It was destiny. Last night I got an e-mail from a fellow Nick Schooler asking if I wanted to join her and a few friends at the Carolina Rollergirls bout today. The match-up was against my very own California B.A.D. (Bay Area Derby) Girls. This morning I woke up, picked up the New York Times, and stumbled across the article “When Their Alter Egos Come Out to Play,” complete with video footage of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby League in action. I knew I had to go.

On Saturday night, five of us piled into a Volvo and headed off to the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. After passing by the horse complex, an antiques dealer, a turkey shoot, and a military surplus store, we found the entrance gate to Dorton Arena. Armed with our student ID’s, we bought tickets for only $8 apiece. Unsure what to expect, we headed inside, following the smell of funnel cakes, pizza, and cheap beer. We were in for a quite a trip.

The lights went dark, the music started, the track was illuminated by a double strand of Christmas lights, and the Carolina Rollergirls – decked out in fishnets, black shorts, and old-school roller skates – took the rink. What followed were 60 minutes of intense elbowing, shoving, and jockeying for position as the two teams raced around the track in one pack, while the speed-skating “jammers” on each team tried to break through the pack, earning points for each player of the opposing team whom they managed to pass in-bounds. Shirley Temper, Ms. Anthrope the Mordant, and Bianca O’Blivion of the Carolina Rollergirls held their own against the B.A.D. Girls’ Taxi Scab, Sassy Slayher, and Demanda Riot.

Half-time entertainment, which was worth the entrance fee by itself, featured a hula hooper sporting a Princess Leia hair-do and white feather-covered leg warmers. The Carolina Rollergirls claimed victory at 8:00pm. “I know what I want to be for Halloween next year!” shouted an inspired fan next to me.

Don’t miss the last regular season bout on Sunday, December 2^nd against the 2006 national champions, the Kansas City Roller Warriors.

So… do you think you can cut it on a team that has a page on their website called “Injury Archive”? If so, then be sure to head over to the Skate Ranch in Raleigh on January 12 for tryouts.

Read at the Roller Derby:

Pretty. Mean. – Carolina Rollergirls t-shirt