Who are the Rat City Rollergirls?
The Rat City Rollergirls -- RCRG for short -- are an all-female, all-volunteer flat-track roller derby league made up of four teams -- Derby Liberation Front [1], Grave Danger [2], Sockit Wenches [3] and the Throttle Rockets [4] -- plus a travel team, the Rat City All-Stars [5], which is made up of members from the four main teams. RCRG played its first bout in 2005 at a now-defunct skate rink [6] in White Center -- a neighborhood affectionately called "Rat City" by locals.
They're all volunteers? No one gets paid?
No one gets paid. Rollergirls train year-round and devote thousands of annual hours to the league's logistic and financial concerns purely for love of the sport. Remember that the next time one of our local franchises whines to taxpayers about their desperate need for a bigger stadium.
So, what is roller derby? Is it like football? Hockey?
It's similar to both, and neither. Actually, it has several things in common with quidditch, from the Harry Potter books. The names of the player positions are similar. Derby has blockers, pivots and jammers; quidditch has chasers, beaters, keepers and seekers.
A couple of the positions are somewhat alike as well: Both the seeker (quidditch) and jammer (derby) are charged with scoring points with their speed and agility, and both the beaters (quidditch) and blockers (derby) are charged with protecting their teammates through judiciously applied bursts of violence. Also, unlike American football, roller derby and quidditch are real sports.
But it looks like a bunch of girls skating in circles, beating each other. How do you win? How are points scored?
Each team fields five players: One jammer, one pivot and three blockers. The jammer scores points by skating fast and lapping the track as many times as she can during a two-minute "jam."
The pivots skate in front of the pack and try to regulate its speed so their team's jammer can get through easily and the opposing team's jammer can't. The blockers can use whatever legal means they have at their disposal to keep the other team's jammers, blockers and pivots from doing their jobs.
And that's where the hip-checks come in?
Yup. Though you needn't be a blocker to knock an opponent out of play. Jammers and pivots can hit, too.
This still doesn't make any sense.
And it won't, really, until you've watched a few bouts. You have to see derby to understand it. But rest assured that it is a sport: There are rules, there are points to be scored and teams can definitely win. It's not just a free-for-all.
But I'll see some good fights, right?
Very likely. Fights are discouraged, but they happen. And if you sit on the edge of the track, a rollergirl will eventually fly over the barrier and into your lap. In such situations it's considered customary and polite to lift your beer out of harm's way.
Whom does Rat City play against?
The four main teams play against each other and against teams that visit from other leagues. We've hosted teams from San Francisco, Albuquerque, Austin, Denver, Boston, Minneapolis, you name it. Several times a year, the Rat City All-Stars travel out of state to whup those other leagues on their own turf.
How many leagues are there?
There are 48 member leagues in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) and a number of startup leagues just itching to get into the nationally ranked fracas. Within a day's drive of Seattle are Portland's Rose City Rollers, Everett's Jet City Rollergirls, Olympia's Oly Rollers, Bremerton's Slaughter County Roller Vixens, Spokane's Lilac City Rollergirls, the Treasure Valley Rollergirls from Boise, Idaho, and the Lava City Roller Dolls from Bend, Ore., among many others.
Will we ever see all these Northwest teams playing each other?
Last weekend, you could have done just that. The Rust Riot, held in Magnuson Park's Hangar 30, brought together all the aforementioned Northwest leagues. Everyone skated an excellent bout (Oly Rollers, in particular, played hard and well), but in the end, it came down to Portland and Seattle.
Who won?
Rat City, of course. Our league isn't ranked second in the nation for nothing. The Rat City/Rose City bout was a real nail-biter, though. In the end, Rat City won by just six points.
Hang on. We're ranked second nationally?
Yes, indeed. At last year's national championships, RCRG beat the Texas Rollergirls, which is kind of a big deal, since Texas more or less created the current derby resurgence. Think America's hockey team beating the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics, only with most everybody in little skirts.
Okay, I want to see a Rat City bout. When's the next one, and where?
The 2008 bouts are scheduled for March 22, April 19, May 17, June 21, July 19, Aug. 16 and Sept. 20. They always take place Saturdays, and they always happen at Magnuson Park's Hangar 30.
What should I bring with me?
You may want to bring a seat cushion -- bouts can run longer than three hours. Kids of all ages are welcome, but outside food and drinks are not.
That last part doesn't work for me. I have naturally low blood sugar.
Lucky for you, then, that the likes of Skillet and Ballard Brothers Burger have been on hand at past bouts to provide food. Plus, there's a bar.
You've said so much, and yet I'm sure you haven't told me everything I need to know. How can I get information from an infinitely more trustworthy rollergirl source?
The Rat City Rollergirls' official Web site [7] has all you need to know. It's also where you can find tickets to upcoming bouts, photos of past bouts, rollergirl bios and pictures of some really gnarly bruises.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
