Welcome to the terrordome
Sylvie Hill
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Mean wheeling machine "Honey Bee" McAlear
photo: Aaron McKenzie Fraser
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Roller derby's resurgence almost skips Ottawa - almost
"Some men like 'em quiet, some men like 'em shy, but give me a girl with some bruises on her butt and that killer look in her eye." - Uncle Leon and the AlibisForget cheerleaders and tennis belles. Roller derby girls are mean machines who combine athletics with sexiness and edge - it's an explosive mix that's been entertaining spectators worldwide since the 1930s. Roller derby teams have been dishin' out alternative fashions and a whole lot of bashin' everywhere in Canada except Ottawa. Is the capital a city fun forgot? Thanks to Kelly McAlear, that's about to change.
True to her roller derby namesake "Honey Bee," McAlear has been buzzing back and forth to Laval's Récréathèque every Tuesday night for the last year to skate with the Montreal Roller Derby League girls. Now that she's got the necessary know-how, she's itching to start up an Ottawa team. "I've been waiting for this for so long!" she says about the DIY, self-organized and community-spirited sport.
Supply and demand. McAlear knows there's a demand for roller derby in Ottawa, so now it's just a matter of supplying it - something she plans to do by holding two workshops, Roller Derby 101, which will introduce Ottawa girls (and guy referees) to roller derby and educate them about the game itself. The end goal is to begin selecting players for the team. But the fun doesn't stop there. As a promotional event, McAlear is holding a recruitment night and skate sale on Thursday, May 17, during Babylon's Rock and Roll Pizza Night, where
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she'll be selling second-hand classic-style Dominion roller skates that she bought off eBay. "I'm also authorized to sell new-model skates from Riddell," McAlear adds. All profits contribute to league fees for arena rentals, uniforms and equipment. The event also features musical guests DJ Billy and psychobilly street punks the Gutter Demons. If you miss that, you can meet McAlear and hear the Gutter Demons again on Friday, May 18, at Mavericks.Obviously, wild women racing around a closed circuit at breakneck speeds in provocative costumes to punk rock music can't help but attract some curiosity seekers. But does the sport itself have what it takes to sustain interest in this city beyond the superficial? XPress wanted to see just how popular the rock-and-roller's sport is, and so we jumped into McAlear's Vrtucar with photographer Aaron McKenzie Fraser and derby newbie Liz Bergeron and drove to Laval.
REVEL IN RIVALRY
Bergeron, who goes by the moniker "Liz Fox," is dressed all in black and sits silent in the car. She looks mean, but her face is beautiful and still intact despite a close encounter with an airborne beer bottle that flew at her head last month at the Dominion Tavern. Tonight is her first time practice-skating with the Montreal League, having learnt about the emerging Ottawa team from her sister, Suzie "Bone-Breaker" of the London Thrashers.
The roller rink in Laval takes us back to the roller disco on Sundays in the '80s that used to be held at a wooden flat track that once existed behind Ottawa's Museum of Science and Technology. Standing nearby is Liz Wright, a.k.a. "Liz On Ya." She's a member of Les Contrabanditas and a social worker in Montreal. She admits roller derby is a great way to blow off steam. Formerly from Ottawa herself, Wright points out that Ottawa definitely needs a team.
David Battistuzzi, who coaches Les Filles du Roi, agrees. "Ottawa would be a lot closer to get to," he says, encouraging the town rivalry. Being a sports fan himself, he became interested in roller derby immediately after seeing a live bout between the Contrabanditas and Toronto's Gore-Gore Girls.
With Ottawa networking between Montreal, Hamilton, Toronto and London, the inter-squad relations would enable a consistent lineup of bouts for every team and strengthen skills so that the girls can try out the higher-end competitions.
ROLLER RESURGENCE
Having transformed themselves into wheeled warriors, Honey Bee and Liz Fox join the Montrealers around the rink. XPress's photographer daringly jumps on the track to snap alongside a La Presse photographer.
"There's always press here," McAlear comments.
From Elle to Bust, media attention on roller derby has been gathering speed as the sport experiences an unprecedented revival (remember A&E's reality show Rollergirls?).
Roller derby began during the Great Depression when Leo Seltzer staged the "Transcontinental Roller Derby" at the Chicago Coliseum. The faster the participants skated and the harder they hit, the more spectacular it looked. The roughhousing and antics transformed the endurance game into a theatrical "show." Personalities like "Skinny Minnie" Miller and Ann Calvello turned roller derby into a household name.
"The game itself is a series of races between two teams of five players," writes Tracy Wilson in the entry for "Roller Derby" on the website Howstuffworks.com. "Each team's Jammer is the only player to score points. Three Blockers try to stop the other team's Jammer while propelling their own Jammer forward. Each team's Pivot acts like the pace car in a NASCAR race and controls the speed of the pack. The Pivot also keeps an eye on the Jammers, calls her team's plays and acts as a blocker. Helmet designs differentiate the positions - Jammers wear stars, Pivots wear stripes and Blockers wear blank helmets."
Today, the high-speed, high-impact game attracts "alternative" (read: tattooed, unapologetic) females seeking the kind of physical aggressiveness that typifies male-dominated sports. It's no wonder McAlear chose a dominatrix theme for the Ottawa team, for which she'll be looking to bars and/or tattoo shops to sponsor. Women from the city have already expressed an interest in forming a team, and with support already in place, Ottawa's team is just on the horizon.
Bring on the capital punishment.
Ottawa roller derby kicks off with a recruitment night and skate sale on Thursday, May 17, at Babylon, followed by the Roller Derby 101 workshops being held on Saturday, May 19, and Saturday, May 26, at Brewer Arena (210 Hopewell Avenue) from 7 to 9 p.m. - $20 if you have skates, $30 if you rent from McAlear and $2 for spectators. For more info, visit: www.myspace.com/ottawarollerderby.
| My sister is Kelly McAlear |
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I was "shocked" to learn of the talented Kelly "Honeybee" McAlear. My sister's name is Kelly McAlear and lives in California. Just for fun I looked up her name and came across "Honeybee." I immediately sent Honeybees article to my sister who said, "Oh, my God . . . she looks like me!" It's a small world and I would love for Kelly "Honeybee" to know that there is another Kelly McAlear (her maiden name) who lives in California. The only real resemblence is the hair color and nose. Smile.
I hope that Honeybee sees this comment and feels free to contact me at laytonartist@hotmail.com if she has any questions or wants photos of the California Kelly McAlear who is 50.
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carol McAlear - Merrill
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I would like to sign up if any teams are recruiting. I have been roller skating since I am very youg age. I also played ringettes for a number of years. About the sport, I will always remember my father and myself watched the rollerderby wen I was a little girl every Sunday afternoon. I am so happy that its coming back again. I will be a big fan of the sport and very supportive. Its to bad I can not make it at the fundraiser in Ottawa this evening. Any other fundraiser I will be very supportive of it.
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Lynn Vincent
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| More Team Sports for Females -- Bring It on! |
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The return of women's roller derby -- why not? There has been & still is way too much male domination in team sports already, both pro & amateur. Where are the Ottawa women's hockey team or baseball team, beyond the intramurals of post-secondary institutions? If they do exist, then why don't we hear more about them? Do they have trouble attracting sponsorships? Do they have trouble getting media to take them seriously? If you are a woman athlete who loves team sports, then you would pretty much have to become a professional student in this town. ("Okay, now that I have my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, maybe I should go for that M.B.A. next ...")
Maybe roller derby could change that & get more recognition for female team athletics in general.
Sure, tennis is great. But it's a solo sport (unless you're playing doubles). I'm a solo sport person myself (running & martial arts), but team sports are an excellent place to develop a sense of teamwork (essential in the workplace, since much work is done by multi-disciplinary teams & less by solo efforts) & camaraderie.
Also, I noticed great attention to the detail of what music is going with each session, fund raiser, etc.. Well that's no surprise given who wrote this article! Hey there Sylvie Hill, great to see you're still around & writing for the Xpress!
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Brad Thomas
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{1 vote}
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| Wide World of Retro-Sports |
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Good grief. I didn't miss this at all. It was on in the 70's every Saturday and my family watched it with great interest. Me? I found it boring then. I find it boring still and I wonder... what makes a woman want to smash other women around on a giant roller rink? I just... don't get the fascination or the sport as a whole. Is it a sport? It seems like a less messy version of women's mud wrestling to me. Fellas just like it because it's girl on girl action. Girls... well... I don't really know any who like it myself. To each his own.
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May Lebrun
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{2 votes}
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| My Roller Derby Buzz was Tempered by a Tired, Sad Refrain |
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A - I'm signin' UP!
B - Ottawans who whine that O-Town is dull are just posers who wanna sound 'hip'.
C - To the out-of-towners: If Ottawa is so 'dull' why do you systematically read and comment on our local paper?
Life's what you make it folks - so strap on your skates and get movin!
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Jenn Farr
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{8 votes}
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I was a huge fan of American Gladiators and that other show with the roller skaters ( NOT to be confused with rollerbladers which has not of the charm and sophistication of rollerskates!) so I was tickled pick by the article. Heck I even lloved that episode of King of the Hill where Peggy and Luanne started up the rollerskate team. Awesome!. There really are no words to describe how great this all is!
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Reuven De Souza
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{12 votes}
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"I think that the roller derby coming to Ottawa would be awesome for this dull city."--Frederick Warriner.
~O~
Hey, I didn't say it but why deny that this isn't what a lot of people are thinking. Honestly, in a world where there's such a thing as extreme unicycling (yes, it exists and yes, it is as nuts as you think it sounds) bringing back the kitschy coolness of the roller derby makes perfect sense because there are no more extremes left to exploit in the sports world. Go if you want to, have fun. Myself I'd rather strap on my 'blades and his the pavement while we've got some sun to enjoy.
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Pedro Eggers
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{4 votes}
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| Make way for the Beer Tent |
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Roller Derby!!! That word makes me want to shave a mullet into my head and slip into my favorite undershirt and sweatpants. I think that the roller derby coming to Ottawa would be awesome for this dull city. I mean what is more exciting then then going to an arena and seeing the ladies play for keeps, it would almost be like pro wrestling. I suppose it was a couple years ago when they tried to bring the sport back to the television, and i guess it wasn't that successful. It's a underground sport with a very cult fan base. I think the idea of bringing it to Ottawa would only help its success, with the lights, music, and action. I hope this sport finds a place in Ottawa, and Ottawa finds a place for it.
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Frederick Warriner
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{14 votes}
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I was happy when Ottawa got the Lacrosse team albeit it didn't stay around long. This I would definitely watch/see if hot girls slam each other listening to some good music...something rockin'...like what is played at Senators games these days. Contact sports require rock/punk/metal music to be played...not crap hip hop/rap or dance tunes...that only makes me shut the tv off or walk out of the sports arena.
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Ger Madden
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{9 votes}
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I remember when I was young and Roller Derby was a big sport and I remember every Saturday sitting in front of the television waiting for this to come on. I think that this is a great sport and I really liked watching the women at it. There were some real bad ass girls who could were really strong. If it does come to Ottawa, I think I will be in the line up to get tickets.
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Louise Lacroix
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{3 votes}
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