The Border City Brawlers Prepare For Bouts

Hello time traveller!!
This article is 4988 days old.
The information listed below is likely outdated and has been preserved for archival purposes.

The Border City Brawlers rally around to take direction from their coach.

The Border City Brawlers are a month into training, and these feisty women are that much closer to some serious shoving and tripping against other area teams. Within the year, they want to be into the league, pass the required time trials, and kick some butt.

For now, though, the dozens of ladies on “quads” (rollerskates) are running drills, wiping out on purpose, chasing one another, circling Charles Clark Square to gain momentum and confidence. And they’re having a hell of good time doing it, despite the bruising.

Most of the women on the team are new to the contact sport of roller derby, but luckily, many of them already knew how to skate. Not that rollerskating can easily be compared to ice skating, or even rollerblading; with four points of contact shaped in a square, the going/turning/stopping is a bit different. And falling on concrete hurts more than falling on ice.

The Border City Brawlers hold practice every Wednesday and Sunday evening from 8-10pm. In the case of rain, the crew meets at Phog to discuss the rules and strategies of the game. It’s a sport where speed, endurance and passion play large roles as jammers pass blockers and pivots are tagged into the action.

The team is still accepting new members, so if you’re into it, suit up and check it out. For the mini-bruisers, there’s a junior league for girls between the ages of 13 and 17, called The Betty Rebels. I showed up to Charles Clark Square last Wednesday to see how they were doing, and to take a few pictures. You can see even more photos here.