benefit roller derby bout raises money for Seacoast Outright

The arena at Roller Skate Newington resonated not only with the familiar scrape of wheels on the evening of April 26, but also with the sharp slap of bodies against the floor. Women fiercely knocked each other to the ground and often toppled over one another, creating pileups of heavily padded skaters, like multi-vehicle accidents on a highway.

The ManchVegas Roller Girls, based in Manchester, brought two teams to Newington for a charity bout between Pandora’s Pinups and the Stark Raving Loonachicks. Proceeds from ticket sales and raffles went to Seacoast Outright, a Portsmouth-based support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths.

At first glance, roller derbies might look like a chaotic mass of skaters deliberately colliding with each other. But the sport is more complex than it appears. Just ask Amanda Miller, who has been competing as a member of Pandora’s Pinups for about four months. A relative newcomer to the game, she admits she spends a lot of time on the floor.

“I love it. It is so much fun. I still fall down a lot, but our coaches are really good about getting everybody out there,” said Miller, who competes under the nickname Poxy D.

Miller is also a board member of Seacoast Outright. She first became involved in the non-profit organization after graduating from college and moving to Portsmouth about five years ago. The advocacy group provides services for gay and transgender people between the ages of 13 and 21, and Miller found a welcoming team of peers and facilitators at the youth support group meetings. Eventually, she became a facilitator herself and now serves as a board member.

But Seacoast Outright hit what Miller described as a “crisis point” this winter, as the organization’s donation base shriveled. Although they hold several fundraisers throughout the year, including a summer art show at the University of New Hampshire, most funding comes from personal, private donations. “Our base just kind of shrank this year with everybody’s economic problems,” Miller said.

As board members pondered ways to raise more money, Miller suggested bringing the ManchVegas Roller Girls to the area for a fundraiser. And so the Seacoast got a taste of some full contact roller derby action. Around 100 people attended the Sunday night bout, including several youths from Seacoast Outright.

The sport consists of two teams on an oval-shaped track. Each team has five skaters on the track at a time. Four of the five players on each team constitute “the pack,” while the remaining two players are called “jammers.” Only the jammers can score points.

When the referee blows the opening whistle, the eight members of the pack start skating in the same direction. The ref then blows the whistle a second time, spurring the jammers to take off. Whichever jammer manages to overtake the entire pack first becomes the “lead jammer.” The lead jammer is then awarded a point for each opposing skater she passes until the jam is called.

Meanwhile, opposing skaters try to block out or knock over the jammer, usually by checking her with their shoulders. Players are penalized for shoving opponents with their hands or throwing elbows—and penalties are common. The game consists of three 20-minute periods, like hockey, and whichever team has the most points when time expires is declared the winner.

Although Miller described roller derbies as a “full contact sport,” she said serious injuries are uncommon. One recent contest resulted in a nasty bloody nose and a couple of “messed up” knees. Generally speaking, however, most players escape with only a few minor bruises.

Poxy D. wore striped stockings and a green jersey on Sunday, as the Pinups squared off against the purple-jerseyed Loonachicks. From the opening whistle, the collisions came regularly, and skaters from both teams frequently hit the floor. Occasionally, a player would lower her shoulder and attempt to deliver a brutal check, only to miss completely and careen toward the seats, drawing excited roars from the crowd.

“And you thought Nascar was vicious,” the commentator said at one point.

The Loonachicks clung to a narrow lead at the end of the first period, but the Pinups pulled ahead by six points before heading into the third. When a wheel on one of Poxy D.’s skates mysteriously shattered early in the third period, she vowed to get revenge. “I think I’m gonna have to kick some Loonachick ass,” she told the commentator.

But it was the Pinups’ Wicked Evil Step Mom who suffered the worst hit of the day—a ferocious shoulder to the jaw that left her reeling on the floor. She was shaken up for a few minutes but eventually reentered the game, demonstrating prototypical ManchVegas toughness.

The Loonachicks’ all-star jammer Lady Shatterly made a valiant effort in the final period, gracefully gliding through the pack during a late rally. But a ref proclaimed some kind of equipment violation and deprived her of the points, much to the ire of the Loonachicks’ bench. The Pinups ultimately took their victory lap after winning 140-94.

Although blood sometimes simmers between roller derby teams, Miller said the rivalries are limited. She described the ManchVegas Roller Girls as a group of “women supporting other women through sports and just having a good time.”

“We are a ‘no drama’ league,” Miller said.

For more information on Seacoast Outright, visit www.seacoastoutright.org. For more on the ManchVegas Roller Girls, visit www.manchvegasrollergirls.com.