honest, good looking women, rather scantily clad, fighting with each other and on skates is appealing, so I was pleased to work on this story, while also a little fearful for my well being.
I used to watch Roller Derby on television and see how they annihilated each other so what would they do to me? But I found kind, normal every day working women, mostly mothers, who only become ferocious when their skates are laced up.
“I am much different on the track. Normally, I am a shy, quiet person, on the track I am fierce and loud and love the whole physical aspect of the game,” Shan Seitz said, who skates under the name Killian Destroy.
Seitz works as a billing manager and is a mother of three who uses the time on the track to alleviate life’s stresses.
In its second year, the Gem City Rollergirls are Dayton’s first and only skater-owned and operated flat-track roller derby league. Their bouts are held once a month at the Ervin J. Nutter Center and include no script or theatrics as the competition and injuries, if any, are real. 
“If I don’t come out of a bout feeling like I have been hit by a Mack truck, I have not done my job,” Seitz said.
The action is fast paced as they skate with ease, playing offense and defense simultaneously. There is much more skill and precision to the bouts than I expected, it’s a race and a battle of wits played out on top of hard concrete.
It’s the heat of competition that makes all the work worth it and provides the energy to perform without any thought of the risk involved. “My favorite part of being a rollergirl is the bouts. I love lining up on the flat track against some of the best athletes in the sport. Teaming up with my fellow Gem City Rollergirls and putting up the best fight we can is what it is all about to me,” Seitz said.
Each team has five players on the track at a time, consisting of one Pivot, three Blockers and one Jammer. The Jammer, with a star on their helmet, lines up 33 feet behind the others and scores points by passing each opposing skater during a two minute jam period.
It gets physical in the pack while everyone is trying to prevent the Jammer from being able to pass.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Cassie Thorpe a.k.a Right Turn Clyde said, who is in her rookie season.
A long time skater, Thorpe is thrilled to be able to use the talent she developed as a child with many trips to Skyborn Skateland in Fairborn where the team now holds their practices. “Growing up in the 80’s you had to know how to skate,” she said.
Thorpe received some perplexed looks from those at the National City Mortgage Company where she works when she shared her plans to become a Rollergirl. “My boss asked, ‘Are you crazy?’ I said, ‘Yes.’”
Despite warnings from those around her, such as her father’s fear of breaking her neck, Thorpe continued the pursuit of her interest. “It’s cool to get to hit women and not get arrested,” she said.
Beyond the thrill of competition, a goal of the Rollergirls, while balancing family, work and social engagements, is to build positive relationships with other women. And despite what the scoreboard might say, the personal friendships are a victory achieved.
“It’s a sisterhood; we share a lot about whatever is going on in our lives. And everyone is really caring, when there’s an injury everyone always checks on you,” Thorpe said. They all share a united love of the sport and spend many hours a week, sweating together to be the best they can be. While everyone is like family for Seitz there is actually a blood line connection as her sister who skates as Hannah Barbaric is on the team and she aspires to eventually add more relatives. “I have an 18 year old daughter who is starting dental hygiene school this fall. Once she graduates, I hope to have the only league that has a mother/daughter/sister/aunt combination burning up the flat track,” she said.
A red head, it is roller derby that brings out Seitz’s fiery alter ego which, otherwise, stays hidden. “Everyone who knows me, once they hear I play roller derby, are very surprised, especially once they see me play. Killian Destroy is nothing like Shan Seitz,” she said.
It’s on the track that the women release their rabid aggression, all for the delight of the audience. There are two more chances this season to check out the Gem City Rollergirls at the Nutter Center; September 8th and October 21st. Bouts start at 7:30 p.m.
The Rollergirls provide a viewing experience you won’t soon forget.
Where else are you going to see women fighting on skates? If you know, tell me about it because I want to write that article.
To learn more about the Gem City Rollergirls visit www.gemcityrollergirls.com or send inquiries to:
Gem City Rollergirls
PO Box 204
Dayton, OH 45401-0204 |
