Roller derby, a sport born from a fusion of speed, strategy and grit, has become a powerful force in fostering camaraderie and confidence among some athletes in Central Oregon. In this gritty realm, a unique sisterhood of skaters is defying stereotypes, embracing strength and rewriting the rules. After almost two decades of being a “best-kept secret,” Lava City Roller Derby is pushing itself to the forefront of alternative sports in the area. I sat down with League President Kat Carlson and League Captain Cheyenne Nieblas, ahead of a bout against Rose City Wreckers in Portland, for an education on the sport, the club and the goals the team hopes to accomplish this year.
Immediately, Carlson and Nieblas introduce themselves under roller derby alter egos the two have developed during their careers. “My name is Kat or Feral Kat. That’s my derby name,” explained Carlson. Derby names are a special moniker each athlete adopts as a bold and fearless persona while in the rink. “I’m Cheyenne. Dreamcrusher,” Nieblas offered.
Both Carlson and Nieblas have been skating for years, Carlson living and playing for Gorge Roller Derby before moving to Bend and seeking out the club. “I moved here and sought out the league. I slowly met people and then ended up in leadership and the rest is history,” Carlson recalled. “The biggest thing for me is community. Most sports are male dominated. Roller derby is pretty unique in that it’s the complete opposite. It’s very rare that you can find any sport that is a large group of non-male identifying people. We get aggressive and beat each other up but at the end of the day we go and hang out and we’re really good friends. It’s unique.”
Nieblas, a proud member of Team Indigenous Rising Roller Derby and Lava City, hails from San Antonio and credits the derby club here as the first group of people she felt truly welcomed her to the area.
“That sense of empowerment and community. There’s a lot of spaces that don’t have that feeling,” said Nieblas. “I know I can call Kat or anybody in the league and they’ll go, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll be there to help.’ It’s that place of belonging; I’ve played sports my whole life and I’ve never been in a sport that has been this impactful in my life. I feel safe playing this sport, even though we beat each other up.” Neither of the athletes can stifle a laugh at the contrast of the values and friendships the club has given them while noting the aggressive nature of the sport.
“Roller Derby is either unknown to people or gets a bad reputation in people’s minds,” explained Carlson. “We don’t get recognized as a sport, so we don’t get the space or consideration that sports get.” She continued, “We’ve got a handful of goals, the first being that we’re trying to find more of a permanent home. Our practice spaces have been seasonal or just won’t fit for the level of growth we are experiencing right now. That’s goal one.”
Roller derby, often misunderstood as a mere spectacle, is a fast-paced, full-contact sport loaded with technique. “It’s not as scary as people think,” Nieblas quipped, “and it’s more organized than it seems to the outsider.” During a bout, teams of agile skaters jockey for position, aiming to lap the other team while simultaneously blocking and hitting opposing players in the legal target zone.
“If we get a space, there’s more people coming in, and with more people coming in, we can put on more bouts and more people can actually see what we do rather than it being, ‘Oh, you play roller derby, you throw people and punch each other,’ we don’t do any of that. We’re not allowed to do any of that,” added Nieblas.
The transformative nature of the club and the sport itself has become a haven for women seeking an outlet for strength and self-expression. In a society that often imposes limiting expectations on women, roller derby proves that strength and tenacity are not exclusive to any gender. “You know, I had this typical idea of what an athletic body looks like and what it ‘should’ be,” Nieblas said. “With Roller derby, it helped me realize that my body is perfect. I became super strong in my abilities, the way I’m shaped and the way I play. I learned how to be strong and powerful in my own body and accept my body. I am an athlete and roller derby taught me that.”
“I would second that,” chimed Carlson. “Anybody can play roller derby, there is a place and position for everybody. Personally, confidence-wise I have really grown as a person. I realized I was queer because of Roller derby. Until I was playing derby and had that support, I had never realized it and that was a huge transformation for me.” The sport’s emphasis on inclusivity is evident in the diverse backgrounds and body types of its participants.
To wrap the conversation, the two derby athletes took stock of the sport and its reception in the area. “I can only speak to being a person of color and it’s kind of hard here,” Nieblas admitted. “I came from a league that was mostly BIPOC, to a league where there are probably three of us in the entire league. It’s been different, being a person of color, you’ll get called more by the referees because you’re perceived as being more aggressive. It is predominantly white here, and, in any community, when something different pops up there can be this, ‘Hmmm, what do we do with this?’ type attitude.”
“Bend is a less diverse place with non-marginalized groups, and this sport, you know, it’s not a hockey league, it’s not a baseball league,” Carlson said. “I think, for me, I see the league moving further into marginalized spaces getting more people of color, more trans people, more non-binary people. Trying to get that community closer and reaching into those spaces that need it more than others.”
The sport’s impact extends to the broader conversation around women’s empowerment and about challenging prevailing norms.
*Lava City Roller Derby Club’s next recruitment day is April 1, at Midtown Ballroom. Head to lavacityrollerderby.com for more info.
This article appears in Source Weekly February 29, 2024.
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