Taking its place along the pink tape line on the floor is a team of fierce-looking athletes. Tattoos, dyed hair, dark makeup, roller skates, and one woman, called a jammer, to face them. Can’t go under them, can’t go over them, she’ll have to go through them.
Barrelling in from France, Germany, the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, and all over the U.S., the toughest women in roller derby arrived at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center to fight it out at the International Women’s Flat Track Derby Association D2 Playoffs and Championships last weekend.
With nicknames such as “I’llah Smashya,” “MC Slamher,” and “Pain Train,” these girls pushed, shoved, body-slammed, and broke through around and around the track to victory. In the end, the Boston Roller Derby came out on top.
The Boston Roller Derby, from Boston, Mass., warms up before a game at the International Womens Flat Track Derby Association D2 Playoffs and Championships on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Downtown. (Haley Nelson/Post-Gazette)Blockers from the Tuscon Roller Derby, from Tuscon, AZ, come after the jammer from the Columbia Quadsquad Rollergirls, from Columbia, S.C., at the International Women’s Flat Track Derby Association D2 Playoffs and Championships on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Downtown. (Haley Nelson/Post-Gazette)Ohio Roller Derby’s “Chainsaw” ices her face during a match at the International Women’s Flat Track Derby Association D2 Playoffs and Championships on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center downtown. (Haley Nelson/Post-Gazette)Spectators watch a game between the Ohio Roller Derby, from Columbus, Ohio, and the Oklahoma Victory Dolls, from Oklahoma City, Okla., at the International Womens Flat Track Derby Association D2 Playoffs and Championships on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Downtown. (Haley Nelson/Post-Gazette)The Dublin Roller Derby, from Dublin, Ireland, celebrates after defeating the Auld Reekie Roller Girls from Edinburgh, U.K. at the International Womens Flat Track Derby Association D2 Playoffs and Championships on Friday, August 18, 2017 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Downtown. (Haley Nelson/Post-Gazette)
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