Carson Victory Rollers bring roller derby to Carson City

The Carson Victory Rollers are Carson City’s own women’s roller derby team, that works to facilitate an environment where all women, of all athletic abilities, can participate in both a fun and empowering sport.

The Carson Victory Rollers (CVR) are a skater-owned, skater-run league. They began their adult league in 2012, accepting woman of all shapes and sizes. They have since grown and created their junior league in 2013, ages 10-17.

Roller derby is a contact sport, played on roller skates. CVR’s site with carson.org explains the game as, “Two packs of five members roller skate in a series of mini-matchups (jams) in which both teams designate a scoring player (the jammer), who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. Although there are a number of rule sets leagues may play by, the Carson Victory Rollers is a flat track league and play by WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) rules.”

CVR is a nonprofit organization, and raises all funding for events, while also teaching to give back to the community.

“We hold four open co-ed scrimmages a year, and we then donate all of the proceeds to an organization in our community,” said Julia ‘Chuck U Norris’ Alty, a jammer for the team. “We try to give back. We gave back a little over $500 to Nevada Heart Beat. Every year we do a Christmas scrimmage and we do Toys for Tots, so people could either bring a toy or a donation. It was a huge donation event, and we also sponsored six kids through Christmas.”

CVR’s scrimmages are open to not just their own league, but all players who have minimum skating skills. But this is no easy feat; all women who first join a league are required to go through six weeks of off-skates, and then another 3-6 months of on-skates training before acquiring the title of “minimum skills.”

“It’s about muscle memory and training,” said Crystal ‘Surli Mermaid’ Blackeye, a blocker and pivot on the team. “So they’re learning about nutrition, they are learning about the logistics of derby. And then they’re doing off-skates workouts and exercises to get their core and their thighs ready for that derby stance.”

The CVS team recently attended a convention in Las Vegas for roller derby, called RollerCon, where all star players from all over the nation get together to celebrate the sport.

“It was like if you played basketball on a home league, and then you got to go hang out with NBA players, and sit down and have a drink at this convention, and even be taught by them,” said Alty. “Like if Kobe Bryant taught you how to shoot a basketball. That’s what we got to do for five days in Vegas.”

The CVR team’s next bout is March 31 at the Carson City Community Center Gym. CVR will be skating first at 4 p.m., followed by an All Star derby game. It’s $10 admission for adults, children 10 and under are free.

The team also is looking for sponsorship opportunities, like transportation services, and a permanent homebase for practices and games. For information, visit www.facebook.com/CarsonVictoryRollers.

“When I first joined I was 35, and I hadn’t skated since junior high. And a lot of people who join have never touched skates. But you just learn, and it’s so fun,” said Alty. “It’s like a sisterhood.”