Bad girls on wheels [PHOTOS]

72 wheels, 27 sets of protectors and 9 helmets – this is the equipment of Breslau Rebels, a female roller derby team from Wroclaw established in August this year. It consists of nine girls who are not afraid of high speeds or falls. And we must point out that this is not a sport for the sensitive. It is a contact game, and falls are commonplace.

Gliding round and round, but...

If a girl on roller skates makes you think of a delicate figure in shoes with wheels attached to them, this means you haven’t seen female roller-skaters playing roller derby.

Breslau Rebels – a female roller derby team photo: Maciej Margielski

Pushing through, pushing aside, blocking – all of this is permitted to prevent opponents from winning points. This team game is played on an oval track. During the match, each team has maximum 14 players, 5 of whom are selected for a given 2-minute countdown jam. One player is the jammer (a scoring player), whereas the remaining four players are defenders responsible for blocking the opposite jammer or helping their own jammer. But roller derby is not only a sport – all ‘surrounding’ elements are very important. Colourful costumes, strong make-up, tattoos and earrings are only a part of them. The basis of what can be called ‘RD culture’ is the alter ago of each player during matches, hence, for instance, ‘derby names’ – the nicknames that girls give to themselves.

Although professional roller derby is played in the entire North America and almost every European country has its own teams, this sport is only budding in Poland.

Bruises are a normal thing

Obviously, the most important thing in this sport is the roller-skating skill. ‘I put boots with wheels for the first time in March this year,’ says Justyna, one of the players of Breslau Rebels. ‘At first, I even found it difficult to keep the balance, let alone move, and later standing turned out to be not as difficult as slowing down,’ laughs. ‘Altogether, after 2 months of intensive exercises, when I used roller skates almost every day, I became quite good at skating,’ admits Justyna.

In roller derby, wearing protectors is a must. During trainings, girls wear not only roller skates, but also helmets, knee, elbow and wrist protectors, although even such equipment does not make you feel completely ‘safe’. ‘The worst thing is to fall on your… buttocks (this opinion was censored by editors),’ says Paulina from the Wroclaw team. ‘Once I fell so badly that I suspended trainings for one month and a half,’ she admits. To put it simply, a roller derby player must be a girl of character, who is not afraid of bruises, scratches and pain. During professional matches, falls are a completely normal thing that is not a result of stumbles, but of deliberate pushes between players.

Girls of character

The Wroclaw team includes an architect, a bar owner, a young mother or even a doctoral student. What all of the girls have in common, is unusual personality, strong character and passion for roller skates.

photo: Maciej Margielski

‘We make all decisions together, so you can imagine how nine strong-willed girls try to reach a consensus,’ laughs Justyna. ‘But we always manage to do so,’ she adds. In the past, part of the girls from Breslau Rebels had played in another Wroclaw female roller derby team, but they decided to set up their own team according to the DIY (Do It Yourself) principle. ‘We divide all duties among ourselves and each girl is responsible for her own part. Some girls arrange a training plan, and others deal with marketing or organisational matters. To cut a long story short, we arrange everything on our own. When a new girl joins us, one of the players takes care of her and helps her acquire necessary skills,’ she adds.

Not so cheap roller skates

The roller derby equipment is quite a large expense, although it can obviously be sought on the secondary market. Fortunately, girls can rely on help from their teammates when choosing the equipment.

Trainings are held twice a week. ‘We get together near the Wroclaw Stadium, beside the Serowiec building in the campus of the Wroclaw University of Technology or in the Skatepark in the depot at Legnicka. In the winter season, we will train in one of the halls of the Academy of Physical Education,’ they add. You can join the Breslau Rebels team at any time – the girls assure that this sport is really absorbing. Want to try? CLICK.