The City of Fists Rollergirls flat track roller derby team hit a rough patch when their practice arena, Kokomo Skate World, closed a couple years ago.
“The skating rink closing has made it difficult to recruit. We don’t have skates we can put on people. We don’t have somewhere to practice if they want to, outside of coming to our practices,” said Jessica “JessPasst Jurass” Kuefner. “It has already been hard to find a venue, and that closing made that even worse.”
The team persisted and has continued forward with their community service projects, which are almost as important as the competition.
“We do a lot of community events. We had an Orange Leaf fund raiser, and we were at Relay for Life. We’re also hosting our own motorcycle ride fund raiser that will benefit us and also Open Arms,” Kuefner said. “All derby teams [get involved]. We want to contribute. Most people don’t realize that when there’s a home bout that a portion of the proceeds gets donated to a local charity. The Naptown Rollergirls give thousands back to their community.”
The team is also continuing the search for a new home. They found the Westside Baptist Church (3330 County Road West 100 South, Kokomo) to hold practices twice weekly, but it’s not quite big enough for a bout.
The team is holding a meet and greet to let the community know about the sport, but also to see what derby life is all about.
“We’re going to provide information on derby and what it encompasses from the financial to the community service. We’re going to skate to show people about derby. We’ll also be available for questions,” she said.
Those in attendance will not be expected to put on skates. There are many roles to be filled on the team, including team volunteers and non-skating officials (NSOs), who are people there to officiate but do not do so on skates. It can be anything from tracking penalties to timing the penalty box.
“We want anybody to come and feel like they can learn about the sport,” she continued. “We’re working women. We’re moms. We’re business women. We all come together to do something that we love. It’s a big community, and we want everybody to be part of that.”
The team will be at their practice venue on Thursday, June 19, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. to answer questions about the sport of roller derby, showcase their skills on skates, and teach attendees about the many community service projects in which the team participates.
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