Most people don’t get beat up for fun. But for Izzy Antaya (11), that’s the biggest appeal of her sport, roller derby.
“My favorite part about it is that it’s a contact sport,” Antaya said. “I really enjoy contact sports, and I like the people there, because they’re really accepting. And once you meet them, you know you’re gonna be friends for a long time.”
After trying out the sport for a day in eighth grade, Antaya never looked back. She’s been playing ever since.
“I was just looking for something to do during the winter, and they were having a little boot camp to try [roller derby] out,” Antaya said. “And I thought, why not? I’m used to ice skating, and I would go to the roller rink a lot when I was a kid, so I thought I would try it.”
Antaya plays for the Kalamazoo Killer Beez, a competitive team in the Junior Roller Derby Association. She initially played as a blocker, an offensive position. But as people turned 18 and aged out of the team, vacancies opened for the jammer position, which Antaya filled. This position is more defensive, as the jammer tries to move past the blockers, who attempt to hinder the jammer through any means necessary.
On a roller derby team, there are 15 players, with only five in play at a time. During games (bouts) there is one jammer and four blockers, with the jammer distinguished by a star on their helmet. One bout is made up of two 60-minute-long playing sessions, which are called jams.
A unique aspect of roller derby culture is that all players adopt nicknames, usually with a pun. Antaya’s nickname is “Mizzconduct.”
Roller derby is a year-round sport, one of many sports on Antaya’s schedule. While roller derby is a club sport, Antaya also competes on the ELHS girls wrestling and softball teams. She considers softball her main sport, with roller derby secondary to it, even though it’s the most time-consuming.
Roller derby isn’t a very popular sport, but Antaya feels grateful to have something unique to her. She hopes to see more people give it a try in the future.
“It’s such a competitive team that I’m thankful I have the chance to play on it,” Antaya said.
