“C’mon guys! Pick up the pace - if you wanna skate slow, go to an ice skating rink!” scoffs a rowdy member of the San Francisco Bay Bombers to his roller derby teammates.
Clad in white jerseys with orange and black stripes and kneepads, the squad of approximately 10 increased their speed, resembling a pack of tigers on the prowl as they aggressively skated circles around orange cones during an outdoor training practice last month at the Kezar Pavilion parking lot. The team was preparing for their season opener against the Red Devils on April 19.
Roller derby first appeared as a marathon race in Chicago in 1935 and evolved into a live spectator sport by the 1940s. Games were televised in the late ’40s and early ’50s, and immediately became a sensation; today it is a globally played contact sport.
The first Asian to turn pro in the sport was Susie Wong, a member of the Bombers, in 1969. After Wong, there were never more than two Asians on the team at one time, according to Bombers General Manager Jim Fitzpatrick. But that changed last year, when three Asian American males joined Japanese Hawaiian veteran skater Makani and female veteran skater Lali O, giving the squad five Asian members total.
“Roller derby is just like any other sport, just on wheels,” said Makani, who goes by only one name, over the sound of skates grating the cement. The 2002 Rookie of the Year, who is a flight attendant by trade, said bruises, concussions and a broken finger have not stopped him from competing.
“I love the teamwork, and the chance this gives me to work out and stay healthy,” he said, adjusting his shades onto his blond-streaked hair.
There has been a renewed interest in the sport because of the Internet, which allows people to discover new attractions easily, Fitzpatrick said.
“Our sport offers things that all people seem to enjoy: speed, contact, action, color. That is also why you will not only find all different nationalities in our crowds, but also all different ages,” Fitzpatrick said. “I grew up in the crazy time when Bruce Lee couldn’t even get the role on the TV show Kung Fu because he looked ‘too Asian.’ Today the world is a very different place, where pretty much all nationalities are accepted and seen doing and enjoying things they have never seen or heard of before.”
Joining the team last year was Ron Jong, a software engineer, who believes there has been an increase of Asian Americans on the team and in the sport today because it is fun and accessible.
“Those in the audience may be motivated to try out for the team as a result of watching other Asians compete, and realizing that it is something anyone can do regardless of gender or race,” Jong said.
Jong, 37, born and raised in San Francisco, has been a roller derby fan since he was a kid thanks to his dad, who would take him and his siblings to watch the Bombers skate at Kezar.
“If he were alive today to see me doing roller derby, I think he would be proud,” he said. “Every time I skate at Kezar, I think of him and wish he were there.”
He became involved with roller derby by chance two years ago, all because of his desire to skate on a banked track. Learning that one was to be set up for a game at Kezar, he pretended he was interested in joining the team.
“I didn’t want to hit or be hit by anyone! But I [became] hooked after that first training session with the coach!” Jong recalled. “I was always one of those kids that got picked last in the team sports. Now I feel this is an opportunity to shine and to be competitive in a contact team sport.”
“Unlike most sports, one can be a great roller derby skater regardless of stature. Large or small, each skater brings his or her own unique capabilities to the game,” he added.
“There’s also sense of loyalty and camaraderie with your teammates, and you want to look out for them like you would with any friend.”
Another new member to the team was Ben Miralles. Originally from the Philippines, he moved to the U.S. in 1995 and is currently working for a bank as a risk analyst for foreign exchange.
Miralles learned to skate when he was in grade school and started inline skating regularly when he moved to the Bay Area in 1999. He was searching for a fun activity that would complement his marathon training and became involved with roller derby after seeing an ad for new recruits on Craigslist.
Miralles said he enjoys the physical aspect of the game.
“I like the fact that, although we do not intend to hurt other people in a debilitating way, the track provides us with a license to express our aggression,” Miralles said. “There seems to be a tacit understanding among derby players that what happens in the track stays in the track.”
“It would be wonderful if more Asians look to us and want to join roller derby, but that is not really the point,” Jong said. “The point is to let Asians Americans, especially the young ones, witness diversity in what we can do. Life’s choices should not be limited because of your ethnicity.”
Rules and Terminology of the Banked Track Roller Derby Game
Objective: Each team consists of two blockers, two jammers and a pivot skater. The team with the highest score at the end of the bout wins. All skating is performed counterclockwise.
The play: Begins once the moving pack of skaters is in position with the jammers in the rear.
Jammers: They wear stripes on their helmets and earn one point for each opposing player they pass.
Blockers: They line up behind the pivots, and their job is to block the passing attempts of the opposing team’s jammer or to help their own jammer make a pass.
Pivot skater: With their designated black helmets, they can play offense and defense at the same time.
Whip: A move where the skater in front reaches behind to grab their teammate’s hand, then “whips” or accelerates them forward.
Legal blocking: Blocking must be from a forward to backward movement. Legal blocks include hips, legs, arms, shoulders and jump blocks.
Illegal blocking: No blocking above the neck or face. Skaters cannot kick or trip, hold, push or grab their opponents, and cannot block from behind (pushing another skater forward).
San Francisco Bay Bombers Season Opener
April 19, 8 p.m.
Kezar Pavilion
755 Stanyan St.
San Francisco
(510) 636-9300
baycitybombers.com