|
THE QUAD SQUAD - Rollergirls |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Erin Frustaci
|
|
Wednesday, 30 August 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
Page 1 of 6
 |
|
Brad Wakoff | for NEXTnc
Members of the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, Denver’s flat-track roller derby league, practice for the upcoming bout against the Colorado Springs Derby Dames on Monday at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.
|
Segrid Parsons is one tough roller mama. An ICU trauma nurse and mother of four by day, Parsons tackles life with passion, sass, endurance and power. There was no way the 36-year-old from Loveland was going to let the revival of roller derby pass her by.
“I saw it on TV and thought it was something I had to do,” she said. “Now I’m addicted.”
A quick Internet search led her to the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, a flat-track roller derby league in Denver.
Sure, she would have to drive 60 miles three times a week to practice, but she knew the commitment would be worth it.
The support from her family is what makes it doable, though her hands are already full with a 15-, 13-, 9- and 6-year-old and a husband — who can sometimes count as a fifth child, she says.
The second she laces up her quad skates, she becomes Icy U Hurtin’, number 911.
“I have a high-stress job and a high-stress family, so this is my release,” Parsons said. “To hit hard and skate hard releases those endorphins.”
The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, the first all-female roller derby league in Denver and a member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, will go toe-stop to toe-stop against the Pikes Peak Derby Dames, a team from Colorado Springs, Monday at the Budweiser Event Center. But unlike the hit A&E show, “Rollergirls,” this action is not staged for TV. These babes on wheels are for real. Their bouts drip with adrenaline and jams ooze with tactic.
“It’s definitely a technical game,” Parsons said. “It’s a very disciplined sport, which people wouldn’t think.”
Amy Larson, aka Penny Payne, said her job as co-captain and training director is to push the girls, but not too much.
 “I want to make them want to make themselves better, but not quit,” she said.
She joined the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls two weeks after it started in 2004. Now, with her arm in a blue sling, Larson is living proof that the game is a rough one.
“It’s been like this for a couple months,” she said. “The doctor thinks it’s a fracture.”
But gnarly bruises and fishnet burns go with today’s roller derby like disco balls and the hokey pokey of original roller rinks. Roller derby may look a little different now than it did when it was created in 1935, or during its high-point in the ’70s, but the premise is the same.
Autumn Hebener, 27, of Denver, known as Kissa Death on the rink, said roller derby wasn’t a sport she heard much about before joining the league.
“I’m clumsy and not athletic at all,” she said. “I was like, ‘I have to do this.’ The fact that I didn’t come from a sporty background and can consider myself an athlete is awesome. I see the improvement in myself and others.”
Kissa, with her Goth/punkish style, said roller derby has a way of bringing together women who otherwise would have just passed each other on the street.
“It gives us a common goal and a sense of accomplishment,” she said.
Lisa McMullen, 37, of Northglenn said the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls has taught her how to get along better with other women. Being self-employed, McMullen runs a screw gun all day in a man’s world — she and her father own a window treatment business.
McMullen, dubbed Rodeo Red by Royce Ford, a pro bareback rider from Kersey, started skating at 7. She horsed around with speed-skating when she was younger and decided to return to skating in the form of roller derby.
All the members agree they have found more than just another team sport. Beyond the heavy-duty helmets and flashy outfits, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls share a priceless camaraderie, something for which players like Parson will continue to commute.
“It’s a great place to meet strong, independent, athletic women and develop a bond with them,” she said.
|
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
