The fast-paced, exciting sport of roller derby will soon return to Olean, as the Enchanted Mountain Roller Derby gets set to open a new slate of games on April 19 at the William O. Smith Recreation Center.
Founded in 2010, EMRD is now well into its second decade of roller derby and is a member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), the international governing body for women’s flat-track roller derby leagues. The league’s flagship team, the Hellbilly Heartbreakers, based in Olean, is owned and operated by the players.
According to the EMRD website, the league is committed to redefining the classic sport of roller derby, while giving it relevance in the 21st century, with a goal to provide league members a safe and professional environment so that they can progress in the sport, but to also provide an opportunity for athleticism, camaraderie and self-expression.
“We inspire on and off the rink; we serve the community, get fit, and have fun,” the league states.
Marina Bryant, a Hellbilly Heartbreaker, has skated in the league for 12 years under the moniker “BiPolar Bear,” or “BP.” She has served as president for seven years, and is now the treasurer. Only one skater has been involved in EMRD for longer.
Bryant learned about roller derby through the league’s charity work, and was immediately drawn to the sport.
“It’s definitely a personality trait,” Bryant said. “I knew that I wanted to go into the Army at seventh grade, so once I found a sport like this, my blood was boiling. I was ready to roar from the beginning.”
FOR THOSE UNFAMILIAR with roller derby, attendees can expect a lot of action.
“It’s non-stop, fast track action. Nothing like from the 60s where you’re getting punched in the face or clotheslined, it’s nothing like that,” explained Bryant, adding that players, who must be 18, take all necessary safety precautions including helmets, mouthguard and pads.
The game of flat track roller derby is played on an oval track. Play is broken up into two 30-minute periods, and within those periods, into units of play called “jams,” which last up to two minutes. There are 30 seconds between each jam.
During each jam, a “jammer,” who wears a star on their helmet, tries to get past the opposing team’s “blockers” and complete a lap. A point is scored for each opposing blocker that is lapped, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
While roller derby is full contact, players cannot use their heads, elbows, forearms, hands, knees, lower legs or feet to make contact to opponents, nor can they make contact to opponents’ heads, backs, knees, lower legs or feet. Play that is deemed unsafe or illegal by referees may result in a skater being assessed a penalty, which is served by sitting in the penalty box for 30 seconds of jam time.
EMRD HAS BEEN working on rebuilding its ranks since 2020, when COVID took a toll on the sport in this area.
“It’s been a lot of hard work. COVID was a destroyer for everything, of course, but a lot of teams went out of business,” Bryant said. At one point she even put $1,000 of her own money into the team to keep it afloat.
“We had a lot of people retire and move on; we started from scratch again,” Bryant said. “We got down to really low numbers and we have been working our behinds off to grow again. We are really excited for this season, we’re in a really good spot. Our rankings on the WFTDA are pretty good.
“We have a really good group of girls,” she added. “We are WFTDA, which is women’s flat track derby association, so it’s no backyard thing. This is the real deal. We have to do assessments to be able to step out there to play, we practice three times a week, year after year after year.
“There are only 15 that can make the team, and the rest go into a draft system,” Bryant added. “We do not have enough members to make a B team again yet.”
BRYANT EXPLAINED that members of the Hellbilly Heartbreakers come from widely varied backgrounds, saying, “Everybody comes from a different place. We’ve had dental hygienists, we have a couple teachers … we have librarians, we have somebody from everywhere.”
The team consists of team captain Kathy Prozeller, “Dali Dagger”; co-captain Allison Skiver, “Allie KaSlam”; Stephanie Armstrong, “Tribal Warfare”; Madison Moran-Pula, “Baby Face”; Nina Bacha, “Night Shade”; Tabitha Herbert, “Stabbie”; Chelsea Vandam, “She Wolf”; Katie Gelder, “Thrasher”; Jenn Padlock, “Belle of the Brawl”; Sam Little, “Billie EyeBash”; Izzy O’Brian, “Dizzy Izzy”; Bryant; Becky Misenheimer, “Bloody Professor”; and bench coach Tiffany Turner-Sage, “Tit-4-Tat.”
The home opener, called “Breaking the Ice,” is April 19 — the week after the ice is removed at the William O. Smith Recreation Center — against the Harrisburg (Pa.) Area Roller Derby. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the first whistle is at 6:30 p.m. A game will typically last about 90 minutes.
Admission is $10 at the door, though $8 presale tickets can be purchased from any skater. There are also a limited number of season passes available.
The full schedule is:
- April 19 vs. Harrisburg Area Roller Derby
- May 10 vs. Roc City B-Sides
- May 17 at Dirty Jersey’s Purple Pain
- June 7 vs. Renegade Derby Dames
- June 21 at Burning River’s Hazmat Crew
- July 12 vs. Erie Roller Derby
- July 19 at Susquehanna Valley
- Aug. 2 vs. Northern VA Roller Derby
EMRD ALSO GIVES BACK to the community, as 10% of all presale ticket proceeds go to a different charity after each game. For the home games, donation recipients will be Canticle Farms (April 19); Foster Cattaraugus (May 10); Cattaraugus County Pride Coalition (June 7); Empire Animal Rescue Society (July 12); and Big Brothers, Big Sisters (Aug. 2).
“We pick different (charities) every year, but some of our past ones we have given to are the Olean Food Pantry, Operation Warm Hearts … we have pretty much given to everyone that’s around here,” Bryant said.
Bryant is confident that the sport will continue to grow, as the numbers of players and spectators has increased since the Covid downturn, saying, “We are growing, we are huge, and we are active in so many things in the community. We work our butts off to try to get it out there.”
“This is probably going to be our best season since COVID,” she added.
