The CoMo Roller Derby League returns to the rink.

As the members of the CoMo Roller Derby league slowly trickle into one of their practice rinks, they naturally form a circle facing each other as they slide up elbow and knee pads, strap on multi-colored helmets, and lace up their roller skates. For the next few hours, the sound of wheels squealing against polished concrete echoes throughout the community space.

Roller derby is a full-contact sport that is a series of races, predominantly played by women and female presenting people. With no ball, disc, or any other object, certain members of the team called jammers are able to score points for their team. Jammers are seen wearing a fabric helmet cover known as a “panty” with a star. To be a lead jammer, one must push through the other team’s pack of blockers and be the first to get through the wall of opponents without committing a penalty. Once the jammer gets out from their first pass, they are eligible to score points by again passing every member of the opposing team’s hips with their hips. However, all of this must occur within a 2-minute time limit. While 120 seconds may not seem like much time, skaters feel like it’s the slowest two minutes of their lives.

Positions in roller derby are based more on skill than body type. A common mantra in derby is to stay “low and slow.” Having a low center of gravity helps skaters remain low (in the squat position) and is a big benefit when needing to bust through the seams of the other team’s pack. Skaters also utilize strategic positioning, wide stances, and aggressive blocking techniques or leverage their reach during a bout. Every height, weight, and depth of body is valuable in a pack of skaters. Although there are many boxes that women and female presenting people must fit them-selves into in society, those boxes are quickly thrown away in the sport of roller derby. The sport is more about what the body can do rather than what it looks like.

“Having a spot for everyone is something that I’ve always thought was cool,” says Bryn Chynoweth, known as Bryn-stant Karma, during her second-ever endurance practice with the league.

The opportunity to join the league’s beginner’s sessions fell into her lap by happenstance, and the people in her league are what brought her back.

“Everyone is so inclusive, kind, and really strong; it’s the best workout and so fun,” she adds.

Some of the league’s members have been with the league since its start in 2007. Jennifer Bean, also known as Deth Blök, is one of the team’s founding members.

“I’ve been ‘Deth Blök’ longer than I’ve been called mom,” she says. “I’ve also been ‘Deth Blök’ for longer than I’ve been called professor. The only person that I’ve been called longer is my government name.”

“We’re all a bunch of weirdos; we all jive, and we all respect each other’s versions of weird.”

Jennifer Bean, a.k.a. Deth Blök

When Deth Blök first began roller derby, it was largely expected for players to dress up in thematic outfits andput on makeup and face paint.

“I think when people talk about derby girls, they think about the 80s version that was scripted, also very similar to professional wrestling,” she says. “I think the stigma from some people around roller derby is that there’s going to be fist fights, girls sitting on other girls and pulling their hair, and cat-fighting in a soap opera kind of way. The younger generations may think of fishnets and short skirts, campy names, and Moxi brand skates, which are great, but they aren’t speed skates. That may be what people come here to try and find, but that’s not really what the sport is.”

Over the years, roller derby has gradually shifted away from being a dramatic source of entertainment to a genuine athletic sport. While the team mainly meets for practice in Hallsville, Missouri, they meet every third week of the month to practice at Sk8 Zone in Jefferson City. Sk8 Zone is also a regular practice space during the summers and fosters a fun environment for competitions. Jon Esterline, the owner of Sk8 Zone, has always been a supporter of the team. There have been season swith bouts, which are the 60-minute-long games of derby, that have exclusively taken place at Sk8 Zone. Their polished hardwood rink is perfect for going fast.

Current president of the league Casey Canfield, known as Space Case, is from Jefferson City and joined the beginner’s program in 2019 with her wife, Hannah Roos, known as Rhino. Local team members go to Sk8 Zone for speedskating events, adult skate nights, and whenever they need some extra skate time.

For competitors, a huge draw to the sport of roller derby is that the members are able to decide who they want to be — their name, their position, everything. The opportunity to skate with others and learn new tricks can also be factors which attract new players. What keeps the players around, though, is the community and chosen family they never knew they needed.

“There’s space for a wide range of gender expressions,” says Space Case. “We’ve got non-binary players; we’ve got trans teammates, so we really try to be a space where there’s not just one definition of being a woman.”

“We’re all a bunch of weirdos; we all jive, and we all respect each other’s versions of weird,” Deth Blök adds. “There’s also the fact that it’s a full-contact sport. If we think about gender normative stuff, there’s not a lot of that kind of sport for women or for people who identify or present as women. There are not a lot of full-contact sports for people that don’t fit in the ‘man box.’ That’s what we offer.”

While injuries can happen, this shouldn’t scare away newcomers. The league has a beginner’s program, where safety is the very first thing new players learn.

“There is a level of risk; you might get hurt,” Deth Blök says. “But, do you want to look back and say, ‘I could have done that,’ instead of saying, ‘I did that?'”