English

1. What really let you to join this sport?

    Let me? I'm assuming you meant "led" me, so I'll answer in that form. :-)  I went to the 2013 home opener game after my boyfriend      suggested I look into it and possibly join.  At the end of the first jam, I was hooked. I knew from that moment on roller derby wasn't something I wanted to do, but NEEDED to do.  I've been hooked on derby since that first jam and on. 

2. How do you draw excitement from the sport?

    I get excitement working with a cohesive team and functioning as a unit. A good practice can really pump you up and boost your confidence. And winning a game? That's a whole other level of excitement that can't be matched.

3. How many years have you played this sport?

    This is the start of my 2nd season with Nor Cal Roller Girls, and in April I will have been skating for 1 year.

4. What were the main goals for the invention of the sport? 

  I'm not sure what you mean by this question...but roller derby has gone thru a couple of revolutions. 

5. Aren't you just as concerned as me that the sport is too abrasive, too dangerous?

   Too dangerous? No.  There are many things that are dangerous without even leaving the house.  To me, you should really live life. You only get 1 shot at this life, why not make the most of it. There's a quote that says, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." That's how I live my life.  Roller derby makes me feel complete, confident, sexy, and just awesome. It's a sisterhood that you can't find anywhere else. I know if something were to happen and I needed someone to talk to or help, there are 35 women (I play for 2 teams Nor Cal Roller Girls and Shasta Roller Derby) who would have my back without hesitation in an instant.   And abrasive? No. It's tough, and rough..but not abrasive. The roller derby community is compassion, friendship, and respect. If I were to travel to another city and need a place to stay, ANY roller derby girl, even if I didn't know them,  would open up their home just because we are derby sisters. 

6. What are some of the strategies that you have running in your endeavors to popularize the sport among the old and young alike?

  Mostly, we talk a ton of derby and try to be seen in the public and at the rink as often as possible. We have even joined forces with Habitat for Humanity, Torres Shelter, and other local charities to help our community. The most popular two consecutive sentences I have encountered are, "You play roller derby?! How cool!" We encourage everyone to come to our bouts. They are truly family fun. Nor Cal Roller Girls even has a jr. derby team. Junior Derby is a great confidence booster for kids. And in an age of hundreds of TV channels, Xbox, Wii, and smartphones, it's a great form of exercise and social interaction among kids their own age without the need to be plugged into something.

7. What are some of the challenges you undergo in trying to gain recognition and popularizing the sport?

  Roller derby is currently one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are both making tremendous strides in forming a league in the UAE. And currently there are over 1,000 leagues around the world. Yet, locally people don't know Chico even has a team (They are actually 2 teams in Chico. Viva and Nor Cal Roller Girls). 

8. The sport is an all female sports: what is your reaction with the entrance of the male folk recently? Do you feel that this is a trap to sabotage the goal and purposes of the game?

   Not true. It's not all female. Nor is it all male. There are co-ed teams that exists and compete against each other.  In absolutely no was do I feel trapped or that men are trying to sabotage the goal and purposes of roller derby. 

9. Allegedly, it has constantly been reported in the mainstream media that this sport of a defiant women trying to equate themselves to their male counterparts. What is your opinion on this?

   Again, not true at all. The sport is full of many types of women. Yes, some can be defiant, but some also walk the straight and narrow line of life,  some are even God-fearing well behaved women. Roller Derby is not a stereotype, it's a sport..just like any other popular sport. That's not saying roller derby is for the faint of heart.  It does take a certain kind of person to be hip checked by a 200lb woman and get knocked down then get right back up (you have about 3 seconds max to get up), get back up to your pack, and hip check that woman back.  You have to be tough enough to endure that every week, every practice, every game. Does it hurt? Well sure. But so does every sport. Every sport, weather it's bad mitten, volleyball, or roller derby, comes with a risk of some sort. During the day, I work on an ambulance providing pre-hospital care to the sick and injured.  You wouldn't stereotype soccer, or football, or basketball, so why stereotype roller derby?  

10. How would you say the government and the public at large have been supportive towards the course?

   I don't know what the government has to do with roller derby, but I know the community supports us and is encouraging of us. Our next home bout is a fundraising bout  with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Butte County Humane Society.

11. Any plans for the future?

   There are always plans for the future. Just like in life, you never stop learning in roller derby. Ever. There is always a new move, a new strategy, or a weakness you can learn about or build on. I split my goals up into weeks, months, years. My goal for this week is improve my over-all skating ability at SRD. My goal for this month is clear a 20 inch jump (I cleared 18 inches Tuesday night) and win our (NCRG) away game on March 29th. My goal for the end of next year is to be ask to be a borrowed skater for another league.

12. What tournament are you planning to attend in the future?

  I enjoy going to Red Red. It's a tournament hosted by Sac City in Woodland and is a combination of all levels of play and you get divided into teams and given a color. Then you compete against other colors. Top 3 teams in the tournament get medals.

13. In retrospect, would you encourage you sibling or children to join the sport?

 I encourage all able bodied people to join roller derby. Male, female, junior, anyone! It's a great sport with even better friendships. You don't even need to know how to skate. We teach you everything you need to know to play roller derby, including how to skate. That's what we call "Fresh Meat". And if for whatever reason you can't or don't want to join roller derby, then I encourage folks to support their local roller derby team. 

14. Has the sport achieved its goals and if yes what are they?

   I think goals are always changing, revising, and improving.  I think it has met goals, like it's family fun popularity, but still has goals it needs to achieve, recognized as a  non-stereotyped sport.

15. Your final remarks. What can you tell folks out there who would like to join the sport?

  You can check us out on facebook, come check us out at a bout, and feel free to always ask any of us questions. Derby is a very big part of all of our lives, and we love derby. We think about derby all day and all night. Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Derby. :-)