Connecticut RollerGirls

Daughters of the Derby Revolution

From all parts of the state and most conceivable walks of life, 30-plus women got together earlier this month for the kick-off meeting of the fledgling Connecticut RollerGirls league. The March 4 meeting was organized by the league´s cofounders Jenna Keller and Jessica Reiter, two hyper-organized, take-charge chicas in their mid-20s who embarked just a couple months back on a mission to bring the sport of women´s flat-track skating to Connecticut.

Women heard about the fledgling league via MySpace and by word-of-mouth. Some, like Jenna, were exposed to the sport for the first time when the show called Rollergirls aired on A&E a few months back. Some had dreamt of roller derbydom since watching televised bouts of the sport on Saturday morning in the ´80s. I attended not only as a writer, but also as a thwarted skater whose career as a derby girl ended last November on the night it might have started.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls