Aiming for derby glory

North Carolina State University's student newspaper has an article on former alum and Carolina Rollergirls founder Celia Fate.

For Laura Weakland, days of work at the office bring a similar, monotonous feeling.

The N.C. State graduate of 1995 utilizes skills derived from a Bachelor’s degree in graphic design to improve the state’s education system, but the employment barely satisfies the craving Weakland possesses for something greater.

The source of liberation for Weakland resided neither at her former university in Raleigh nor at her former high school – Grimsley High in Greensboro – but halfway across the nation in Austin, Texas.

“Going on the cross-country trip, I’m not sure if I expected to find anything,” Weakland said. “But I found something worthwhile.”

She discovered her passion in the Playland Skate Center, where the capacity crowds of 1,100 Texans calmed Weakland’s hunger by presenting a once-forgotten national sport with a new flavor.

The crowds gave nourishment to the sport in question. The elders relived the action-ridden battles while the younger generation hoped to give rebirth to an entertainment that transfixed the country in the 1970s.

And Weakland found her salvation from simplicity.

This was roller derby.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Carolina Rollergirls, Celia Fate