Warren’ Wrecking Dolls Facebook page

The Warrin’ Wrecking Dolls are looking for skaters.

And referees.

Times Observer photo by Stacey Gross
Jami “Ariel Attack” Kramer and April “Red Riot” Casey show off some of the gear needed to be a derby girl.

And non-scating officials.

And volunteers.

But they shouldn’t need to go far in search of fans, as the team that entered their first bout season this year  ended it undefeated. Even with several newbie skaters on the team, they came out on top of all of this year’s bouts. “It’s very uncommon,” said Dolls’ co-founder Amylynn “Goblynn” Delgado, “for a new team like this to come out undefeated. We’re very, very happy with how our season went.”

One of the things most people say when they hear that the dolls are looking for talent, both on and off the track, is that the idea of joining the roller derby is intimidating. It can be scary, even with a solid background of skating skills, to think about joining a competitive, full-contact sport where people want to beat you up. It can also be intimidating walking off the street into a group of women.

An established group of women, with a concrete social structure already in place, in the case of the Dolls. Kim  “Maiden Raven” Turner, said she actually joined the team not just for the sport but for the sense of community. “I didn’t have a lot of female friendships,” said Turner, who came to the team from Dunkirk and, agreed teammates Jill “Peace of This” Arrance,  and Jessica “Suzy Bonebreaker” Arnold, the community is as much a part of being a Doll as is the love of the sport. “We have so much diversity in our team. Personality, age, hobbies, skills, spirituality,” said Arnold, “we’re all so different but we all complement each other and work together. We’re a well-rounded group.”

And as far as playing with fear, there was a whole conversation on the topic at Tuesday night’s meeting of interest, where prospective skaters could get to know the team, and get a little bit of track time, testing out their skills or getting comfortable on skates.

“It’s very visible when you’re playing with fear,” said coach and co-founder Hank “Spank” Delgado. “You can’t play (this sport) afraid.” There are penalties for running away from hits, and for positioning yourself so you can’t get hit.

The point of roller derby, after all, is to hit and, by its very nature, to get hit.

Hitting is kind of what drew a lot of the dolls to the group in the first place. “I wanted to hit,” or “I liked to hit,” was the most common answer among the dolls when asked why they got started in roller derby. But they’re not sociopaths. “It’s a great aggression sport,” explained Judy “Sk8er Slayer” Hyde. “If you’ve had a bad day at work, or whatever,” said Hyde, derby is a great way to displace the aggression that naturally comes with a busy, frustrating world into a socially acceptable way.

Hyde, too, cited the camaraderie of the team as one of the main reasons she loves being a Doll. “I think of everyone on this team as my derby sisters.”

It’s also, for all its apparent brutality, a “family friendly event,” said Hyde. At Tuesday night’s meeting of interest, there was a doll available just to wrangle the many young children who’d come with their Doll mothers. “The majority of the women on the team,” said Dolls recruitment officer Meghan “Whip Her Snap Her” Rowland, “have kids.” And the majority of those kids love that their mothers are Dolls.

Some even support their mothers in being a Doll. Denise “Jowanna Scrap” Eyler said that she has four children, but that she wanted to join the Dolls as something to do for herself. “It’s my me time,” said Eyler. “It’s a personal thing.” Eyler said that when she was considering joining the Dolls she heard a lot of scoffing and “you can’t.”

“That just made me want to join even more,” said Eyler. And her oldest daughter, she said, is happy to be her babysitter during practice, bouts, and the time she has to put in to community events that promote the team – a requirement for all members. “You need to do this,” Eyler said her daughter tells her when she’s feeling guilty about the time commitment or putting the responsibility of caring for her siblings on her daughter. “You need to do this for you. And I do,” Eyler said. “Every mom needs something.”

Time commitment is second only to the financial commitment it requires to be a doll, and neither is something to scoff at. According to literature at the meeting of interest, “The cost to hole a two hour practice two days a week and to host four home bouts is roughly $12,000. We are currently looking to host five to six home bouts for 2017, increasing our costs by about $2,600.”

Each skater and referee must pay dues to meet those costs. League members pay $40 a month. Referees are not required to pay dues. But each skater and referee is required to come prepared for class, so to speak, with their own skates ($90 minimum), elbow and knee pads and wrist guards ($30 minimum), a helmet ($30 minimum), and a mouth guard ($5 minimum). Basic entry kids can run new skaters anywhere from $300 and up. But the Dolls do offer equipment like pads and helmets that skaters can use for the first few months until they’re ready and able to purchase an entry kit. Skaters must also carry USARD insurance, which is required to bout, at $85 a year. The jerseys, too, can cost anywhere from $40 to $53 and up. Referees must provide their own striped jerseys.

One way that skaters can reduce their costs is to get a sponsor. Sponsors can be businesses or individuals, and the skater will receive five percent of sponsor donations. A skater may also obtain a personal sponsor and receive 95 percent of donations with 5 percent going toward the league.

Time is as valuable as money in the derby world, which is why members are required to make time commitments as well. Each skater is required to provide eight hours of member contribution time – document time that members of the team contribute monthly. These hours can be earned by attending or work on an organized fundraiser or event, hanging posters or handing out flyers, selling tickets, sharing Dolls facebook events, selling sponsorships, assisting with committee projects, or , since the Dolls are a nonprofit organization, sitting on their board of directors.

Practice is another commitment, and skaters are required to maintain an 80 percent show rate for it. Practice is held twice a week, at the Russell Roller Rink, on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. League meetings are held once a month and last about an hour, followed by committee discussions on issues not dealt with directly during the meeting, and league events such as fundraisers or community presence also take time. Bouts, of course, are what everyone is there for and so those that make the roster are to be present no later than an hour before bouts start and are expected to help set up and take down home bouts.

Not to mention self-study and practice.

Every bout is filmed and broken down afterward, so a major trait that prospective skaters need to bring to the table is the ability to take constructive criticism. Also, said Hank Delgado, you have to have the mindset to do well on the team. Coming in expecting to fall and jumping up for more when it happens are essential. “Don’t expect to be babied,” he said, although he emphasized that while the team can teach the skills and techniques to excel as a Doll, they can’t teach the drive and motivation to do it.

Three showed up to learn more about the Dolls on Tuesday night and two said they were pretty serious about joining. “I probably will,” said Krissy Munksgard. “My friends have been trying to get me to join. I’m just nervous on skates.” Jessica Pace said she’s really interested in joining, but she’s not ready to make the financial assistance. “I miss being part of a team. I’ve always been athletic, and I miss having that relationship with a team. Coming to this (meeting) is a good thing.”

Anyone interested in the Warrin’ Wrecking Dolls need not have attended Tuesday’s meeting of interest to get started on the team, in either the volunteer, non-skating official, referee, or skater positions≥ The team practices open enrollment and are clear in stating that there are no skills prerequisites. The only thing they say you need is a willingness and an excitement to learn. “We can teach you,” said Delgado. Be a Doll and check out the Warrin’ Wrecking Dolls on Facebook.