Long Island Roller Rebels

Long Island Roller Rebels

By Tiffany Razzano

This must be punk rock heaven. Girls with mohawks, piercings and multi-colored hair skate around the rink in short skirts, face paint and colorful uniforms - almost as colorful as their nicknames. As they skate, pushing and fighting past one another, they morph into a blur of color, particularly those with entire sleeves of tattoos on their arms and legs.

Those who don't know any better make comparisons to the likes of the World Wrestling Federation. With entertaining names, such as Vicious Panties and Killer Tofu, the violence and the pain, which, by the way, are very real, and the sheer pageantry and bravado of the event, it's easy to see why comparisons can be made between roller derby and wrestling. The Roller Rebels, however, have much more heart, soul and integrity. Their bouts, also, are unscripted. And the precious time and money they commit, along with the potential bodily harm, are all for the sake of their newfound love for roller derby.

The skating rink was hot and stuffy, uncomfortable for most, but it didn't keep over 400 people from pouring into Skate Safe America in Bethpage on May 27. The Mid-Island Rolling Thundercats were going up against the East End Ladies of Laceration.

It was the Long Island Roller Rebels second bout of the season and their third bout ever. These attendance numbers are tame compared to their first bout in February, which drew over 1,000 people intrigued by an all-female roller derby. The first bout of the league's inaugural season, held April 22, attracted about 850 fans. League Coordinator, Captain Morgan, attributes the decline in attendance for the third bout to the fact that many people likely went away for the long Memorial Day weekend.

The Thundercats wound up defeating the Ladies of Laceration 125 to 95, making them undefeated so far this season. They beat the Wicked Wheelers of the West 124 to 84 at the April bout.

With the inception of the Roller Rebels, roller derby is back on Long Island for the first time since the 1970s. Pierced, fierce, punk and tattooed, the Long Island Roller Rebels mean business as they bring their do-it-yourself, grassroots movement to Nassau County.

Starting off in August of 2005 as an unorganized handful of girls skating around local tennis courts in Westbury, the league has evolved very quickly. Today - less than a year later - the league consists of about 40 girls, from all over Long Island and some even traveling from NJ, Queens and Harlem, on three teams - the Wicked Wheelers, the Ladies of Laceration and the Rolling Thundercats. There's also a group called Fresh Blood, which essentially is a group of girls interested in the league, but without a team.

After only two bouts of their first season, the league is already planning its expansion, with one new team, if not two, planned for next season. According to Captain Morgan, of approximately 108 leagues that have popped up around the country as the popularity of roller derby grows nationwide, the Long Island Roller Rebels are definitely progressing the fastest.

According to Kimmie Sumore, a member of the Wicked Wheelers, Captain Morgan is the "rock of the whole league." She arranges everything for the Roller Rebels and has also become the resident roller derby expert by doing extensive research into the sport. This is something Sumore finds funny because at the very first meeting, Captain Morgan asked, "Where's the ball?"

Now Captain Morgan is the go-to girl for everything roller derby. She's also easily the most committed girl in the league. "I work full time, 40 hours a week," she said. "I spend most of my time [at my job] doing [roller derby work.] I lost all my friends. I never have time for them. [The roller derby] is my social network now."

Under her leadership, the girls were able to skate past some pretty significant issues that might have stopped any other fledgling league in its tracks. The most significant problem faced was the resignation of Ladies of Laceration co-captain and league founder Dirty Gertie. Dirty Gertie originally named the league the Rockabetty Bruisers.

From the beginning there were issues with starting the league. For one, there was a problem finding a practice venue, as well as having the money for the league to be able to rent practice space and pay for insurance.

"Money is always a difficulty," said Roxie Heartless of the Rolling Thundercats and is also in charge of merchandise for the league. "We have to pay for practice spaces, pay for all the things we are trying to sell. You have to have money to sell things. There's always a shortage of money, which is always a big problem."

According to Butterscotch Cripple, a member of the Wicked Wheelers who travels 85 miles one way from NJ to attend practices, bouts and fundraisers and is in charge of sponsorship for the league, indoor rinks charge the league $100 an hour for the first hour of practice time and $50 for each subsequent hour. For bouts, they split ticket sales down the middle with Skate Safe, who allows them to use the rink from 4 p.m. until midnight on these nights.

The Roller Rebels were also homeless for a bit. Now they primarily use Skate Safe as well as United Skates in Seaford, and an outdoor rink in West Hempstead. Prior to that they were practicing on tennis courts and outdoor rinks, in search of a permanent place to practice and hold bouts. The girls even had the cops called on them one night while practicing on a tennis court in Baldwin, said Butterscotch Cripple. They weren't supposed to be on the courts after sundown, but because most of the girls have full-time jobs during the day, nighttime is the only time they could get together.

As these problems continued to grow, Captain Morgan stepped up to organize the league more efficiently. She and Dirty Gertie butted heads on how the league should be run.

In January, Dirty Gertie, who had recently gotten engaged to league referee Goose, left the league and took its name with her. She felt that since she had founded the league and was no longer involved with it, the name should be changed.

Frantic and scrambling to retain the identity it could potentially lose with its name, the team captains put several new names together for the entire league to vote on. The Long Island Roller Rebels was the name that was ultimately chosen. This all happened a mere month before the girls' first bout in February, Captain Morgan said.

"After that we all came together. A few of us took on a lot of responsibility, but we organized under several committees and now we are incorporated and have an executive board," she said.

Photos by Jeremy Grand

Roxie Heartless feels that after Dirty Gertie left it was a positive thing that they decided to start fresh. "There was definitely turmoil involved, as there is in any change like that. But it wasn't a terrible [thing for the league,]" she said. "Everyone banded together. We knew we needed to make it work and that we couldn't let it fall apart."

Now the group is looking towards the future with their possible expansion. The league is attracting more and more girls, either through friends of roller girls or friends of friends or with their ever growing presence on the Internet, particularly on MySpace.com.

"I know there's a lot of girls eager to try out, so that's pretty exciting," Roxie Heartless said. "[When we get] more teams, I think it will be more interesting for the fans. It's just more people [for them] to possibly root for and I think it's good for us."

The league has also set up a travel team to play against teams from other leagues. The first interleague bout will be against the Boston Derby Dames on June 17. More are being planned against other leagues in neighboring states, such as the Penn/Jersey She Devils.

Captain Morgan said, "I don't think any of us joined roller derby thinking we would be running a business organization. But here we are, all DIY, and makes it even all the more worth while."

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