Darla Rorick isn’t really sure how she got into roller derby.
She has three sons, who are involved in wrestling and football, and wanted to a way to emulate the hard work and aggressiveness they show in their sports throughout the year.
Maybe that’s the reason.
She had heard about roller derby. It’s gained in popularity since the decade began but never had the courage to go give it a try.
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A few years ago she got the confidence, driving to Columbus Skateland where the Columbus Terrorz practiced, walking right in and immediately welcomed into the fold.
“I was just interested in it and it took me a couple of years before I built up the guts to do it,” she remembers. “I wanted some kind of fun activity for exercise and a little competitiveness.”
Established in 2011, Terrorz Roller Derby is Columbus’ only all female, flat track, skater owned and operated roller derby league.
Their goal has always been to bring roller derby to women in the area, not just Columbus, and show them women and girls of all ages can be strong and independent in addition to balancing work, family and social lives.
There are some pretty basic requirements that need to be met before one can sign up for roller derby.
Participants must be at least 18 years old, have proof of personal medical insurance, be able to dedicate time to the sport, pay monthly dues, serve on a league committee, purchase Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) insurance after becoming a member and purchase skates and other safety gear.
The Terrorz have gear that can be borrowed at the start.
Rorick says practice is pretty open, ranging from just simply taking laps to doing full-on practice bouts. But each individual gets to practice anything they want or anything they feel they need to work on.
However, before anyone can practice with the rest of the group, they first need to pass a series of skills test.
“Very first practice they teach you proper ways to fall so that you don’t injure yourself and after you pass that there is more full contact," Rorick said.
Once that’s been completed, you’re shown how to make proper contact with someone else on the rink. There are various illegal hits that can accrue penalties or injure other skaters that Rorick says needs to be drilled out of someone before they can join the rest of the group.
There are also various agility tests to take as well.
"You have to do what we call a 27 and five, which is 27 laps in five minutes," Rorick said. "You have to do agility tests because they want to make sure you’re safe not just for yourself but for others as well.”
The whole beginner process takes about two months says Rorick.
While Rorick says everyone involved with Columbus Terrorz Roller Derby, they are very strict in one aspect.
Safety.
Full gear required to skate includes knee pads, elbow pads, wrist pads, a mouth guard and, most importantly, a helmet. If Rorick is missing just one of those items, she’s not skating.
"If you don’t have that on then they don’t let you out there," she said. "You can’t be on the floor without any of that.”
Despite Rorick wanting to channel some of the aggression her sons display on the gridiron or on wrestling mats, she says no one that shows up to roller derby is out to hurt anyone.
Yes, part of the risk of roller derby is someone might get injured. It is, after all, a physical sport and no matter how many times someone practices falling, it still hurts.
Trying to injure one another defeats the goal the Columbus Terrorz tries to accomplish: to empower women and girls.
There are plenty of bouts but the whole collection of competitors is more like one big family or sisterhood and less like a lot of teams battling each other.
Rorick says the one thing she cherishes more than the fun or exercising is the comradery. It’s also something she hadn’t expected to gain when she joined but wouldn’t trade away.
She says anyone interested in joining roller derby should simply show up to Skateland in Columbus for practices which are typically on Wednesdays or Sundays. An up-to-date schedule can be found online at terrorzrollerderby.com
Even though the Terrorz are completely comprised of women, men can also join and help out as bout officials.