Rose City Rollers, Portland’s flat track roller derby program, is celebrating 20 years. The reigning international champions are bringing the competition home this fall, hosting the global championships Nov. 1-3 in Portland.
“I’m excited to show Portland this really cool, niche sport that feels really small, but also really big in my world,” said Beans — also known as Tina Tyre — co-captain of Rose City Rollers’ all-star travel team Wheels of Justice. “Most people that I talk to have never heard of roller derby. And then they come to the hangar and the energy and the people here — it just feels really good.”
In roller derby, two teams of five players skate around an oval track. One person on each team is the jammer, who scores points by lapping the four blockers on the opposing team. The four blockers, known as the pack, play defense and offense, trying to block their opponent’s jammer while also helping their own jammer get past the opponent’s pack.
Roller derby emerged in the 1930s but its popularity ebbed and flowed through the decades. Some iterations were more theatrical, with the campy energy of a WWE wrestling match.
In the early 2000s, groups of women in Texas and Arizona formed roller derby teams.
In 2004, Kim Stegeman and Jeffrey Wonderful — a prominent member of Portland Organic Wrestling, the now-defunct theatrical sports entertainment group — were at a punk show when they started talking about forming a roller derby league.
Stegeman, who goes by Rocket Mean in derby, said they weren’t initially aware of roller derby’s resurgence in other states. Dozens of leagues soon started to pop up around the country.
It feels magical, Rocket Mean said, “that a whole bunch of us who were largely women in our mid-to-late-20s were looking for community and all came up with the same strange idea at the same time.”
Rose City Rollers formed in 2004 and hosted its first bout in 2005. Rose City Rollers was among the initial leagues that formed the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, which now has more than 400 member leagues around the world.
Roller derby today is different from the more theatrical or brutal versions of the past.
“We’re not tackling people, we’re not elbowing people in the face, we’re not clothes-lining people, or anything like that. It is full contact, and it’s really aggressive. But we have rules to keep it safe,” Wheels of Justice jammer and Rose City Rollers spokesperson Loren Kaplan-Mutch said. “We’re athletes that are performing, but it’s not like a show.”
It’s an aggressive and intense game, one that some participants described as “rugby, but on skates.” But there’s still a lighthearted theatrical element to it, with skaters playing under names like “Eve Anne Hellical,” “Big Bang Fury,” or “Grey’s Lobotomy.”
Beans didn’t seek out roller derby, but agreed to tag along when a friend wanted to try it out.
“It was a 30-minute practice. I was the sweatiest I’ve ever been, and I never stopped coming back,” Beans said.
Roller derby was Beans’ first contact sport. She’s now played for 14 years, nearly half of that in Portland.
“I’m pretty sweet and kind and soft in real life. And then I come here and I get a little bit harder, a little bit tougher,” Beans said.
The Rose City Rollers league now includes the all-star program with two teams: Wheels of Justice and the B-team, Axles of Annihilation; four home teams, who compete against each other; an adult recreational program called the Wreckers; and youth programs.
Mutch-Kaplan, who goes by Mutch on the track (previously Mutch Mayhem) started roller derby as a teen in Washington.
“I fell in love with the community of it, and just everyone’s passion for making these events happen, because everybody is a volunteer,” Mutch said. Rose City Rollers has grown into one of the biggest leagues in the country, with 14 employees. But the league still heavily relies on dozens of volunteer referees and coaches. Players also aren’t paid.
Mutch moved to Portland and joined Rose City in 2011.
“It’s just become like a family. And it’s challenging, so it’s really rewarding,” Mutch said.
Wheels of Justice’s roster also includes co-captain Bonnie Thunders, born Nicole Williams, who is widely regarded as one of the best roller derby players in the world. Bonnie Thunders played for Gotham Girls before joining Wheels of Justice in 2017. Along with OMG WTF, another current all-star skater, Bonnie Thunders owns the roller skate shop Five Stride.
World champions
The last international championship was in 2019, pre-COVID. Wheels of Justice defeated Gotham Girls of New York for the Hydra, the trophy awarded to the top team at internationals. Wheels of Justice won the Hydra in four of the past five global championships, only losing out in 2017 to the Victorian Roller Derby League from Australia.
Wheels of Justice has won all of its dozen bouts in the past year.
“We are undefeated and we hope to keep it that way. But we also love a challenge. We want to be tested and we don’t do it because it’s easy. We’re undefeated but still hungry,” Mutch said.
“The challenge is getting better when you’re already at the top of your game,” Beans said. “What innovative things can you do to be better? How can you challenge yourself more to be better for yourself, for your team and for your opponents? Showing our opponents our best game is the most respect we can give anybody.”
Before globals, Wheels of Justice will head to regional championships June 14-16 in Arizona. Wheels of Justice is ranked first in the North America western region, followed by Denver’s Mile High Club. The St. Louis Arch Rivals are top in the northeast and, fitting the name, a top contender to dethrone Wheels of Justice.
“We’ve won four titles. But at some point somebody’s going to topple us. It might be this year,” Rocket Mean said. “People really want to see an underdog win. Our skaters are going to have to really bust hump and figure out how to work well as a team; build a fan base, because it’s kind of hard coming back after COVID; and … be really in tune with who they are, in order to continue to win championships.”
Portlanders are more familiar with the league’s four home teams — Break Neck Betties, Guns N Rollers, Heartless Heathers, and High Rollers — than with the all-star teams. The home teams compete at Rose City’s track in a hangar next to Oaks Park, which can seat more than 400 fans.
“A lot of our audience doesn’t get to see and fall in love with Wheels of Justice,” Rocket Mean said. “They are the most unbelievable athletes. Their skating skills are crazy good. But our fan base isn’t super connected to them because most of their gameplay doesn’t happen here in Portland, it happens at tournaments around the world.”
The all-stars played a rare bout at home in early May, but it was just against themselves, splitting into two teams to give Portlanders an opportunity to see them in action.
Rose City Rollers want the global championships at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum “to be something where lots of Portland is engaged in it,” Rocket Mean said. “We want to make this an event where Portlanders really feel welcomed and (where) we get attendees that are from all over the world going out and exploring Portland.”
Room to fall
Some popular sports are hard to jump into for the first time as an adult, when it seems like even a casual player has been kicking a soccer ball since they learned to walk. Roller derby’s position as a niche sport can make it easier to break into as an adult.
Mutch, one of the stars on Wheels of Justice, “was a wicked good skater as a teenager” and is “also generally a super jock,” Rocket Mean said.
For naturally athletic players like Mutch, “it’s all about them learning the game and honing their skill,” Rocket Mean said. “For most of the rest of us in the world, it’s about coming out as an average player and going, ‘I have the heart, the determination and the dedication to do this.’”
Players work up to the competitive full-contact game.
At your first practices, “you’re basically waddling around the track with other people that are waddling around the track,” Rocket Mean said. “There are whole practices that are dedicated to how you fall and get back up.”
Rose City also has a lending program with equipment like skates, helmets and knee pads available to borrow, since quality equipment can be a barrier for new skaters.
As a relatively large league, Rose City is able to have enough teams and programs to separate skaters at different levels, rather than having a brand-new skater get slammed into by an experienced athlete while they’re just trying to stay upright on their skates.
“We are blessed with amazing coaches and our space and a lot of people that have put tons and tons of hours into building out our curriculum so that it’s there to support people at every level of learning derby,” Rocket Mean said.
The league is open to women and gender-expansive people.
New players start out with a four-week Intro to Derby class series and join the Wreckers, the recreational program. The Wreckers’ next home bout is scheduled for Friday, May 17 against Crow City Derby from Hillsboro.
Players who are itching for more competition can enter the draft for the four home teams. The home teams have just two double-headers left in the season. On Saturday, May 18, Guns N Rollers will play Heartless Heathers, followed by High Rollers vs. Break Neck Betties.
The home team championships will take place Saturday, June 8.
The all-star B-team, Axles of Annihilation, has a special bonus home game on Sunday, May 26. Tickets for all events are available on rosecityrollers.com .
Rose City Rollers, a nonprofit, holds fundraisers like the Roller Rally Carnival. The May 19 fundraiser, which features classic carnival experiences like face painting, carnival games and a bouncy castle, raises money for Rose City Rollers’ youth programs and the equipment lending library.
Read more about Rose City Rollers’ youth programs, the Rosebuds and the Rose Petals, online later this week or in the May 22 edition of the Portland Tribune..
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