Valley Independent Sentinel

CT Roller Derby Girls In Derby?

by Eugene Driscoll | Jan 25, 2012 9:48 pm

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Posted to: Derby, awesome.

One of the more unusual items up for discussion at Thursday’s Board of Aldermen meeting?

ROLLER DERBY!

That’s right, incumbent Mayor Anthony Staffieri and Democratic challenger Dan Foley, Jr. are donning skates and helmets and elbow pads to go at it for a bruising third mayoral round — THIS TIME ON THE FLAT TRACK.

TWO MEN ENTER. ONE MAN LEAVES.

Yes, two of the four paragraphs above are bold-faced lies.

But, the CT Roller Girls, a popular roller derby organization right here in Connecticut, is on the Aldermen’s agenda. They are seeking permission for a 5K race to be held on the Derby Greenway. The event is tentatively scheduled for June 10, 2012 with a rain date of June 17.

The race would start at the Derby-Shelton bridge, then continue along the Greenway to BJ’s before looping around and ending at O’Sullivan’s Island.

The Aldermen have a letter on file from the CT Roller Girls explaining what the organization is and what they hope to pull off in Derby.

The organization, launched in 2006, is a female roller derby league. Players don super-clever names such as Parker Poison, Murphys Outlaw and Girl Fawkes.

The CT Roller Girls have received a ton of press since launching, and they qualified as a non-profit organization in 2009.

The derby they play is real. It’s a workout, the athleticism is legit. The league doesn’t accentuate the pro-wrestling-like campy violence that made roller derby a curiosity in the hard rockin’ 70s.

The sport is about a decade into its latest comeback.

The CT players consider themselves role models for young girls, according to a letter they submitted to the Derby Aldermen.

The purpose of their 5K is still in the planning stages, but the CT Roller Girls host a number of charity fund-raisers for various charities every year.

The Roller Girls want to run in Derby not just because it’s marketing gold — Roller Derby Girls in Derby! — but a bunch of the players are from the Valley, and, heck, everyone loves the Derby Greenway.

About 15 or so of the roughly 45 roller derby girls are from the Valley.

“A few of us are from Shelton and one of the girls is familiar with the river walk,” said Jill Vidal, a 26-year-old Shelton resident who rolls for the CT Girls. You might know her better as her roller derby alter ago, Girl Fawkes.

The CT Roller Derby Girls play their matches in Woodbridge and practice in Waterbury.

The Derby Board of Aldermen meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers on the second floor of Derby City Hall at 1 Elizabeth St.

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