Harbor City Roller Dames find respect on rink

SUEPRIOR - The sport of roller derby is gaining popularity in the Northland.  The Harbor City Roller Dames formed three years ago and recently added a second team.

"Our veteran team is the Nautikills and our newer team is the Fresh Catch," said player Heidi Blunt.

"If you watch roller derby, it’s controlled chaos… control is used lightly," said referee Heather Davies.

"It’s a contact sport on roller skates," said Blunt.

"You can hip-check somebody or shoulder-check someone, but you’re not allowed to use your elbows—no elbowing in the face and you can’t hit somebody in the back when you’re not looking."

"There’s usually about seven or eight referees during the bout that are keeping score and keeping track of penalties," said Davies.

"The object of the game is to get your jammer to pass the track and the group of skaters.  The jammer is the ball, so to speak. She’s the one that scores points.

She wears the star on her helmet," said veteran player Kelly Mullan.

"The jammer needs to break through the pack one time, lap everyone, come back through a second time and for each opposing player she passes, she scores one point."

"You gotta get your girl through.  It’s very fast-paced," said Blunt.

"The sport itself is a lot of fun. It’s a lot of work, but it takes all types of girls. There’s really fast ones, there’s great blockers, and it’s a really great work out."

"On the track, I go by 'Blunt Cakes.'  So everyone’s got an interesting alter-ego."

"My name is 'Red Malicious,'" said Mullan.

"And my derby name is 'Bubonic Tonic,'" said Davies.

"It just allows you to kind of have an alter ego that you get to express yourself," said Mullan.

"You have no idea how much fun this sport can be!

It’s like nothing else," said Davies.

The Harbor City Roller Dames play two bouts on Saturday at Wessman Arena in Superior.  The doors open at 6:00 p.m. and play starts at 6:30.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit PAVSA.