(All photos taken during Southside Revolution’s May 10 bout with Seattle Derby Brats)

Story by Tracy Record
Photos by Dave Gershgorn
for West Seattle Blog

“Seattle is where roller derby is at!”

So proclaims Patty Gray, a former Rat City Roller Derby skater who is mentoring the newest generation of derby skaters as board president of Southside Revolution Junior Roller Derby.

SSR, whose home bouts are at Southgate Roller Rink in White Center, recently wrapped up its home season with the “Battle in Seattle” vs. Seattle Derby Brats. The two are not only friendly rivals; Patty says they make Seattle the only city in the country with two junior roller-derby organizations.

Though the home season is over, the competition continues. Four teams comprise Southside Revolution – Alliance, Cadets, Rebels, and Resistance; the Rebels are a year-round travel team, headed to regionals in Oregon in June, which are followed by national championships in Colorado in July. They’re hoping to make it to “champs” for the first time in seven years. And SSR is hoping for community support to help get them to postseason success; you can help with that by going to their Royal Masquerade Skate Prom fundraiser at Southgate on Wednesday (June 4). More on that shortly!

Why support SSR? Myriad reasons, including this one: Junior roller derby is an inclusive sport, Patty explains, attractive to many kids and teens who just “didn’t fit in”. with conventional sports. Southside Revolution is open to ages 7-18, and it’s “open gender,” so all can skate together. “All body types,” too. Yes, it gets rough, Patty acknowledges, but it has rules. “These kids are learning how to embody their strength, their skills.” Sometimes during bouts, it’s about speed, but other times, it’s about defense against an opponent trying to break a “jam,” and you might see the line of teammates barely move.

“It’s definitely a team sport,” Patty says.

She says she fell in love with roller derby by watching skaters then known as the Rat City Rollergirls; eventually she joined them. She skated for five years before retiring; now she has two kids who are following in her wheelstops. Skaters of course have derby names; she was Slamburger Patty – her son is Omargeddon; her daughter, Killer Diva.

Though Southside Revolution has been in existence more than a decade – even if you’ve never been to a bout, you might have seen them around, including West Seattle Grand Parade appearances – this is its first year as a nonprofit. That means there’s been a new learning curve, and it includes the world of fundraising. Even if you don’t skate, you can have fun at Wednesday’s Royal Masquerade Skate Prom, 5:30-7:30 pm at the rink (9646 17th SW) – watching skating, of course, for starters.

Also, there’ll be a costume contest, silent auction, refreshments, more to make it a true party. $20 tickets will be available at the door.

P.S. If you have a potential derby skater in your household – watch for word of new-skater clinics that SSR will be offering in fall.