Last Sunday, May 23, the Rosebuds welcomed the Kitsap Derby Brats for a double-header A and B Team bout. The Rosebuds have experienced tremendous growth over the past several months when they opened try-outs to any girls who are interested in learning how to play roller derby. This has produced a very, very large team of young women at many different levels of skill.
The B team was made up of several of the newer girls, many of them bouting for the very first time. Veteran skater Kiss ‘N Kill played with the B team, as well as Wreck The Hals but for everyone else, this was brand new territory for them.
The Rosebuds debuted their snazzy new uniforms, paid for by the money that they raise at each hangar bout selling concessions. The girls are required to bring baked goods for each and every hangar bout and also staff the concession stand. By buying those nachos and sodas and cookies, you are supporting this amazing program.
The Kitsap Derby Brats proved to be no match for the exceptionally trained Rosebuds and the Buds easily won both bouts by over 100 points. This seemed on the surface to be an easy win, but anyone who sits at Rosebuds practice, or donates time coaching and training these girls, know that these wins came as a result of a lot of hard work on the parts of the skaters and the coaching staff.
Skater Cobra Scarship started playing derby last Fall. At her first few practices, she could barely get around the track. Seriously, it was painful to watch her struggle to stay on her feet and struggle she did. Soon, she was able to get around the entire track and soon after that, she was able to participate in drills. Soon after that, she could keep up with her teammates in those drills and soon after that, she was able to scrimmage. That shy girl who walked into the hangar, barely able to skate, blossomed into a confident young women, proud of herself and what she could accomplish.
Cobra played on the B Team last Sunday. She not only played, she jammed; she not only jammed but she scored 53 points. Fifty-three points! Some of our most accomplished adult skaters hope to score that many points and each and every time she made a scoring pass, she had the biggest smile on her face I have ever seen!
Photo By: John Rudoff
This is what roller derby can do for a young woman. It can build her confidence and help her to realize what hard work and perseverance can accomplish. It can teach her what it means to be on a team, work together, accept direction and build skill. Roller derby will positively affect each of these girls by offering them something different than what has typically been an “acceptable” sport for a young woman. As Shauna Cross wrote in Whip It, “This ain’t no cheerleading clinic y’all!”
The next time the Rosebuds are playing at home, come and watch these girls in action and support young women who are coming into their own!
Photos from the bout and more amazing ones of Cobra’s smile are here.
