The Feb. 23 start of the first bout of the DC Rollergirls’ second season was delayed by 45 minutes, because the line to get into the D.C. Armory snaked back to the Metro stop. Before the evening was over, the concession stands ran out of food. But the most telling indicator of the Rollergirls’ growing popularity (besides the cover story the Washington Post Magazine ran last fall) is the diversity of the crowd that showed up — all the types you might ordinarily find at a sporting event, plus a decent contingent of punks and goths.

Maybe it's the motto ("With liberty and justice to brawl!"); maybe the it's the custom of each player being known only by her self-selected derby name (Condoleezza Slice, Guantanamo Babe, Apocalypse Meow, and Demonica Lewinsky being only a few of the inspired noms de derbierre); maybe it's the sad dearth of girl-on-girl violence in other forms of entertainment. Whatever the reason, Roller Derby is catching.

Photos by Eric Petersen

(Eric Petersen)

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In their inaugural season at the Dulles Sportsplex in Sterling, the Rollergirls managed at least two sellouts of the 800-capacity venue. This year, they’ve secured the DC Armory, a facility that despite its lack of modern amenities can be configured to seat up to 10,000 — and may need to be, based on the stellar turnout Feb. 23. DCist was there to take in the sights and the sounds — use the links throughout to sample both.

Diamond Derby Dave: Hard-hitting Roller Derby action.

“Rollerderby in the '60s, '70s, and '80s really tarnished the picture for a lot of folks of what this could be," says Diamond Derby Dave, one of the four-team league's two color commentators. "But this is a reinvention of roller derby. It’s grassroots, completely owned and operated by the skaters. It’s all volunteer. It’s genuine competition, and everybody is dedicated to it.”

Bill Judd of La Barra Brava, rooting for the underdog.

And make no mistake - professional wrestling this ain't.

"Every bruise is real," says Blonde Fury, one of the DC Demoncats' strongest players. There are official rules for one thing, issued by a national licensing body, the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. We won't pretend to understand all of it, but the long and short is that each team fields four "blockers" and a "jammer." The jammer for each team scores points by skating laps past the opposition's blockers, collectively known as "the pack." The speed: Veryverfyfast! The contact: Full!

Blonde Fury on competition.

Fury joined up two years ago, when she read a Craigslist posting soliciting for “fresh meat” — the Rollergirls’ term for new talent. (Open-call gatherings of these ladies are called “fresh meets.”) She laced up her skates at a Manassass rink for a practice with some of the other soon-to-be competitors, and found she had a taste for it. She hadn’t skated for at least five years prior to that, she says, nor had she previously competed in a sport. But she still got good enough within a year and a half to make the league’s all-star traveling team, the Commanders in Briefs, who competed in Pittsburgh in January.

Many of the other ladies lacing up a few weeks ago hadn’t had a bout since the Rollergirls' inaugural season ended in October. Some had been waiting longer than that. Snakebite, a member of Scare Force One, had three seasons of Roller Derby in Minneapolis, where the sport is firmly established, under her belt before she moved to the District last summer. She attended a fresh meet and started skating with the Rollergirls in September, and Scare Force One drafted her in January.

Snakebite on what's best about Roller Derby.

“They’re really good,” she said of her teammates before the Feb. 23 game. “I knew this would be [only] their second season, so I didn’t know how high the level of competition would be. I was amazed. This league has come together in such a short time.”

Snakebite says the rough stuff on the track belies a camaraderie among the entire league, not just one's own teammates. With only four teams, there’s still a feeling of being part of something special and growing, as well as the shared commitment that has each team practicing at least three times per week. But the rewards be mighty: "I love getting hit!" Snakebit enthuses. "I love giving hits. It's the best part of the game."

The Rollergirls throw down this Saturday at the D.C. Armory. Doors at 4, bouts at 5 p.m. Advance tickets are available, though you can save yourself the ugly $8.05-per-ticket TicketMaster surcharge by buying your $12 tickets at the door. Arrive plenty early if you plan to do this.