Meet the Long Beach Roller Derby League
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Roller derby is not for the weak of heart.
The Long Beach Roller Derby has officially started.
The fledgling league began its season this month and expects to have its inaugural match by the end of March, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported.
If horse racing is the sport of kings, roller derby is the sport of queens. Or to put a finer point on it, punk-rocking, we-don't-take-no-crap-from-no-one, elbow-throwing queens.
The game involves two teams of five skaters circling a track. Each team's "jammer" attempts to lap opponents. Bruises ensue.
Hundreds of leagues are already in play across the country (LA Derby Dolls, OC Roller Girls), but the LBRD is a first for Long Beach, the Press-Telegram reported.
The league is comprised of about 120 players split into three teams: the Terminal Island Tootsies, Fourth Street Retro Rollers and Bixby Rollerettes.
All three teams will square off this year, but the league is still hoping to assemble a traveling team.
"We'd eventually like to have a kick-ass travel team," Steilin told the newspaper.
