Writing in Roller Derby

There is no doubt in my mind that 2010 is The Summer of Derby here in Iowa.

It’s true most people in the state do not know that the sport has come back. It’s also true that many people in the older set still associate roller derby with the sports entertainment antics laced faux-competitions that typified the sport in the seventies, eighties and even in the failed RollerJam experiment at the turn of the century.

Yet one need not be an insider to consider that what was probably only just a handful of Iowa women with a great idea as late at 2005 has evolved into a full-fledged revolution with at least nine leagues or single teams blanketing the state. It feels like there is an electric vibe in the air. The words “sold out” and “derby bout” are starting to appear in the same sentence enough to the point where out of town fans like myself are actually starting to worry about whether we can even get into a bout or not (It was only after the April 10^th Des Moines Derby Dames- Wisconsin River Valley Roller Girls bout that I realized just how close Noel and I came to getting shut out of the match that we just travelled 115 miles to see).

It seems like there is an electric vibe radiating from the Iowa Roller Derby scene. Things are getting bigger yet they are getting bigger in an organic way. There is no centralized effort, nor is there a sleek ad campaign. It is strictly D.I.Y. Grassroots. People are simply coming to the game and understanding and the culture surrounding it enough to love it. Some women in the audience are apparently getting it enough to lace up and get in the game themselves.

This is a revolution.

As I sat there watching the Dames and the Roller Girls, I knew I was witnessing something special. I knew I wanted to do something to help the movement out any way I could. Since I have a background in journalism, I felt I could do it by writing about Derby and the women who play it.

Media outlets have been begun to pay attention to Derby’s rise in Iowa both in print and on  video. Yet I see a common theme run through these stories, on the TV end at least. A station sends a reporter out to “join the team.” She arrives at the practice facility. Puts on the required safety equipment. Skates around the track. Gets lapped by the team. Begins to comment about how hard this really is. The team teaches her some basic derby moves and derby rules. If there is a sadist on the team they will knock said reporter on her ass. Then she will get her “derby name,” a bout time would be announced, and “back to you, Billy.”

Those stories are all fine and good. The problem is that this is the extent of derby coverage.

Since this is a serious sport, I believe that a more serious approach is required. And since the sport has so far not gotten any attention from the sports desks on either TV or the newspapers I suppose that means it falls to people like me.

Fine. Bring it.

But that leads to a question: How do you write in Roller Derby?

There are templates for how to write baseball, basketball, football and the like, but there is no template for how to cover a roller derby match. There doesn’t seem to be a box score system that a fan can glance at like they can for other sports to gage what happened during the course of a match.

Much trial and error is required no doubt before we arrive at something that gives the fan and other teams the true sense of what happened at a bout they missed.

But I want to ask you, readers of the site, what you think. Besides the obvious questions of who won and who scored the most points, what information would you like to know about a bout if you were not in attendance?

Should I use derby names or the real names of players?

What about a box score for derby matches? What essential stats should be included?

Thoughts, comments and suggestions are welcome as always. Reach me here in the comments section or e-mail me at derbydiaries@yahoo.com.