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Tonya Papanikolas Reporting Decades after it went out of style, a popular women's sport is making a comeback in Utah. It's a game with an edge and the women like it that way.
It's a game of speed and toughness, just for women. These are the Salt City Derby Girls, 60 women who love to play roller derby!
Manna Rama, "Leave it to Cleavers" Teammate: "It's kind of like football and bowling mixed, but without a football, without a bowling ball."
And you sort of use your teammates as the ball.
Lunch Lady, "Leave it to Cleavers" Teammate: "Guys love it. They think it's awesome. They see a bunch of girls out on a skating rink beating each other up."
Here's how it works: At the same time, each team tries to get their "jammer" - the skater with stars on their helmets - to pass everyone else.
Cassius Slay, "Sisters of No Mercy" Teammate: "They earn a point for each person on the opposite team that they pass."
Meanwhile, teammates are trying to block the jammers. It makes for a lot of falls.
Cassius Slay: "It's fun to knock people down, and it's not so awesome when it's you on the other end."
Lunch Lady: "If we do get hurt, we get back up and go, go, go."
In this kind of sport, injuries are part of the game.
Manna Rama: "I had a broken rib, I had a broken toe, I had a chest contusion. I was coughing up blood last week, but you still love it? I love it!"
Though roller derby is a tough sport, there are rules. You can't elbow the girls, trip them or grab them. You have to hit them with your shoulders or hips.
Manna Rama: "The misconception is that it's fake, that it's like WWF. And it's actually real and the injuries are real."
The names, however, are not. Each player gets to pick their own. There's ‘Smother of pearl,' Blonde Ammunition,' ‘Genocide Jenny,' ‘Cruel Intentions,' and ‘Bam Malicious.'
Cassius Slay: "It's a rule in derby - you can't call anybody their real name. It has to be their derby name."
Derby costumes are important as well. You'll see a lot of fishnets and funky stockings underneath those roller skates. Depending on the teams, the players may wear improvised nun costumes or 50s housewives attire.
Lunch Lady: "It's kind of like Halloween year-round."
Despite their campy image, the women want people to know they come from every walk of life.
Cassius Slay: "There's some older ones, younger ones, there's moms."
Lunch Lady: "I am a lunch lady in real life. I work at a day care. I serve lunch to kids."
When they're in the rink, though, they're just competitors on wheels, trying to get to the front of the pack. The Salt City Derby Girls have grown from 10 players to 60 in the last year. Starting this Saturday, their games will be held at the Utah Olympic Oval.
