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CULT
MELB: ROLLER DERBY GIRLS INVADE MELBOURNE
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Melbourne is a city that thrives on underground sub
cultures. The most exciting one to emerge over the last few
years is the Victorian Women’s Roller Derby League. Now I
hear you asking, "What's on earth is a Roller Derby? It
sounds like its something from a Happy Day rerun?" Well it
very well could be. To find out more I interviewed a
mysterious woman that goes by the stage name of Tonka (yes,
just like the toy) who is the Victoria Roller Derby
spokeswoman. "The sport was really popular from 1930 to
1970's then interests started to waned as roller rinks were
became redundant… in 2001 a bunch of ladies in Texas decided
to revitalize the sport and bring it back into the popular
culture… We started the Victorian Roller Derby league last
year in February. The response has been tremendous. At our
last bout we had 1000 people come watch".
Tonka explains the rules, "You have ten skaters, five from
each team on the track at any particular time. The idea is
to get your jammer, who is the point scorer through the pack
and score as many times within a two-minute jam period".
Tonka continues, "If you're a female and are interested in
joining you can contact via our webpage for more
information… we have fresh meat which for new skaters to
come on board. They have a three-month probationary period.
It's about a year before someone is fit enough to get up to
a public game… It's a huge dedication involved, just not in
terms of the training but also all the other factors. It's a
skater owned and operated organization so we wear multiple
hats. We do all out own coaching and reefing. There is a
huge investment of time of training and the expectation
that's on people that actually became apart of it all.
Tonka finished with the advantages of Roller Derby over
tradition sports. "It is something that's a little left of
centre. It's very Melbourne in terms grassroots nature of
the sport itself. It's something you can have a hand in
shaping for future generations in terms of the running of
the organization and the league itself. You wouldn't
necessarily have those options available to you in your
local netball team. It also teaches women to take care of
themselves, and to be assertive. It’s okay to knock someone
down, it's not a personal thing. There are not too many
sports in which you can do that, then giggle with them about
it later … It's very empowering in term of the physical
aggression and the energy that's put into the sport itself."
The 2008 season starts this Saturday
the 4th at Puckerhandler (Corner of Black and David Streets
Reservoir). Tickets available from the
http://rollerderbyvictoria.wikispaces.com/ Limited
tickets at the door. Doors open from 7pm. Bout starts at
8pm.
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