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The athletes on these She Devils teams range in age from 18 to 47; they span the spectrum of lifestyles and professions — photographers, nurses, stay-at-home mothers, teachers, hairdressers and students, to name a few.
The guys, like Jeff "Wags" Weigold, are just as happy to be part of it all.
"I really enjoy the friendships here. The people are the best part," said Weigold, during a recent practice held at Jamz Roller Skating Center at 7017 Roosevelt Blvd. "Everyone is really cool. It’s not just the exercise, and the ability to take out all your aggression, but the friends are the best thing about this."
"Wags" — that’s what his teammates call him — became involved with roller derby as a referee. The Northeast resident always wanted to compete, he said, but roller derby found its niche as a women’s sport.
"Sooner or later I knew it was going to happen, though," he said, referring to more opportunity for men. "I knew it was going to break. There’s enough guys coming in that want to play. So I just waited."
Then, in 2007, it finally happened.
The league became co-ed.
"It’s tough because a lot of people still think roller derby is a girl thing," said Rob "Bobby Carnage" Wyatt, a tattoo apprentice from Bristol, Pa., who is captain of the Hell City Hooligans. "But it’s really competitive for the guys. We’re breaking ground so far, I think. We all work with each other and learn from each other."
More than seven decades ago, the sport of roller derby came into play as nothing more than a skating race. It was generally favored by women, and speed was the name of the game. By the late 1960s and ’70s, however, it had evolved into an entertaining but brutal team sport followed by raucous fans who lived for the pain of it all.
Roller derby starts with five players from each team on the track. There is one "pivot" from each team up front, followed by two regular blockers and one main blocker. In the rear are two "jammers" — one from each squad.
Pivots and blockers start the match by forming a pack. It is their responsibility to keep the other team’s jammer — positioned about 20 feet behind the pack at the start of the race — from passing by.
Each team’s jammer tries to pass the skating pack again and again, scoring a point with each lap. It’s not a particularly fun job, since opposing skaters can stymie the jammer by throwing blocks with just about any body part above the hips. Shoulders and elbows are permissible. Forearms, hands and heads are not.
These derby contests span three 20-minute periods, with penalties administered for illegal blocks and unsportsmanlike conduct, such as fighting.
The competitors are free to wear any type of skates they desire, as long as they are quads. Inline skates aren’t allowed. For safety reasons, the players must wear wrist guards, elbow guards, knee guards and helmets.
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After you’ve seen these ruthless athletes in action, it seems that most aren’t too worried about injuries.
"I’ve broken a couple things, but nothing bad enough that I can’t heal," said Liz "Miss Chievous" Lazenby, a 24-year-old Mayfair resident who is captain of the Dishonor Roll squad. "I shattered my wrist and hand, tore pretty much most of the muscles in my knees, sprained a couple ankles, got a really bad concussion . . . ."
And still, even after three years of this nasty treatment, Lazenby keeps showing up, ready to rumble.
"When I shattered my hand and wrist, I was out for six weeks," she said. "Once I was healed, it took me a good three weeks to want to actually participate again. I was afraid I was going to hurt it. But then once you get that first fall out of the way, and you don’t hurt yourself, then you’re good to go.
"I love this," she added. "I plan on doing this until I break something severely and can’t do it anymore."
Her teammates pretty much have the same philosophy.
"Getting over the fear is probably the toughest part," explained Liz "Baby Skates Nelson" Mikolajczyk, one of the She Devils rookies. "Getting over the fear of falling, fear of getting hit in the wrong place. Once I get over the fear, I can physically do whatever it was that I was afraid to do."
Mikolajczyk — an operator for the Sunoco Oil Refinery, a wife and the mother of 4-year-old son Rory — learned of the She Devils while searching the Internet for a local roller derby league.
She’s willing to make the trip from her home in Wilmington, Del.
"I drive more than an hour to practice here," she said. "There are leagues down there too, but Judy and Skip are such professional coaches, and I also liked that they didn’t cut anybody. You just stayed on the team until you were ready to be placed."
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The She Devils league and its four teams are headed by coaches Judy "The Polish Ace" Sowinski and Arnold "Skip" Schoenbachler, both former professional skaters. One of their policies is to give any athlete willing to work and play hard a chance to compete.
"I got to watch it for a night before I tried skating," recalled Mikolajczyk, when asked about her first impression of the She Devils teams. "It looked like a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to get along really well, and they really push each other and encourage each other."
The rookie has not yet been placed on a team, but other skaters say she is constantly improving. After all, she is being taught by coaches who’ve spent years around the game.
Meet the She Devils’ head honcho, Judy Sowinski.
"The Polish Ace," as she is known to fellow skaters, has been involved with the league since its inception three years ago. She’d competed in the rink for almost 30 years, highlighted in 2004 with her induction to the Roller Derby Hall of Fame.
"Now that I’m retired, this gives me something to do that I’ve loved my whole life," she said. "It’s just unfortunate that it’s a new organization and it takes time to build and get competition. But we have some very talented skaters here, and I’m excited to watch them develop."
Arnold "Skip" Schoenbachler — who has been skating professionally since 1968 — also has been a key part of the She Devils league from the beginning.
"I enjoyed it so much when I was skating that I wanted to share it with others," he said. "I’m trying to pass the fun aspect of the game to new players."
Although practices are filled with laughter and words of encouragement among the teams, the two coaches emphasize the hard work and dedication needed to clash in the rink.
Because on game day, everything changes.
"It’s hard to remember that you’re friends, and it’s hard to leave it on the track sometimes," said Luciano. "We all know that it’s not personal. And it helps that after the games, we all go out together, as a league, and celebrate.
"That helps. Add alcohol in the mix and everyone loves each other again," she said with a laugh.
For some players, such as Spann — main blocker for the Dishonor Roll — knocking her friends-turned-opponents out of her way isn’t the hardest part. She also has to face her spouse in the rink.
"My husband is playing now, too. He started skating last spring," Spann said of her husband of two and half years, Tim "D Machine" Spann, who skates with the Hell City Hooligans. "It’s fun. I like it a lot. If we have an argument or something, we can come in and beat up on each other. Not really, though. We’re actually pretty good. When we’re up against each other in the pace, or we’re blocking, we can play a little bit harder because we know what we can handle and what we can’t. That’s a lot of fun."
In the end, the athletes who find good times with the PennJersey She Devils share a common bond — they love to skate.
"I’ve always roller-skated since I was a kid," said Weigold. "I remember my parents dropping us off at the Palace Skating Rink. I kissed my first girl at the Palace," he added with a laugh.
"We always played roller hockey in the streets and stuff like that. So when this came along, I fell right into it," Weigold said. "I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, so now that it’s here, I just hope it stays." ••
The PennJersey She Devils teams will play 8 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at the Deptford Skating and Fun Center, 510 Deptford Ave. in Westville, N.J., and on June 28 at 8 p.m. at the International Sports Center, 1 Hovtech Blvd., in Mount Laurel, N.J.
Tickets cost $12 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.shedevilsrollerderby.com
Sports editor Melissa Yerkov can be reached at 215-354-3035 or myerkov@phillynews.com