Norman Einstein's

ISSUE 06 (11/09)

"Derby Girls: a Photo Essay"

by Stephanie Lim

[Stephanie is a photographer and journalist based in Chicago. When not documenting urban decay or modern rituals, she is busily plotting her next global trek. Check out more of Stephanie's work at her site Limpire.]

Several years ago, a friend warned me about roller girls. One roller girl in particular threatened to punch me for messing with her man. "I'd stay away," he told me. "Roller derby chicks are tough."

Ever since that threat, I've been equally fascinated by and fearful of these women. And what the hell is roller derby anyway? Last month, I attended a match, the Windy City Rollers defending their turf one last time this season against the Rose City Rollers (Portland, Oregon).

The Rollers from both the Windy City and the Rose City rank near the top in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. The oldest member of the Chicago league, 54-year old "Flash Hottie," explained some of the basics to me, but it wasn't hard to pick up. The 30-minute halves are divided into two-minute "jams," or scoring periods. During these jams, a designated jammer from each team can score points by passing members of the opposing team as they circle the track. The jammers take off from a starting line behind a pack of skaters and only the first of the two jammers to make it through the pack can score points. Jockeying for position involves blocking, tangling, tumbling, and strategy. One strategic maneuver is popularized in the title of the recent roller derby movie "Whip It." To whip it, one or more teammates accelerate a jammer around or through a pack of opposing skaters.

The flat track is an unforgiving surface to greet once, much less repeatedly. Bruises, broken bones, and debilitating spinal cord injuries are common. But derby girls are tough. With names like Varla Vendetta, Juanna Rumbel, and, my personal favorite, Beth Amphetamine, I know my friend was right in warning me away. Little good it did. I finally met my day of reckoning with a roller derby chick, taken down by one during a speeding spillout while shooting photos outside one of the track's dangerous curves.

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