Miami's First Roller Derby League, Vice City Rollers, Holds Open House

Some of you saw Drew Barrymore's roller derby flick, Whip It, and started immediately referring to yourself as Pam D. Moanium. But as local derby coach Carnivorous Licks told us "[Skate] names are earned. A lot of people think they'll get a cool name and dress cute and that's it. No, you're an athlete. You practice your ass off, then you get a derby name." 

So when you see the roster for the Broward-based Gold Coast Derby Grrls, know that Zombitch, Shreddie Mercury, Sookie Skankhouse, and Freak-A-Rella shed plenty of blood and tears for their kick-ass names. They risked dislocated jaws, shattered clavicles, and torn ACLs -- all common injuries in this riot grrl sport of fast skating and body blocking.

For those who like to watch fierce women elbow each other, the GCDG have

a match in Miami on June 4.  For those who like to do the

elbowing themselves, there's a new Miami roller derby league and the

open house is this weekend.

The proposed league is called Miami's Vice City Rollers and there's

currently one team, Maidens of Mayhem Derby Rollers, with about dozen 305 ladies signed up. Organizers are holding an Open House and Meet

& Greet this Saturday in the hopes of  signing on more players and

organizing three more teams (and hence, more opponents).

Miami's Vice City Rollers is being organized by a disparate group of derby fanatics, connected by Pamela Wasabi (who also shoots street fashion for this blog). One of the organizers, Lex, caught wind of local ladies' desire for a Miami team after he set up an all-female division of a local motorcycle club he's involved with. His wife used to play derby in Colombia (it seems the sport has hit big internationally as well). Other organizers also include Vanessa Rocha and former derby girls Kristen de La Rua and Jessica Diaz, who have played with various teams including Tallahassee Roller Girls and GCDB.

Derby

is big in almost every major city besides Miami. Chicago has

even moved on to offer Derby Lite -- all the glam and skating but with less

violence. It's marketed as "roller skating for fun and fitness for women

old enough to know better."

As with most trends, it takes the Magic City a little longer to join in on

the fun. But it looks like our city's roller derby time has finally

come. The Vice City Rollers already have an experienced coach, a

skilled trainer, and two practice spaces.

Roller derby girls should expect a commitment of a couple practices a

week and once the team is up and jamming, there'll be some travel to

play nearby teams. Lex advises that although the teams will use quad skates, in-line skates are totally fine for Saturday's open house.

Lex stresses that all skill levels are welcomed as the trainer can teach

non-skaters the very basics. Both genders are invited as well -- the

league may be all-female, but men are welcomed to serve as referees.

(Coincidentally, male derby exists; it's called merby. In a sport where names are everything, it's a horrible name.)

email [email protected].

cost $10. Visit goldcoastderbygrrls.com.

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