You saw Drew Barrymore’s roller-derby flick, Whip It, started calling yourself Pam D. Moanium, and pretending all of your cat scratches were scars from a harsh body-check at the rink. 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 Gold Coast Derby Grrls, which includes women from Dade, Broward, and West Palm, know that Zombitch, Shreddie Mercury, De La Ruthless, 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 that involves fast skating and body blocking. Gold Coast Derby Grrls recently qualified in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association and are now ranked 13th in the South Central region. This Saturday, they’ll go helmet-to-helmet with the region’s number ten team, the Dallas Derby Devils, at the Doral Park Country Club. If contact sports and fierce women aren’t enough of a draw, there’ll also be a stocked bar, music by DJ George Van Orsdel, and a merch booth.
Sat., June 4, 7 p.m., 2011