Roller Derby: It's Picking Up Speed

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By Holly Zuluaga

Summary

The Walla Walla Sweets Roller Girls are the latest group of ladies to join the roller derby craze. They had their first public bout in Hermiston on Saturday.

Story Published: Feb 21, 2010 at 6:53 PM PST

WALLA WALLA—The Walla Walla Sweets Roller Girls are the latest group of ladies to join the roller derby craze.

They had their first public bout in Hermiston on Saturday.

“I just started playing with the idea that maybe I could be a roller derby girl, but I was thinking at 45 I'm going to be too old,” Kimi Schroeder said.

Kimi Schroeder is one of the founders of the Walla Walla Sweets.

“I've always skated when I was a kid, I skated all through college, high school I skated and it had been about 20 years since I put my skates on and I started seeing online that there was a resurgence of roller derby,” Kimi Schroeder said.

Kimi wanted in and when her husband told her she wasn't too old, she found there were lots of other ladies who wanted a piece of the action.

They started with 15 women and it's grown to 50.

“I'm actually a mom of two and I just had a baby right when roller derby started so this has been like my exercise program to get back into shape,” Sara Burch said.

These women tell me they love the comradery and that anyone, any shape, any size any age, can do it.

“I honestly never thought that I would be tough enough to get out there and do full contact, I was not athletic,” Kimi Schroeder said.

“I get to hang out with the girls on Monday and Thursday and take out some aggression,” Sara Burch said.

It's a full contact sport and there's nothing lady-like about it.

With names like Tropic Thunder and Pearl Slam the roller girls aren't afraid to get some bumps and bruises.

Just like any sport, there can be injuries.

One of the sweets had to be taken to the hospital after she fell.

She thought she broke her leg.

The Atomic City Roller Girls in the Tri-Cities have been around for 3 years and are happy the sport is growing.

“It's really encouraging to see new leagues sprouting up,” Amy Linderman said.

“One of the main reasons we're excited to have Walla Walla started up and other teams around our area is because not only is it giving the comradery out there, spreading the roller derby love, but it also gives us an opportunity to have someone to scrimmage with. We're kind of the lone sharks in the Tri-Cities,” Julie Valdez said.

However, the ladies aren't done with the growth.

They're still spreading the word, that it's never too late to put on the skates.