Another reason to visit Washington, DC - Sexy DC Rollergirls, Our “Charlie’s Angels” Who Make Us Proud

What girl has not dreamed to be a sexy roller-skating girl, and what boy has not secretly watched Charlie’s Angels, especially that scene where Sarah Fawcett jumps and lands on a skateboard? It’s not just the influence of the 1980s movies and series, but it’s the retro in “everything” that’s back in fashion – retro clothing, retro vinyl records, retro films, retro equipment, retro cars – everything retro. And we love it.

Meet the DC Roller Derby League, a self-organized by women team that meets every month in fierce competition in Washington, D.C. A treat for a girl, as well as for a boy, these teams are not only wearing roller skates, the image that they bring on to the skating rink is pseudo-punk, fishnet tights, golf socks (just as Jane Fonda wore in her aerobic videos) and skirts – these girls are not about goody-girl images, they are serious about the competitions, which sometimes involve mild violence but only because they want to bring joy in competition. And they are serious about it too!

Professionals by day, these women are roller girls by night, offering satire, allusions of pop culture and mock violent maneuvers to shed the good-girl persona of those women in work force who get loose on a rink from all the corporate stigma.

And if this is not enough to attract large crowds of onlookers and fans each time they play, the names of those women are an attraction and curiosity of its own – from Condoleezza Slice, Marion Barrycuda, Guantanamo Babe to Blond Fury – these women are here to get you!

There are more than 150 roller derby leagues in the United States, with the very first ones starting as early as the Great Depression in the 40s. And Washington, D.C. alone is the home for four of them. “We have three local teams – The D.C. DemonCats, The Cherry Blossom Bombshells and Scare Force One – and one travel team consisting of players who are available for travel to other cities for competitions,” says Sarah Pope, Anti Entity roller girl, a blocker babe for the Scare Force One team in the Washington, D.C.

And if you think that these women don’t bring enough seriousness in their competitions, you are far from the truth, these women practice four nights a week for two to two-and-a-half hours a day. They take their teams and competitions as serious as some of real athletes do. But while for some athletes sports is a profession, and a main “bread earning” activity, these women have professional and home responsibilities as well: some of them are lawyers, zookeepers, and accountants, and some of them stay-at-home moms. Does it mean their husbands and children come and watch them too? You betcha.

While at home these women might be gentle and sensitive, they bring out their other - fierce, competitive and aggressive personalities – onto the rink. Earlier in the days, it was brought to the sports critics’ attention that such roller skating events were more exciting when the skaters collided, and this exactly what the skaters changed in their competitions – now you won’t see any nice women on a rink, this is not the deal you are getting when you come to the competition!

Today, teams of five, each consisting of four blockers and a jammer, compete agains each other on a flat track, and the goal of the jammer is to break through the pack of blockers and then lap the pack. However, there are rules, as in any fare competition – major penalties are issued for tripping, elbowing, hitting above the shoulder or below the knee, or hitting from behind. And though they spent hours in training on how to avoid serious injuries, accidents do happen, so the roller girls wear appropriate protective attire and guards of various kinds (just come and see it for yourself). Still, these girls are sexy and enjoyable, not to mention it is just fun to watch them.

The audience is very diverse and comes from not only D.C., but the derby’s fans come from Baltimore and Richmond as well, reaching to more than 2,000 people on just one night of the game. This is not just a competition night, taking into account that these women are more than just roller girls, but also colleagues, wives and moms, many fun activities are offered to the public on a day of a game, such as face painting. The rugby players love those roller derbies too, maybe because there are some elements that are very familiar and dear to rugby players, or maybe it’s because these women are as athletic as them. Whatever it is, these women are worth to see – they are sexy, fierce and so damn fun!

Come see the Cherry Blossom Bombshells take on Scare Force Once to determine who will be going to the championships on April 18th, 2009. Also, see the Coal City Rollers from Wilkes-Barre, PA take on the DC DemonCats. Twice as nice.

The season championship is on May 9, 2009.

Date: April 18th, 2009

Time: Doors at 4:00 p.m., Bout Begins at 5:00 p.m.

Price: Adults $12, Kids 6-11 $6, 5 and under free!

Location: DC Armory

Directions/Map: Click Here

Metro Information: Click Here

To see the event flyer: Click Here

For more information, schedule of games and additional picks and photos of the events and the D.C. roller girls, go to http://www.dcrollergirls.com/.