Roller derby breeds friendships in NEPA
Aug. 20—MOOSIC — Sydney Smith-Senese, affectionately known as "Squid," a childhood nickname, in roller derby circles took up the sport to hone her figure-skating skills.
Renee Hosler — ReNeePalm — laced up her skates to make friends after moving to the area from Wisconsin and fuel her passion for contact sports.
Experienced and new skaters alike raved about the camaraderie among the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Roller Derby group during a recruitment session Sunday evening at the Roller Derby Factory on Birney Avenue.
"Everyone is super supportive and willing to teach you from the ground up," Hosler said. "I really couldn't have found a better group of people."
Hosler, 26, tossed around a few ideas before landing on her roller derby nickname.
"I just tried to use my name in some way," the Berwick resident said.
Exeter resident Kayte Concert found out about the group through PrideFest in Wilkes-Barre and felt inspired to learn more about the sport.
"They had a booth there and during the parade they were (chanting) 'one of us,'" said Concert, 29. "I was like, I guess I'm one of you now."
The nonprofit organization started as the Coal City Rollers in 2006 before rebranding as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Roller Radicals in 2009 and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Roller Derby in 2017, said Sandra Davison, head of training.
A team consists of four blockers and one jammer, whose job is to earn points by passing as many members of the opposing team as possible within two-minute jam sessions. The blockers are tasked with impeding the opposing jammer, as well as clearing a path for their own jammer to pass. Whichever team has the most passes at the end of the 30-minute game, called a bout, wins.
The sport has several rules to ensure safety. Competitors cannot use their forearms or feet to hit an opponent and cannot strike them in the head. Hits are delivered with the hips and shoulders.
Davison — Veronika GettsBurger, a fake work name that stuck, or Burger, for short — who described roller derby as "controlled chaos," is the only original founding member left with the group and cherishes each moment with fellow competitors.
"It's a great hobby and it's cheaper than therapy," she said. "I get to beat up my friends on skates ... it's wonderful."
The organization consists of two home teams — the Diamond City Mayhem and Electric City Shockers — which compete locally, and two travel teams — the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Roller Radicals and the Low Rolling Deuces.
Men are permitted to participate on the home teams, but the travel teams, which compete through the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, consist of all females. All members must be 18 or older.
New members must complete eight weeks of basic skills training and six weeks of contact training. Another recruitment night will be held Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Roller Derby Factory.
In addition to skaters and bout officials, the group also seeks nonskating officials to work the scoreboard and track penalty timing.
Smith-Senese, 29, of Plains Twp., joined the group in January and immediately felt welcome.
"I've enjoyed it immensely," she said. "I've had some bad days at work, and they made it better. I love hanging out with them."
Dickson City resident Kelly Boehm, a seven-year veteran of the club, used a play on words to concoct a sweet nickname — JellyBoehmNut.
"When I jam, I fall down a lot like a bowl of jelly, and then I bounce and get right back up," said Boehm, 31.
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rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131;
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