Twenty-one local women and counting have become enamored of the fast-paced, hard-hitting game of roller derby.
The Mountain Maulers, a new derby team in Boulder Creek, are jumping into the rink for a taste of the rapid action.
“We all have our reasons for joining derby,” said Melanie Burgess, team captain and co-founder. “Some like the intensity, and some like the strategy.”
Roller derby is played on a circular track, with five women skating on each team at a time. The objective is to use four of the players as a wrecking crew of blockers to open holes and to push the fifth and speediest player through the other team and around the track. Each time the speedy player laps the other team, her team earns a point.
“We work hard learning how to fall properly without getting hurt, how to skate the circuit and how to hit each other without causing too much damage,” Burgess said. “The first rule in derby is, ‘There are no sorries.’”
The Maulers range in age from early 20s to mid 40s, from single girls living with their parents to professional women with kids. All walks of life are welcome in this high-speed arena, but players must be ready to tumble, and it’s helpful to have health insurance.
The team has been practicing since early May at the Boulder Creek Elementary School tennis courts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, but the group hopes to find a new indoor practice area soon.
The Maulers are also looking for more players to bolster their ranks as they practice to take on the likes of the Santa Cruz Derby Girls and the Redwood City Peninsula Roller Girls.
There are no set schedules to date, but bouts will be arranged shortly. The team also needs referees — male or female, age 15 and up.
What could inspire women to play the rough-and-tumble sport?
“The best way to put it is that it is the most fun I have ever had,” Mauler Shana Kerr said. “The women in derby are now some of my closest friends, and I would have never even run into them in any other walk of life.”
For information: Search for the “Mountain Maulers” on Facebook.com.
