| It may surprise you who the real identities behind | | | | best things about my decision to join derby is the |
| some of your favorite derby personalities are. | | | | fact that I am once again apart of a team. I love |
| The ladies who make up the Silicon Valley Roller | | | | the feeling of being a part of something bigger |
| Girls are just like the ladies of any other derby | | | | than myself, and when you join derby, you join |
| team, an eclectic mix of women from many | | | | your league and you join Women's All Flat Track |
| backgrounds and professions. SVRG is made up | | | | Derby, the reigning national regulator of the sport. |
| of teachers, mothers, fitness trainers, corporate | | | | In addition to spending time with teammates at |
| employees and more. They are the | | | | practice, most roller derby women are involved in |
| girls-next-door by day and hard-hitting derby | | | | derby extra-curriculars like league meetings, |
| women by night. However one of the biggest | | | | fundraisers, craft nights, community service and |
| draws to this sport, which has seen a huge rebirth | | | | more. Soon, the women of SVRG will be doing |
| in the past few years, isn't the draw of derby | | | | community service at Happy Hallow, a park and |
| stardom or the guaranteed hard-hitting action. For | | | | zoo in San Jose, California. Recently after much |
| many girls, one of the main reasons they join | | | | planning and hard work, we recently raised $1,400 |
| roller derby is for the camaraderie of team play. | | | | at a mud wrestling fundraiser. Selling merchandise, |
| I know that this is especially true for me. After a | | | | raffle tickets, the opportunity to see derby girls |
| difficult decision to move back to my hometown | | | | mud wrestling and spankings, the proceeds will go |
| in the Bay Area, I was really down about being | | | | towards our first home turf bout during Labor |
| away from all of my friends that I left behind in | | | | Day weekend. |
| New Orleans. I wanted to do something where I'd | | | | All of these events are the result of the women |
| meet people, especially girls, that I would actually | | | | of SVRG working hard to keep the dream of |
| like, and after playing sports almost my entire life, | | | | derby in the Silicon Valley alive. Working together |
| I really missed the fun and comradery of team | | | | to put on all these various events brings the team |
| play. I had toyed with the idea of joining a derby | | | | closer. Derby women do have the desire to |
| team while living out in the Big Easy, but I never | | | | knock some girls around on the rink, but what |
| really found the time. My moving blues were | | | | makes a great derby team is the closeness that |
| swiftly alleviated when I attended my first roller | | | | comes from all the work they do together off |
| derby practice with SVRG at the end of March. | | | | the rink. |
| Three months later, I can still say that one of the | | | | |