“Whip It” Roller Derby Trainer Alex Cohen on Skating, Scrimmaging and Choosing the Best Derby Name

This article originated from Speakeasy of The Wall Street Journal

By Michelle Kung

By day, Alex Cohen hosts “All Things Considered” for station KPCC in Los Angeles. By night, however, the former NPR reporter tears around an angled track as a rock ‘em, sock ‘em roller derby girl. A long-time champion of the sport, which was invented in Depression-era America and revived in Austin, Texas in 2000, Cohen was tapped by the producers of the upcoming derby film “Whip It” to teach its leading ladies how to authentically scrimmage and take a fall. She recently spoke to the Journal about how she became involved with the sport, working with “Whip It” star Ellen Page, and how she picked her derby name “Axles of Evil.”

The Wall Street Journal: When did you first become interested in derby?

Alex Cohen: I first started getting interested in 2003. I was taking a trip to Austin and initially thought to myself, if I do a story while I’m out there, I can write it off as a business trip. But I ended up hanging out with the girls, interviewing them, seeing a couple games, and at the end of it, was really depressed that I couldn’t play in L.A. because it really called out to me. But sure enough, a couple of months after I got back to L.A., I was at a gallery in Silver Lake and my husband handed me a flier with the contact info for a new L.A. league. It was a lot of fate.

How did you become involved with the film “Whip It”?

The filmmakers knew they needed a trainer so they came to the Derby Dolls, and I was selected. So I trained with Ellen for a couple months, and then it kept evolving. Soon after, I was training Drew and all the other actresses as well, and they brought me out to Michigan [where they shot], and I ended up becoming a consultant as well. It was a very organic thing.

Ellen was first to start, in April of last year. It was a crash course, and because derby is team sport, after she got the basics down, we brought in some of the other Derby Dolls and she had practice scrimmaging, and learning to skate with people around her. In all, she trained about three months or so before we went to Michigan.

Of all the actresses on the film, who was the best skater?

They all learned remarkably well. Kristen Wiig, on one of the first days, said she remembered doing a certain move as a kid, and pulled out this maneuver called “shoot the duck,” where you’re basically in a low crouch and one leg is jutting forward. It was amazing, because there are girls who have been skating for years who can’t do that. Zoe Bell, who’s a stuntwoman, is ridiculously fit and talented. I remember her asking the training team how to do a 360 degree jump and we said no, because we physically couldn’t do it at our level [of skill]. But she fiddled around with it and figured it out on her own, and you can see her doing it in the movie.

Exactly how wide-spread is derby now?

Oh, it’s everywhere — there are more than 400 leagues throughout the world, from Stuttgart, Germany, to New Zealand, to Abu Dhabi, to this tiny little town in Sioux Falls. Some cities, like L.A. even have multiple leagues that operate and function. This current incarnation started in 2001, and there was a huge spike a couple years ago after A&E did the realty show “Roller Girls.”

Given how mainstream roller derby is getting, do you miss when the sport was more cult-y?

It’s a double-edged sword — I think that the sport has changed so much already, and there are those of us from the early days that miss when it was smaller. Now it’s more common, and there are practical complications to having so many more people around. Derby names, for example. There’s only so many funny, interesting names and there are already 16,500 names officially registered. Other growing pains of the sport getting bigger are that there are now girls who show up simply because they want to be on TV or they think it’s going to make them money. Those girls never last very long, but they still take up resources and time.

Tell me about your derby name, Axles of Evil. Why did you pick it?

“Axles of Evil” is like the trifecta of derby names — first, it’s play off my real name, so it’s easy for people to remember. It’s also inspired by my love of vintage cars, so my “Axle” is like a car axle, not a figure skater’s triple axel jump. Plus, at the time I picked it, we had this president who was always talking about the “axis of evil,” so as a news person, it was doubly appealing to me.

Roller Derby | What Is a Bout and How Is it Officiated?

By Amy L. Wong

To understand Roller Derby, here are some of the basics for a co-ed (men and women) bout and the officiating that is involved in a bout.

A bout is the term used to define a game or a match. Each “bout” will focus on speed, strategy and most definitely, body contact. There are two teams in each bout. The teams skate counter clockwise on the track and compete either on a Banked track or a flat surface.
There are five players on the track per team. However, this can change if the managers mutually agree to the change. A team can have as many as 14 to 18 players ready for a bout and players must be at least 16 years of age. Teams can use substitutes, rookies, seasoned vet and captain skaters.

Each coed bout is played out in 10 minutes periods and there are 8 periods. During co-ed bouts, women skate periods 1, 3, 5 and 7 and men will skate periods 2, 4, 6, and 8. Half time breaks after the fourth period. Each team is allowed a one minute time out per half for a timeout.

A player may stop at the top of the rail after a Jam for a very brief break. Jammers will rest in the infield after a Jam, and will be replaced by a fresh skater. If a player is injured (or exhausted), they can rest and be replaced by infield team member. A skater must wear a helmet especially since Jammer can only score if they wear a helmet. On the subject of helmets, if a player heaves a helmet at another player is considered an infraction, ungentlemanly conduct.

There are three officials for per match or bout. One referee counts the points for team A and the second official will watch the points for the other team. In case of a dispute, it will be decided by consensus of all three. For a bout on a banked track, officials do not wear skates. Officials will referee the bout from the in field walking in a clockwise direction in order to catch all the action. The head referee has the authority to stop the action at any time for roughness, fights and injuries. Any referee can call a penalty or give a warning to any skater. They also make sure that the skaters are information for the next play. Officials have signals as in all sports to advise the fans of the instances of penalties and scoring for the game.

Typical infractions are:

• Illegal block
• Holding
• Insubordination
• Pushing
• Tripping
• Slugging
• Kicking
• Unnecessary roughness

Game related calls:

• No score
• Jam called off
• Delay of game
• Points scored

This is very basic start to the understanding of the game. In addition to this information, we also need to understand how to play, how to score points and also understand the specific movement on the track as well.

Amy is a Newbie fan of Roller Derby and seeks to share the information as she discovers the game!
The World of Roller Derby

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_L._Wong

Roller Derby in Austin

By Ki Gray and Dane Smith

In 2001, what started as an idea at the smoky 6th street club Casino El Camino, quickly gained steam among like-minded women of Austin, and the roller derby was reborn. Though many of those who started up the comeback hadn’t skated for decades, the gung ho spirit spawned one of Austin’s favorite new events.

The original roller derby league, under the name Bad Girl Good Woman (BGGW), had their first bout at Skate World in 2001 to 400 fans. By the end of the first season, they were skating to a fan base of 1300. BGGW was guided by four She-E-Os (derby talk for CEOs), but after one player had a serious injury in 2003, 80% of the BGGW broke off from the league to start their own. The new league, now known as the Texas Rollergirls, ran a democratic organization with each player having a say in decisions. The original Bad Girl Good Woman players regrouped as TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, resulting in Austin being the proud owner of two separate Roller Derby Leagues.

Though the rules in each league vary slightly, both are based on the roller skating endurance race created by promoter Leo Seltzer in the 1930s. There are four 10 minute periods with two teams racing around the track with flashy outfits, tough-girl names, and tons of attitude and antics, which sometimes include impromptu pillow fights and spanking line penalties. In keeping with the punk attitude of the event, rock and roll bands play during every half time. The main difference between the two leagues is the track itself. The Texas Rollergirls race on flat tracks with audience members lined up inches away from the track, which can result in many rollergirl/audience member collisions. The TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls purchased an original roller derby banked track used in the 70s and 80s, making them the first all-girl league to ever skate on a banked track (the original roller derbies were coed.)

The buzz of the roller derbies made for exciting news stories, and soon rollergirls were on the radio, television, and in local papers. A couple years later, Austin’s roller derbies became national news, and an article from the New York Times spawned interest among TV production companies who wanted to tell their story. In 2006, the Lonestar Rollergirls were featured in a 13 part series on A&E called “Rollergirls”, which followed team members and showcased the dichotomy between their roller skating personas, and their normal, every day lives. Local film company Crashcam Films also documented the rollergirls and released a movie titled “Hell On Wheels”, which has played at over 10 film festivals worldwide.

Soon, women from around the country began to show interest in starting their own leagues, and contacted the Texas Rollergirls for guidance. The Austin women created a United League Committee to set the groundwork for a national flat-track league, and personally shared tips and ideas with budding leagues to help get them up to speed. In 2007, Austin hosted the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Championship Tournament. Three thousand skaters and fans came from all over the world to watch as eight U.S. teams battle it out on the track. Though the Kansas City Roller Warriors took home the prize, it made Austin’s Rollergirls proud. What was just a fun idea started by a group of friends had blossomed into a revived national goodtime sport.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ki_Gray