MISSOULA — For the first time in four years, Missoula will once again have a roller derby team.
The Hellgate Roller Derby — a non-profit run by volunteers — focused on inclusivity through exercise and strength, and hope to make a big comeback after the pandemic.
Their first event back will be at Missoula Pride on Sunday, June 18, 2023, starting at 11 a.m. at the Missoula County Fairgrounds 4-H Pavilion.
They will begin the day with the junior bout, which is the roller derby term for a match. Then the roller disco will start at 2 p.m., where people can rent skates and dance to music provided by Pride’s headliner DJs. At 5 p.m. the adults will have their bout.
After not being able to compete for a few years, the team is looking forward to getting back on wheels.
“I'm really excited,” team captain Cameron Bucheit says “We have a lot of new players that are going to be playing for their first time, and I'm really excited to do that with them. And then I know that all of the players that made it through the pandemic are really stoked to play as Hellgate again because we haven't done that in so long. And that feels really special to be able to bring it back to Missoula.”
Bucheit says beginning their 2023 season during Missoula Pride is fitting since roller derby is often thought of as a queer sport.
“It's very accepting,” she says. “We have rules set up by our federation that protect gender identity– playing under the gender that you choose. It's always been a really supportive community, and I know that many of my teammates are queer, and I like making a statement that we support them.”
Roller derby has historically been a women's sport, one that favors a female center of gravity. Meaning, despite being a full-contact, aggressive sport, men don’t have an advantage.
“I also really love that roller derby is a woman's sport. Like men's roller derby is called men's roller derby, right? So it's a matriarchy, which I dig,” Bucheit says.
While a lot of teams play in women-only leagues, Hellgate Roller Derby hopes to attract skaters of all genders.
“We are an all-gender league, and we'd love to have more folks join us,” Brenna Love, head of Hellgate Roller Derby’s PR and events committee says. “It is a lot of women here, which is something that's cool to see– so many strong women loving and supporting each other and doing really cool stuff together. But we aren't just women, and we'd love to invite more folks that don't identify as women into our doors.”
"If you go somewhere, and you meet a derby person, you get them, and they're your friend immediately.”
Love hopes the event on Saturday will bring in new members who may not know what roller derby is. She is also happy that it gives the young skaters a chance to compete in front of an audience.
The Hellgate Derby team is only one of two Montana programs that offer a youth team. Heather Holder, the head of the youth division, knows roller derby can be a safe space for kids.
“Just where they don't really feel like they have a place in their school or their communities or whatever, a lot of kids find a place and a home and comfort, acceptance and things like that in roller derby,” Holder says.
Roller derby isn’t necessarily an easy sport, and many of the kids end up on the floor. Still, they all seem to love to participate.
“It was the best sport I've ever played,” twelve-year-old Lillyah Zampich says.
Zampich likes feeling strong and powerful while being able to push other girls out of her way.
“Sometimes I get really mad at math at school, and my mom tells me to take it out on the people here. So I just take it out and go and hit them,” 10-year-old Marleigh Engel says.
The aggression doesn’t stop as players get older.
“Roller derby is a tough sport, and there's a lot of injury. I think that it's kind of known that if you play the sport for a long time, you're going to have an injury of some kind. We all understand the risk and we still just love it. We get so much reward out of it that it's worth it,” Bucheit says. “It's an adrenaline thing, right? Why do people bungee jump? Why do people jump out of planes? They want to feel that rush. It's the most euphoric feeling I've maybe ever had.”
Hellgate Roller Derby players pay to participate, so they are always looking for support. Businesses can sponsor the team in exchange for advertisement at events, and individuals can attend pint nights and other fundraisers for the derby to donate.
Love also says they are always looking for extra participants and volunteers, even if someone does not want to skate. They have volunteer medics and referees who stay off wheels but still help the team.
“There's a role for everyone here. If you want to skate but not play, or be involved but not skate, there's tons and tons of ways to be involved because we're always looking for ways to invite more people into our community,” she says.
More information on Hellgate Roller Derby can be found on their website.
