A young boy and girl climb into the end bleachers eager to get a look at the main action. As the skaters circle the track during warm-ups, the children’s chaperone for the evening asks them, “Do you see Mommy?”

They crane their necks and scan the scene. “There she is!” they yell and point. “Hi Mommy!”

Mom comes over after warm-ups to say hello and get good luck kisses. Then it’s game time at the roller derby.

The kids came out to watch mom don roller skates, get dolled up and hit a few of her new friends at full speed.

The Queen City Roller Girls—both the league and a travel team—are in their third year of existence and provide Western New York with its version of the all-female roller derby.

The league comprises four house teams—the Nickel City Knockouts, the Devil Dollies, the Suicidal Saucies and the Alley Kats—up from three last year after a huge turnout at the league’s training camp over the summer.

There are 78 leagues nationally that belong to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association—a governing body created to standardize rules and competition. The Queen City Roller Girls are independent but looking to gain membership into the national organization in order to participate in more interleague bouts and regional championships.

The Western New York version skates out of Rainbow Rink in North Tonawanda. The best 80 or so derby girls (as they call themselves) are part of Team QCRG—a travel team that competes in bouts against teams from other leagues to build their derby street cred and help them in the process of getting that national certification.

The bout is part sporting event, part spectacle. At times, it feels like stepping into a Monty Python skit. Derby girls who are not competing work various assignments dressed in the traditional derby garb—an individual and eclectic mix of feminine attire and athletic gear.

Bouts have been sold out most of this season, which means 1,200 fans are squeezing around a track created with painter’s tape and lighting just an hour before the doors opened.

Local bands play at halftime. Players throw rubber ducks into the stands. And the highlight of the halftime festivities includes the tossing of sponsor Al Cohen’s loaves of bread into the stands. The diving for the free bread can involve some body checks as vicious as the ones thrown during the actual contest.

The costumes and the derby names and the circus atmosphere are part of the culture, but the actual bout is pure athletic competition. Nothing is scripted or predetermined.

There are five skaters for each team on the track at one time—three blockers, one pivot and one jammer. The jammer (who has the star on her helmet) is the player who scores points by passing skaters from the other team. The pivot sets the pace for the pack and the blockers try to block the opponents’ jammer while helping their own through the pack.

While skaters will hit, block and push opponents, there are penalties that include tripping and it is illegal to hit a player in the head, lower legs or back.

Each “jam” lasts for two minutes or until the jammer who is in the lead calls it off.

“On bout night there’s the adrenaline, the energy and the chance to put on a really good show,” said Maria Manno, better know as Mia Mauler. “[This is] not to say that it’s a show because it’s not choreographed or scripted but it’s sport. We train a lot. We spend a lot of time training, working out. We put a lot of blood, sweat and money into it.”

The skaters all have to buy their own equipment and are responsible for their own health insurance. Money generated through ticket sales helps offset the cost of putting on the show—rink rental, chair rentals, EMTs, security—along with a portion donated to a charity designated for each bout.

The work really begins away from the rink as the league runs like a business organization with skaters volunteering for different committees. The women do everything from promotion to sponsorships to physically setting up the track.

The majority of the 1,200 fans who pack the rink are family, friends and co-workers of the competitors. The brother and sister duo that watched their mom battle on the track were just two among many youngsters there to watch their moms, aunts or cousins compete. The league, and many like it, promotes family fun.

“I like the fierce competitiveness of it,” said Leslie Isla, a. k. a. Red Fox. “There are so many women from so many different aspects of life that come out here to really compete. This is not a made-up sport. We skate our rear ends off and then we come out here and skate our games and when you leave your legs are shaking, you’ve been pounded on, you’ve got bruises all over you and it’s just great.”

While the curiosity factor draws some into the derby orbit, it is the athleticism and the chance to be part of an all-female team and an all-female business that keeps the skaters around. This year there was so much interest that the Buffalo league added a new team with women coming from all backgrounds—full-time moms, nurses, Ph. D. s, waitresses.

“I had been playing roller hockey with a bunch of men and I really liked that aspect of the sport

but I was missing out on playing sports with other women so once I heard about this I was really excited,” said Shannon Carlin-Menter, who goes by Dr. Dementer. “It’s a whole new world. I knew nothing at all except that you strap on a pair of quad skates and roll around the track.

“I wasn’t sure about the balance between the athleticism and the drama. I didn’t know how much was going to be strategies and really playing a game with your teammates or being more of like a show.

“I like the fact that it’s more athletic and it’s more about the game play and about strategies and working with your teammates rather than putting on a whole extravagant show. Although that’s part of it and what makes it really fun for the fans.”

Fans can check out the competition tonight when the Alley Kats meet the Suicidal Saucies. The doors open at 6:30 p. m. with the bout scheduled to begin at 7:30.

Competition continues through June with the final event scheduled to be the Royal Brawl on June 13—the league’s first-ever eight-team tournament, which will include teams from Rochester, Ithaca, New Jersey and Michigan.

Roller Derby 101

The players: Five skaters for each team are on the track at one time— three blockers, one pivot and one jammer. The jammer (who has the star on her helmet) is the player who scores points, the pivot sets the pace for the pack and the blockers try to block the opponents’ jammer while helping their own through the pack.

Scoring: A jammer scores points by passing skaters from the other team. Each “jam” lasts for two minutes or until the jammer who is in the lead calls it off.

Penalties: While skaters will hit, block and push opponents, there are penalties, which include tripping. It is illegal to hit a player in the head, lower legs or back.

The winner: The team with the most points wins.