Not many people know the rules of roller derby. What's far better known is the spectacle of the sport. With its skimpy uniforms, provocative derby names (like Holley KnockHers) and crowd-pleasing catfights, the bacchanalian side of a roller derby bout has entertained generations of fans.
There are two types of mothers who play: those who don't mind having their children tag along, even if it means they might see mommy punching someone, and those who use practice time as a reprieve from child rearing.
Fackler said she and the other mothers on her team don't talk about their broods. "We've spent all day with our kids, and now we're our roller derby names, and we're going to be talking derby, not about our kids," she said. Still, Fackler said that when she sees her 9-year-old daughter's calendar, marked with the nights she wasn't home to read her a bedtime story, she worries that the game is taking her away too much.
Denise Carrel, 24, plays for the Arizona Roller Derby league in Phoenix and has a 3-year-old daughter who holds a sign during bouts that says, "My Mommy Will Kick Your Mommy's Butt." "It's very easy as a mom to get wrapped up in that's all you are," Carrel said. "Roller derby is a good time to have my own thoughts and feelings about something."
Practice is a family affair for the Dominion Derby Girls in Norfolk, Virginia. While the mothers skate, their children, mostly girls, imitate them on the sidelines and ask when they will be old enough to play.
She also credits the sport with helping her keep her 2-year-old, Lili, in her arms when she tripped over a curb in a mall parking lot. "I instinctively did a double knee fall," she said, "and landed holding her upright." After her teammates heard about her fall, they tried to recruit more mothers with signs that said, "Roller Derby Saves Lives," under a sketch of her clutching Lili. (They also made a sign that said: "The NFL has nothing on our tight ends. Lose your baby fat. Join roller derby.")
Roller derby is one of the few full-contact sports for women. (Rugby is another.) It's a hard-charging competition, in which broken bones and concussions are common. Still, mothers who play would rather get their workouts while wearing protective pads than jogging on a treadmill.
Fackler of the Texas Rollergirls has seen two of her teammates break their legs this year, but is undaunted. "I don't have a broken leg yet, but I know that the girls who do can't wait to get back skating again," she said.
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