Meet the Kick-Ass Women of the Texas Banked Track Roller Derby
We caught up the “derby girls” late in the TXRD season, and flying elbows have taken their toll.
Saturday night’s big bout featured the Putas del Fuego (whores of fire) and the Holy Rollers, who fielded a lineup heavy on replacement players, since their roster was decimated by injuries. In front of a raucous convention center crowd of nearly a thousand, the Rollers kept the game tight, before the Putas finally pulled ahead, thanks in part to quick passing by Knockout, the Putas’ jammer (a point-scoring position.) Here’s a look at what it takes to be Texas tough.
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Greetings From Austin
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone There’s a slogan you see a lot of these days in Austin: “Don’t Mess With Texas Women.” Though that phrase doesn’t refer to derby, exactly, it certainly applies
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Stretch Before Practice
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone Our roller-derby deep dive start in a sweltering warehouse on Austin’s south side, where the “derby girls” slam each other against rails, throwing elbows, and hip-checking each other while skating around a banked wooden track. But first it starts with some much-needed stretching.
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Handles
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone All roller girls use a “derby name.”
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Break From Practice
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone Things can heat up in their training warehouse, the Thunderdome.
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Warpaint
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone Roller girls play up their alter egos.
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Lacing Up
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone -
Pre-Game Huddle
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone -
Starting Line
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone “[Playing on a banked track] looks cooler, and when you hit hard, people fly through the rail. I still want to see that, even after skating for seven years,” says Doublewide.
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Wipe Out
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone Since the banked track heightens gravity’s effect on the game’s play, it brings bigger hits, harder bumps and messier wrecks.
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Tough It Out
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone “If you’re not ready for the sport physically, you’ll know, because you’ll get injured or worse, broken,” Doublewide explains.
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Injuries
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone Most derby careers don’t last very long, as concussions, hematomas, blown-out knees and busted lips take a toll.
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Big Crowds
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone The big Saturday night bout is in front of a raucous convention center crowd of nearly a thousand and features the Putas del Fuego (whores of fire) and the Holy Rollers, who fielded a lineup heavy on replacement players, since their roster was decimated by injuries.
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Women in Charge
Image Credit: Drew Anthony Smith for Rolling Stone “We’re owned and operated and run by women,” Knockout says. “I’ve never really been in a space with that freedom. You just don’t feel like you’re being judged for anything. … You get to forget about everything for two hours and you hit your friends – and then you hug it out and then you go drink together.”