Eye-gouging and hair-pulling are no-nos.
Light jabbing, pushing and diving into opponents, however, are completely legal in the Tucson Roller Derby women's league.
In the first international showdown at the Tucson Indoor Sports Center, Montreal's New Skids on the Block came skating in with toy noses, lime green T-shirts and the hunger for a win over the Tucson Roller Derby Saddletramps.
But the hell-raisin' home team, donned in black uniforms, was not prepared to be overthrown by their Canadian counterparts.
A referee starts the bout, or match-up, with the blow of a whistle.
Roller derby hit the mainstream about 10 years ago. The Women's Flat Track Derby Association governs the rules of the sport, ensuring that the play doesn't get too scrappy. Women with names like Helen Wheels and Nokka Ho Down wear helmets, knee pads and elbow pads, as they glide on old-school four-wheelers to try to out-skate and out-muscle one another around the makeshift track.
Each player on the track helps the team score points. The jammer, singled out by the star on her helmet, tries to break away from the circling pack of girls to lap them and score points. Three blockers pave the way for the jammer, and at the same time do whatever it takes to prevent the other team's jammer from scoring. Girl number five is the pivot, who skates near the front of the pack to keep pace and provide the last line of defense against the opposing jammer. Each bout is 60 minutes and consists of an unlimited number of two-minute jams.
"You have to want to block and get hit and get hurt," says stay-at-home mom Elia Chap, who was drafted by the Copper Queens in January. Her derby name has not yet been approved by the league, but she is crossing her fingers for Mad Dawg 22.
Chap says she has only suffered bruises and minor injuries, but she has seen everything from torn ligaments to ribs popped out of place. Broken skates are a routine part of the game, she says.
Even girls who are reluctant to unleash their inner Mike Tyson can be transformed by the spirit of the game.
Bri Date, or Bea N. Hayve as she is known to her teammates since she began competing with the TRD last October, says roller derby brings out her fierce side. As the head of production for this bout, she stands out in a neon spandex tummy-baring suit and cowboy hat.
"The part that's least like me is the whole hitting thing," says Date. "It requires you to step up and let loose."
Part of the trick is getting into character on the track. Date recommends letting your alter ego take over, just as she allows Bea N. Hayve to forget the rules of etiquette.
The audience of nearly 1,200 folks (which puts the center at capacity) is transformed as well. From the back of the crowd, an older woman with a Bud Light in hand shouts,
"I came here to see some girls get their asses kicked!"
In a different corner, a group of college-age boys chant "U.S.A." at the top of their lungs as a man in a leather vest starts up the wave. A huddle of girl scouts ranging from ages 5 to 9 take a break from their cookie-selling duties to watch the action behind a line of "caution" tape.
One of the girls from troop 1616, Kailee Emmett, 9, says that she loves seeing the girls skate and get beat up.
"I wanna do that when I get older!" she says as her fellow scouts nod in agreement.
Indeed, Date considers the sport to be a healthy bonding activity for girls of any age (the typical range is 18 to mid-40s).
"It's probably the strongest group of women that I've found in Tucson," she says.
"It really takes over your life in a great way."
Chap says that the fun and stress-relief is worth the commute that she makes from her home in Sonoita to practices at Catalina High School, which are held three times a week or more.
She brings her 6-year-old daughter to bouts and gets her excited about putting on mom's skates one day.
On a recent Friday night, the place is filled with many young girls chomping at the bit for their chance at roller derby stardom—it is as if a new breed of Hellbent Bettys and Bianka Trohls have materialized before the final whistle is blown. At the end of the match, the Saddletramps are stretching together and basking in their 117 to 108 victory over Montreal. Several young girls gather around #29 blocker Venus Dynamite, asking for autographs. The tight-knit team, which is now comfortably seated at 2-0 in the league, is a group of celebrities in the eyes of the diverse and rowdy crowd at TISC.
To those who would encourage the next generation of girls to take up a more traditionally "civilized" hobby,
Date points to football, which is a socially-accepted, predominantly male sport. She says that roller derby requires the same amount of tackling and intensity.
"Except we wear less padding," she says.
"Oh yeah, and we're on skates!"
