The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“It’s a family affair. It’s not JUST about drinking beer, tattoos and short shorts”
It’s been three years in the making and it’s finally coming to fruition. The Gunnison Valley Roller Girls are hosting the 10th Mountain Roller Girls out of Eagle, Colo. for the first bout (that’s roller derby speak for game) ever in the Gunnison Valley at Big Mine Ice Arena on Saturday, June 7 at 6 p.m.
While roller derby conjures up old school visions of a banked wooden track and characters much like ones seen in the World Wrestling Federation, the latest incarnation of roller derby, now known as flat track roller derby, is far from that. The roller derby resurgence, specifically flat track roller derby, can be traced back to 2001 in Austin, Texas. Since then it has taken off with more than 1,000 teams registered worldwide. In fact, roller derby is one of eight sports under consideration for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games.
Renee “Crash Nasty” Newton, Cabell “Tits McVenom” Bryan and Cara “Hot Dog #1-2 punch” Radca started the local team one spring by hanging flyers around the valley and placing public service announcements on the radio.
Both Newton and Bryan had experience with starting a roller derby team before moving to the valley. They started a team in Wilmington, N.C., Cape Fear Roller Girls, and skated for five years with the team. By the time they left, Cape Fear Roller Girls bouts were selling out, with 1,000 fans packing the arena to watch.
Bryan has moved on but Newton and Radca remained and have been working toward this goal of hosting a bout in the Gunnison Valley. While interest waxed and waned, the biggest hurdle was finding practice space in the winter.
“We would make huge progress in the summer but it would drop off in the winter,” says Newton. “We couldn’t keep the progress going.”
That changed this past winter as the Gunnison Valley Roller Girls found winter practice space in the Fred Field Events Center in Gunnison and in the Crested Butte Community School gym.
“This year we were able to hold onto everyone through the winter and continue the momentum,” says Newton.
But it’s not just about saying you want to be a roller derby athlete, showing up for practice and then you’re ready to roll. Every athlete must pass a skills assessment before they can participate in a bout.
“You need to be able to skate a certain number of laps in a certain amount of time, be fluid in crossovers, jump, skate backwards,” explains Newton.
Thanks, in part, to the winter workouts, the Gunnison Valley Roller Girls have 14 on their roster who have passed the skills assessment. Newton also touts the athletic women who call the Gunnison Valley home.
“I think we’re lucky because there’s lots of natural athletic talent here,” says Newton. “A lot of the girls are coming out and immediately skating laps. They pick it up right away so we don’t have to go through the baby steps.”
With 14 women ready to roll on the roster, the team has been able to travel for scrimmages as well as spend one of their practice nights each week scrimmaging.
As for the upcoming bout against the 10th Mountain Roller Girls, Newton keeps her expectations for the team in check.
“Obviously we want to win but the girls on 10th Mountain have been bouting for three years,” says Newton. “We just want to get a bout under our belts. Maybe learn some things.”
Nevertheless, a raucous hometown crowd could make all the difference in the world.
“Everyone is encouraged to get super loud, crazy and bust out classic Crested Butte fashion,” says Newton.
If you want to dress the part or even bust out the face paint, their team colors are gray and fuchsia. Among all the rowdiness though, Gunnison Valley Roller Girl Jen “Juanita Beatcha” Nolan insists it’s fun for the whole family.
“It’s a family affair,” says Nolan. “It’s not just about drinking beer, tattoos and short shorts.”
