At Seacoast Roller Derby, they be jammin'

Gina Bowker, aka Ginan Toxxic, left, and Megan Almeida, aka Mega Twizted, showing a typical roller derby move at the Rochester Blues fest. (Harrison Thorp photo) Below, Bowker in uniform and game face and players 'jam' at a recent match. (Courtesy photos)

To gets some kicks they get out on the track and shove each other.

To fund-raise they sell buttons that say things like “Talk Derby to Me” and “Kiss my Rink Rash.”

A recent Tweet on their website reads: “Thanks for coming to the bout yesterday! Glad you had a good time! (We hope Sin Bin is ok too! She sees a Dr tomorrow.) #, 2013/07/21

Welcome to Seacoast Roller Derby. Where girls just want to have fun … and slam an opposing player into the cheap seats.

It’s all done in the spirit of friendly competition, but when these girls are out on the rink, they mean business.

Two of the Dover-based Poison Pixies, Gina Bowker and Megan Almeida, were fund-raising for their league at a booth at the recent Rochester Blues Fest and said the sport they play bears no resemblance to what their parents used to watch on TV that like professional wrestling, was for the most part, rigged.

They attest they have the bruises to prove it.

“To like playing this sport, you have to be proud of your bruises,” said Almeida, 28, of Rochester, whose team name is Mega Twizted. “You get lots of bruises. I never walk away without a bruise from practice.”

“When you’re out there, you have to give it 100 percent, you really have to want to do it, agrees 33-year-old Bowker, of Dover, whose team name is Ginan Toxxic.

According to wikipedia.com, roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups ("jams") in which both teams designate a scoring player (the "jammer") who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. The teams attempt to assist their own jammer while hindering the opposing jammer - in effect, playing both offense and defense simultaneously. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, nearly half of them outside the U.S. and most of them women’s leagues.

Bowker said she got her start in the rough and tumble sport about three years ago when she was living in State College, Pa.

She said she saw the recruiting ad and joined as “fresh meat,” the term veteran roller derby players call rookies.

Almeda said she grew up watching roller derby on TV and enjoyed the personalities and the crazy women who played it plus the strength they possess. She said a little over a year ago she ran into some Poison Pixies team members at an event in Rochester and fell in love with the sport and got hooked.

She said you have to have a big personality to put yourself out there.

The pair said despite the bruises and other minor injuries, the sport is a relatively safe one. Required safety gear includes a helmet, wrist and mouth guards and elbow and knee pads.

They giggle that players can also wear shin guards and padded shorts. You get the feeling these two don’t.

The pair said the team attracts a fair number of fans who are both passionate and vocal.

The team’s season runs from April to August, with their next match set for Bangor, Maine, on Aug. 3. Their final home match is Aug. 24 at Dover (NH) Arena on Route 4.

Tickets are $15 for trackside if you want to be near the action and $10 general admission in advance, $12 the day of the event. The doors open at 4:30 p.m. with the bouts beginning at 5:30. 

A concession stand that also sells beer is open during the match.

For more information go to http://seacoastrollerderby.com.