Girl Fest 2010 in Association with Pacific Roller Derby: Down and Derby

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Category: Hawaii Womens, Girls Xtreme Sports

Published on 15 November 2010

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By: Dusty Harms - Wahine Sports Network Photo Journalist

149652_1509789504706_1233405439_31204957_1439874_n Girl Fest; an array of art and educational exhibits, workshops and events promoting the stop of violence against women and girls in Hawaii and worldwide, teamed up Saturday evening with Pacific Roller Derby to put on an Interisland “Down and Derby” event. It was a battle of the islands as ladies across the state with racy stage names dressed in tight shorts and underwear over fishnet stockings and knee high socks, took to the flat track for a night of spills and thrills. At the blow of a whistle ladies were blocking, pushing, and taunting each other to get their jammers ahead of the pack and scoring points. Roller Derby; which is played on a flat track no bigger than a basketball court, is comprised of teams of five women, who skate counterclockwise around the track for a two minute session, or jam, attempting to block the opponent teams jammer from lapping the pack. Every time a jammer laps points are given for the number of opposing team member passed.

The event promoted non-violence toward women and children, except in the rink, where good sportsmanship was expected. It didn't matter what team a person was on, if a player went down everyone stopped and either took a knee or were there to help the injured player back up. As in true Roller Derby fashion, taunting and sexual innuendo's were a part of the event, and, in this writers opinion, while suitable for adults, was probably not appropriate for a family event where young children were in attendance. If you're interested in becoming a part of the team, or volunteering you can go to the Pacific Roller Derby website at :http://www.pacificrollerderby.com/Contact.html, they're always looking for more people to get involved and get the word out about Roller Derby.