PREVIEW: Where Sport Meets Art: Roller Derby Team Hellions of Troy
Photos by Elissa Ebersold
“We want everyone, regardless of gender, age, or whether you're interested in skating or not. We want everyone to come here and feel good.”
Spending a weekend afternoon watching a local roller derby team power through a game is one of the best things in the world. Everyone loves cheering on players as they kick ass and make the city proud.
On Saturday, May 9, the Hellions of Troy will be going head-to-head against the team from Leigh Valley. This will be a double header where both rostered teams, the Hellions and Trojan Force, are skating in separate bouts in one day. This means that if you miss one, you can still experience the fun of roller derby with the other. Although, with a sport as high speed and intense as derby, you’ll want to be sure to catch both bouts.
Roller derby is a full-contact sport. While it has a reputation for being violent and scary (which isn’t untrue), roller derby also requires a massive amount of teamwork and respect for your teammates and competitors alike. When you attend a derby bout, you’re sure to see smiles and hugs in the same frequency as you will see collisions and shoving.
Roller derby culture encourages self expression as much as it does strength and power. One of the most well known features of roller derby are the puns that make up the skater’s derby names, but the creativity goes far beyond that. For the bouts, skaters will don makeup, wear costume pieces, and decorate their skin with temporary tattoos and drawings. In the last two bouts, Hellions skater Slammy Whipchester has taken to the rink in a full face of makeup, looking like a sad clown or the team’s logo. One could argue that while roller derby already attracts people from the queer community, there is also an element of drag that comes with coming up with fun names, bout costumes, and more.
The Hellions’ creative services director, who goes by the derby name Jinx, spoke to me about how roller derby can often be an intersection between sports and art. As we talked, another member of the team designed a poster for the upcoming bout.
“As a career graphic designer, I have a lot of constraints that work,” Jinx said. ”It's a very bureaucratic environment. So when I'm here, not only do I have the support of my teammates, who are the loveliest people in the world, I'm able to explore more of that side of my interests, and my specialty in graphic design, merged with a sport I had never heard of until a few years ago, and I never would have thought I would be playing.”
The team has also been interested in working with local musicians and artists to be a part of the bouts and participate in the fun chaos of the day. Jinx discussed that the Hellions are still figuring out how to include them, but they want that to be a part of the half-time between jams. There is also opportunity for vendors of any kind to set up booths at the bouts. The vendors don’t have to be specific to derby or skating, so let anyone who may be interested know they can get involved! (Interested bands or vendors should reach out to hellionsboutproduction@gmail.com.)
Hellions of Troy is a fully skater-owned team that was formed in 2008. The team is entirely self-funded, including bout production, coaching, public relations, and merchandising. The Hellions are one of many teams in the Capital Region and there are even more up and down the east coast. Roller derby is a sport that is inclusive to people of all abilities, skills, and backgrounds. The Hellions are always looking for new members, including new skaters, but also non-skating officials to help with things like refereeing, organizing, marketing, managing, and more.
If you are interested in learning more about roller derby or want to get involved, Hellions of Troy has an interest form on their website. Whether you have been skating all your life or don’t even know how to put on skates, the Hellions, and most derby teams, will welcome you with open arms and teach you how to kick ass in a way that’s safe and fun for everyone.
“At the end of the day,” Jinx told me over the sound of wheels hitting the floor and whistles blowing, “One of the biggest things about our league is we want everyone, regardless of gender, age, whether you're interested in skating, or not skating. We want everyone to come here and feel good.”
Hellions of Troy will be participating in hometown bouts on 5/9, 6/20, 8/1, and 8/29. Each bout will be held at the Delmar YMCA and tickets can be purchased at the door. For more information, visit the Hellions website at gohellions.com or follow them on Instagram at @hellionsoftroy.
