11/13/2011
By GORDON D. FIEDLER JR. Salina Journal

Crystal Garrison assembled her minions in a circle and led them through a series of full-body warm-ups.

Each wore a helmet, wrist guards, elbow and knee pads, and roller skates, and as they bent and twisted, contorted and stretched, the scene resembled a new exercise craze: combat yoga on wheels.

Welcome to modern roller derby, or at least the preskating portion.

Garrison, who lives in Wichita and is a former member of ICT Roller Girls, was in Salina to impart derby wisdom to her inexperienced charges, all of whom are members of the Salina Sirens, the fledgling local roller derby team. Garrison is among several ICT members who will be advising the team until it gets its own training staff.

Among Garrison's advice to skaters was to leave their hoop earrings in their jewelry boxes and to keep thumbs and fingers curled into fists whenever they fell on the track. Not following those instructions could lead to the loss of the earrings and fingers, she said.

She also demonstrated the "skater's position," which was a half squat she said would help build the right leg muscles for proper blocking. She recommended the women strike the skater's position pose every chance they got.

"The more you use it the less it's going to hurt after practice," she said. "It will make your derby skills better," said Garrison, who goes by the derby name "Angel Von Devilish."

Soon Garrison had the women circling the gym floor at Webster Conference Center, 2601 N. Ohio, where the team regularly practices several nights a week.

Meet Bohica Cupcake

Among the more proficient skaters was Kym Bearden, president of the Sirens.

"I had always wanted to be a roller derby girl," said Bearden, whose derby name is "Bohica Cupcake."

Bearden, a paramedic by training, started a website and one day her tech-savvy daughter had an idea.

" 'You need a page on Facebook.' "

It didn't take long for women to take notice of the Facebook page, which Bearden launched in August.

So far, the site has almost 600 "likes."

At about the same time, Dory Pickering had the same idea.

"My goal for this year was to start a roller derby team," Pickering said.

She was inspired after she met a Wichita skater who's on a team there.

"We met and talked roller derby and it got me interested," she said.

She eventually saw the Sirens' Facebook page and the two got together.

'You're doing my goal!'

Pickering recalled the first conversation: " 'Dude, you're doing my goal for this year. I need to be a part of this as much as I can, as much as you'll let me.' "

Bearden was looking for all the help she could get and Pickering rolled herself into the vice presidency.

Pickering, who works as a dental assistant, will be known as "Doris D. Day" on the track.

Bearden said response has been great.

"It's caught on like wildfire, spreading like crazy," she said. "We're getting new recruits in every day."

As of late last week, the roster was at 49 and growing.

"Some are planning to start after the first of the year," Bearden said. "We have people coming out wanting to support us, wanting to donate money, they want to learn more about the sport and who we are and what we are," Bearden said.

Got a lot to learn

By the display at their first practice, the learning curve is going to pretty steep for some, who didn't appear as if they had skated much, if at all.

Others, however, whizzed around the floor, lapping the slower, more hesitant skaters who were making frequent use of their protective padding.

The Sirens are members of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, which is different from the banked-track sport made popular on television by such teams as the San Francisco Bay Bombers of the 1950s and 1960s.

Flat track is a much more tame sport, Bearden said. That said, the match-ups are called "bouts" and are not without aggressive contact -- if YouTube videos of flat-track matches are an indication of what Sirens fans can expect.

"It's considered a competitive sport, (but) a family oriented event," said Pickering. "Kids are welcome."

Got to do it

Another who signed on early is Lucy Worthington, who is the team treasurer. Her skating name is "Splitten Skitten." She is a child care provider and she, like Bearden and Pickering, has been skating since high school.

"This is something I've got to do," she said of her initial reaction upon hearing of the roller derby. "I'm not a sports person but I wanted to be involved in something. It's pretty darn cool."

And she had an ulterior motive.

"I work at home and don't get to have a relationship with other (adults). I talk to 3-foot-tall people all day long."

Also among the first to enlist was nonskater Jamie Bush, a graphic designer who volunteered to fill the job of Sirens marketing director.

"I joined knowing I can't skate," Bush said. "It's a sisterhood, being a part of something bigger than yourself."

Even nonskaters can have skating monikers. Bush picked "Phenom Mom."

There's no hair-pulling

Flat-track roller derby is played on an 88-foot by 100-foot track. Teams comprise five aside, with three blockers, a pivot and a jammer.

Scoring occurs when jammers lap opposing players.

According to the association (http://wftda.com), the flat track version began in 2001 and now has more than 400 leagues worldwide.

Roller derby itself morphed from marathon skating events during the Great Depression.

In time, it evolved into the fistic spectacle seen by a previous generation of TV viewers.

But when the Sirens eventually get rolling, don't expect to see bone-crushing body slams or hair-pulling girl fights that made household names of banked-track bruisers such as Joan Weston and Jan Vallow.

Although modernized, it's still roller derby and there will be contact.

"You can hip check people," Pickering said. Hips, shoulders and derrieres are the only body parts allowed in blocking. No elbows to the jaw, no tripping and no shoving opposing skaters over the rail (mainly because there is no rail in flat track derby).

A lot of fun, and profit

"We want people to take us seriously," Bearden said. "It's going to bring a lot of fun here."

And money, if attendance at a recent flat track bout in Wichita is an indication.

Bearden said the event attracted 1,500 people at $12 apiece.

"It's an up-and- coming sport," she said. "It's a great opportunity for Salina."

She is hoping to have the first bout by April or May. So far, the Sirens have no bout venue, but Bearden is working on that and expects to have a place soon.

Flash but not trashy

Teams already have formed in Wichita, Junction City and Kansas City. Bearden is hoping to have enough interest to form more than one local team. Anyone interested in the Sirens can visit its Facebook page for more information. Only those 18 and older are eligible to skate.

"We're going to look like a professional team out there," Bearden said. "We can be classy, flashy but not trashy."

--Gordon D. Fiedler Jr. can be reached at 822-1407 or by email at gfiedler@salina.com.

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