Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Rolling Through Mountains: Narratives from the Appalachian Roller Derby Flat Track
Session Abstract or Summary
In the early 2000s, the third-wave feminist sport of women’s flat track roller derby encountered a vibrant resurgence in the town of Austin, Texas. Since that time, the sport’s largest governing body—the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA)—has ranked over 300 leagues throughout the world. Over fifteen of those ranked teams skate and compete within the Appalachian area. In addition to these teams, other unranked derby collectives in the Appalachian region continue to form and challenge one another for bragging rights on eight wheels.
In an area fraught with geographical difficulties, prescription drug misusage, and generalized despair, roller derby has formulated a positive, empowered discourse amongst female Appalachian athletes. Much like the region itself, Appalachian women involved in the sport and culture of roller derby continually eschew difficulties and misnomers in order to create a rhetoric of strength and survival.
This panel will provide multimedia ethnographic research related to the presence of women’s roller derby in Appalachia. Furthermore, we will show how derby has legitimized Appalachian female athletes through a unique amalgam of sport and community. By providing research and analysis of how Appalachian roller derby creates extreme-yet-nurturing communities within the region, the presenters will reveal how the sport creates an avenue for females to have agency over both their bodies and their homeland.
Presentation #1 Title
The Appalachian Rollergirls: A Documentary
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
In the mountainous town of Boone, North Carolina, the Appalachian Rollergirls spend two days per week practicing and perfecting their sport. Their extreme dedication symbolizes the true spirit of roller derby—to persevere in the face of geographical difficulties, varying identities, and an area known for a 2007 football game upset against Michigan. This documentary will show how the Appalachian Rollergirls practice, prepare for bouts (games), and strive to be the very best. This “slice of life” perspective will show how extreme does not always have a negative connotation; indeed, in the sport of roller derby in Appalachia, extreme is the highest compliment one could receive.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Kimberlyn “The Grimberlyn Reaper” Murawski is a senior journalism major at Appalachian State University. She serves as the president of the App State Roller Derby Club, the vice president of App State’s Society of Professional Journalism chapter, the social media intern for the non-profit organization Wine to Water, and the traffic manager of App TV. Grim is “fresh meat” for the Appalachian Roller Girls and credits the league to helping her learn discipline and empowerment. Her partner-in-crime is a one-eyed toy poodle named Blackbeard.
Presentation #2 Title
Community and Roller Derby in Greater Appalachia
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
In its infancy, women’s roller derby was a full-contact pastime connected to fishnets and heavy drinking. However, as the years progressed, the activity evolved into a highly strategized sport and growing culture. In the Appalachian region, many women join roller derby in order to pursue athletic endeavors, engage in a competitive environment, and most importantly, build empowered communities that seek to reach out in the Appalachian area to provide support for others. Indeed, roller derby has become more than an extreme sport—through becoming non-profits and joining efforts to improve the Appalachian area, roller derby teams have become an extreme asset to the greater Appalachian community. This paper will explore how roller derby has helped take community service to the extreme by engaging in efforts to improve upon Appalachia as a landscape and home to derby teams in the region.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Jenna “Public Jenemy” Cucco is the Community Outreach Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Honors and a Master of Arts from Villanova University. Jenna once worked as the caretaker of Bethlehem Farm in Alderson, West Virginia. Known as PJ to her derby friends, Jenna blocks, jams, and pivots for the Appalachian Rollergirls and the Piedmont Riot. Her partner-in-crime is a tiny yellow beast named Callie.
Presentation #3 Title
LGBTQ+, Roller Derby, and Appalachia: An Ethnographic Study
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
Within the sport of roller derby, members of the LGBTQ+ population have found a safe space to express their varying gender and sexual identities. However, within the Appalachian area, the LGBTQ+ population has reported feeling generally unsafe and intolerable to many who call the area home (Pasternak 94). This presentation will analyze how Appalachian residents who self-identify with the LGBTQ+ community have found an accepting collective where they can express their identities through skating. By coupling an “extreme identity” with an “extreme sport,” LGBTQ+ roller derby skaters have found a tolerant milieu where they can take part in an Appalachian community unbound by traditions of the past. Through utilizing ethnographic research and first-person narratives, this presentation will express how these extreme discourses continually enhance one another through the sport and community of roller derby.
Pasternak, Donna L. "Learning Tolerant Practice in Appalachia." Profession (2003): 94-104.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Suzanne “9lb Hammer” Samples is a Rhetoric & Composition lecturer at Appalachian State University. She received her Ph.D. in Victorian Literature from Auburn University, her M.A. in American Literature from Marshall University, and her B.A. in Creative Writing from Marshall University. She is the author of the book A Mad Girl’s Love Song. Hammer blocks for the Appalachian Rollergirls and is the faculty adviser for the App State Roller Derby Club. Her partner-in-crime is a calico, literature-obsessed cat named Prufrock.
Presentation #4 Title
Quad-Wheels and Shine: The Role of Place in Appalachian Roller Derby
Presentation #4 Abstract or Summary
Women’s roller derby combines sport and community and thrives in some of the lowest economic populations in Appalachia. Appalachian roller derby teams add extreme explosive competitiveness and an unashamed embrace of people form minority groups. The result is an aggressive sport focused on inclusiveness, gender acceptance, empowerment, self-determination, and individualism. In return, the region shapes the identity of the sport. Beginning in the early 2000s, the sport began to make a presence in the region and flourished. It became an unconventional community that embraced the minorities often marginalized in Appalachian society. Appalachian teams also embrace their region’s culture, which is evident by the relationship skaters share with the land and communities and how they express that through team names, logos, mascots, and other representations.
This presentation will explore a sociohistorical look at the sport and its presence in Appalachia. It will draw from interviews with founding members and current skaters of Appalachian teams with a distinct focus on Central and Southern Appalachia. The presentation will also explore the historical setting for roller derby in the mountain south. The primary goal of the project is to address the particular place-based identity roller derby offers Appalachians dealing with marginalization and the way members of minority communities find empowerment through the sport. Roller derby is much larger than Appalachia, but Appalachian roller derby teams serve a pivotal role in their communities in their charity, athleticism, and source of community.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Anthony “Wookie Mistake” and Mallory “Honey Boom Boom” Sadler live in Boone, North Carolina. Mallory is the Captain of the Appalachian Rollergirls and Anthony is a skating official. Anthony has a BA from the University of Georgia and is a master’s candidate in history at Appalachian State University. He is currently finishing his thesis on the Great Flood of 1916. Mallory received her BA from the University of Georgia and is the Executive Assistant to the Associate Vice Chancellor for International Education at Appalachian State University. They share their life and home with two unimpressed cats, Chloe and Zooey.
The Appalachian Rollergirls: A Documentary
In the mountainous town of Boone, North Carolina, the Appalachian Rollergirls spend two days per week practicing and perfecting their sport. Their extreme dedication symbolizes the true spirit of roller derby—to persevere in the face of geographical difficulties, varying identities, and an area known for a 2007 football game upset against Michigan. This documentary will show how the Appalachian Rollergirls practice, prepare for bouts (games), and strive to be the very best. This “slice of life” perspective will show how extreme does not always have a negative connotation; indeed, in the sport of roller derby in Appalachia, extreme is the highest compliment one could receive.
