Santa Cruz Roller Derby getting back on track

The Santa Cruz Roller Derby is rolling back into action with a new season on Saturday. 

After being pushed onto the back burner during the Covid pandemic, close to 40 roller skaters, garbed in knee pads, helmets and skates, are back on the track.

Now, with their first match Saturday in the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, the team is hoping that their fans will return as well.

“When Covid hit, it was devastating to our audience,” says Jaime Shirley, 39, whose track name is Jem Jones. “We lost a lot of players and we lost a lot of avid fans. Now we’re hoping to build that back.”

Shirley has played the sport since 2007. She played for the Silicon Valley Roller Girls before joining the Santa Cruz team, which she says offers a more competitive playing environment and better camaraderie.

She says the sport has matured beyond the campy, theatrical scripted show of the 1970s—similar to professional wrestling—to a legitimate sport with its own rules and leagues. And a penalty box, she adds.

“It’s very strategic, and it’s very athletic,” she says. 

There is no fighting, no elbows or forearms and no hits to the back or head.

“We try to keep it as safe as possible, even though it’s a contact sport,” she says.

A total of 10 players compete during a match, when a “jammer” from each team, denoted by a big white star on her helmet, scores points by passing opposing players. The blockers, meanwhile, play both defense and offense by trying to prevent the opposing jammer from scoring while helping their own. 

“It looks scary, but it isn’t,” Shirley says. “It does seem daunting, it does seem scary, but it’s really not as scary as a lot of people think it is.”

Ashley Davie, who joined the team about a year ago after stacking up over seven years of experience in Washington, said the sport serves as a great arena for developing friendships.

“I was an undergraduate in Washington and had no friends,” she said,” and one day I went to a roller derby game and knew I had to sign up.”

This turned out to be a great idea.

“I met so many people. So when I came to the Bay Area, I knew roller derby would be my connection to meeting friends. It’s so inclusive and so supportive.”

Davie, known on the track as Cyanide Siren, said the team is gearing up for the North American West competition.

“We’re pretty excited,” she said. “If we do well, we could go on to the World Champion Playoff in Portland, Oregon.”

Davie added that they are always looking for volunteers, penalty box timers, representatives, and skaters.

“You don’t have to have any skating experience at all — everyone, any body size or shape — is welcome and we will teach you all the basics.”

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Info Box

The Santa Cruz Roller Derby will play a double header at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium at 4pm on Saturday. For tickets and information, visit santacruzrollerderby.org.