Let’s give ’em something to brawl about

On most days, the ladies of the Cajun Rollergirls lead a pretty normal life. They are students, bar hostesses, secretaries and marine biologists.

But for three days a week, they trade in their 9-to-5 routines for shoulder checks, booty bumps and bone-crushing roller derby action.

To help establish the sport in the area, the Houma-based Cajun Rollergirls will host its first ever full-scale bout “Fall Brawl” on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Warren J. Harang Municipal Auditorium in Thibodaux.

The Thanksgiving-themed bout features the Punk Rock Indians (Cajun Rollergirls) versus the Burlesque Pilgrims (Red Stick Roller Derby of Baton Rouge).

“Expect something this area has never seen before and that’s a fact,” said 25-year-old Traci Nelton, aka Olive Torture, Cajun Rollergirls president and founder.

“This is history in the making,” she added. “The Tri-parishes has never had roller derby before. Here we are.”

For those who weren’t born until after the 1970s when roller derby was last popular, here’s a synopsis of the sport: Bouts consist of two teams of five players each on the track. Eight players are bunched together in a pack. The two in front are the pivots, who set the pace for the pack. The rest are the blockers.

Twenty yards behind the blockers is one player from each team. They are the jammers. A jammer scores one point from each opposing blocker they pass. It is the blockers’ job to prevent the opposing jammer from passing.

This will be the first bout for many of the Cajun Rollergirls. So what draws a young lady to such a physical contact sport?

“Knocking people out,” said 18-year-old Monique Verdin, aka Monstah, unapologetically. “I like the craziness and roughness of it.”

The Ellender Memorial High School senior became interested about a year ago when the Cajun Rollergirls held one of its demonstrations at her school.

Despite being on the soccer, softball and powerlifting teams, Verdin admits roller derby is more physically taxing than she first envisioned.

“We practice three days a week (usually Monday, Wednesday and Saturday) and we skate almost two hours straight, ” she said. “You need a lot of endurance and speed to do this.”

Proof of the toll the workouts take on the team can be found in the puke bucket.

“We puke after practice because we skate our hearts out,” Nelton explained. “A lot of girls that smoked, don’t smoke anymore. Everybody quit because they want to breathe.”

For team coach, 27-year-old Shannon Loupe, aka Swerve, roller derby was the only thing exciting enough that compared to her former job.

“I was a whitewater guide on the Ocoee River (in Tennessee),” the Houma native said. “There was nothing in this area that captured that type of rush.”

Some of the Rollergirls have paid a steep price to get their thrills. Like any other sport, injuries are part of the game despite their protective gear – helmet, wrist guards, mouthpiece, and knee and elbow pads.

Sprained ankles and sore knees are the most common injury among the group, but Jennifer Whitney, aka JenRL Damage, broke her ankle and was out of action for three months.

Still, that didn’t put any hesitation in the 46-year-old Louis St. Martin Law Firm secretary or the other Rollergirls about getting physical on the track

“I’m going to do it as long as possible,” she insisted. “I have such a great fellowship with girls and there’s this exciting feeling that you’ve accomplished something after every practice. Plus, it’s a good workout.”

“You have to learn how to fall and not be afraid to take the pain,” said 39-year-old Denis Kinsey, aka Alpha Bitch, a Department of Wildlife and Fisheries marine biologist.

“Don’t psych yourself. It’s easier to let yourself fall and recover than trying to prevent every bump and bruise,” she added.

The journey to put on this first bout was a bumpy one for the Rollergirls.

Founded in April 2008, the upstart league grew to about 20 members by the time the first scrimmage was held in August. That bout was against the Big Easy Roller Girls from New Orleans at the local team’s former home rink, Wheels-R-Rollin in Schriever.

Then hurricanes Gustav and Ike decimated the team, leaving only five original members – Nelton, Loupe, Whitney, Katrina Whitecotton, aka HouMaCiDaL Kat, and Renee Roddy, aka Speedy Gunz Alice.

But Nelton never considered giving up on her dream.

“I handed out fliers at Southland Mall. I skated my downtown route every day to advertise the team and just so people can see me skating,” she recalled.

By July 2009, the Rollergirls had rebounded to about 12 to 15 skaters and three referees. They were on the verge of scheduling regular Women’s Flat Track Derby Association bouts when Wheels-R-Rollin was sold, leaving them without a rink.

Instead of folding, Nelton decided it was time to network.

“Some of us got sponsorships to go to RollerCon (a roller derby convention) in Las Vegas,” Nelton explained. “There were roller derby leagues from all around the world there. So we got to network and meet a lot of people.

“We got to do seminars on how to fundraise and put on bouts and classes on certain skills and drills,” she added. “We learned a lot of practice drills at the convention, brought it back, applied it to our team so we could have our first game. We looked at other leagues to see how they put on events and asked a lot of questions.”

The Rollergirls found a new home rink at Aggie’s Skate Connection in East Houma and, after months of fundraising, were able organize the bout.

The Rollergirls have invited other roller derby leagues to come down for their debut bout, so they are under more pressure to prove they are for real. But they seem up for the challenge.

“We were only a few months old when we had that first scrimmage. Now, we’re legit skaters,” Nelton insisted. “Our skill level is up there. We’re ready to kick butt.

“Even if we don’t win, we’re going to put on a really, really good bout,” she promised. “You will see girls hitting and flying everywhere.”

Doors open at 6 p.m. The bout gets rolling at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster or the auditorium box office. They are $10 for adults in advance and $12 at the door. For children ages 2 to 12, tickets are $4 in advance and $6 at the door. Youngsters under age 2 get in free.

For more information on the bout, sponsorship packages or the Cajun Rollergirls, visit their Web site at www.cajunrollergirls.com, or call Nelton at (985) 860-6562.