See the Roller Girls in action. 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In the dimly lit hall of an old middle school gymnasium converted to a local skating rink, the Chemical Valley Roller Girls are practicing on a Thursday night - like they have most Tuesday and Thursday nights for the past few months.

Thirteen women in patchwork pads, skates and black uniforms circle the track at the Campbells Creek Skateland, shouting, laughing and pushing against each other.

This is roller derby.

The Chemical Valley Roller Girls are a grass-roots, start-up roller derby team founded by Elizabeth Turner and Laura Collins. Both were roller derby fans before they ever slipped on the skates.

"I'm from Teays Valley," Turner said. "I lived in Asheville, N.C., for a while and my sister was part of the Blue Ridge Roller Derby League. I just fell in love with it."

Collins, from Texas, knew about roller derby for years. Texas has more than a dozen leagues, but she never had the chance to get involved. When she moved to Charleston about two years ago, she thought roller derby was something great to import to West Virginia.

Meanwhile, Turner was already asking around, looking to join a league. They contacted the same people in Morgantown who, she learned, were also attempting to form a league.

"We just found each other," Collins laughed.

The two met and became friends and co-conspirators with a mission to bring the joys of roller derby to the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia's "Chemical Valley." It was a lot of work and a lot of planning. They printed fliers and hit the bars. They officially named the team and created a practice schedule on Oct. 28. The first meet-and-greet membership drive was during The Empty Glass's Halloween Hootenanny.

Fourteen women showed up. It was a good start.

The rules of roller derby are fairly simple and follow the guidelines of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. Two teams send five players out on the track: three defensive blockers, a defense pivot and one jammer, who scores for the team. Pivots and blockers start the game in a pack. The two jammers start 20 feet back from the rest.

A match is composed of two 30-minute periods or three 20-minute periods broken up into two-minute "jams." Points are scored by the jammers lapping the opposing defensive players. Blockers attempt to slow the opposing scorer down and help their own jammer, while maintaining their position in the pack.

It gets very physical very fast. Specifically, nobody is allowed to hit anyone. Players aren't supposed to deliberately trip, hook or jab opposing players with their elbows or use their helmeted heads as battering rams. Hauling off and slugging another player is strictly against the rules.

But it happens. This is roller derby. Fights are common enough, but are seen as badges of honor and hindrances to play. It's hard to win a game if half the team is cooling their heels in the penalty box or has been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. Just like hockey, there are penalties handed out by a referee to keep it safe and to keep the game moving.

Roller derby is even tougher than it looks. Moving on skates and struggling against other players requires strength, balance, endurance and a certain amount of reckless abandon.

"It takes about six months to get in shape to really compete," Turner said.

By now, the Chemical Valley Roller Girls are coming into their third month of practice. They practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights at Skateland, but it's winter. Frigid temperatures and the holidays have occasionally thrown a wrench into the schedule.

The skaters come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Some of the roller girls are young, in their late teens or early 20s. A couple could be pushing 40 or older, but it's hard to tell, and no one is particularly fond of telling their age.

"We get them from all walks of life," Turner said.

Turner says she works in retail. Collins is a legal assistant.

 See the Roller Girls in action. 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In the dimly lit hall of an old middle school gymnasium converted to a local skating rink, the Chemical Valley Roller Girls are practicing on a Thursday night - like they have most Tuesday and Thursday nights for the past few months.

Thirteen women in patchwork pads, skates and black uniforms circle the track at the Campbells Creek Skateland, shouting, laughing and pushing against each other.

This is roller derby.

The Chemical Valley Roller Girls are a grass-roots, start-up roller derby team founded by Elizabeth Turner and Laura Collins. Both were roller derby fans before they ever slipped on the skates.

"I'm from Teays Valley," Turner said. "I lived in Asheville, N.C., for a while and my sister was part of the Blue Ridge Roller Derby League. I just fell in love with it."

Collins, from Texas, knew about roller derby for years. Texas has more than a dozen leagues, but she never had the chance to get involved. When she moved to Charleston about two years ago, she thought roller derby was something great to import to West Virginia.

Meanwhile, Turner was already asking around, looking to join a league. They contacted the same people in Morgantown who, she learned, were also attempting to form a league.

"We just found each other," Collins laughed.

The two met and became friends and co-conspirators with a mission to bring the joys of roller derby to the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia's "Chemical Valley." It was a lot of work and a lot of planning. They printed fliers and hit the bars. They officially named the team and created a practice schedule on Oct. 28. The first meet-and-greet membership drive was during The Empty Glass's Halloween Hootenanny.

Fourteen women showed up. It was a good start.

The rules of roller derby are fairly simple and follow the guidelines of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. Two teams send five players out on the track: three defensive blockers, a defense pivot and one jammer, who scores for the team. Pivots and blockers start the game in a pack. The two jammers start 20 feet back from the rest.

A match is composed of two 30-minute periods or three 20-minute periods broken up into two-minute "jams." Points are scored by the jammers lapping the opposing defensive players. Blockers attempt to slow the opposing scorer down and help their own jammer, while maintaining their position in the pack.

It gets very physical very fast. Specifically, nobody is allowed to hit anyone. Players aren't supposed to deliberately trip, hook or jab opposing players with their elbows or use their helmeted heads as battering rams. Hauling off and slugging another player is strictly against the rules.

But it happens. This is roller derby. Fights are common enough, but are seen as badges of honor and hindrances to play. It's hard to win a game if half the team is cooling their heels in the penalty box or has been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. Just like hockey, there are penalties handed out by a referee to keep it safe and to keep the game moving.

Roller derby is even tougher than it looks. Moving on skates and struggling against other players requires strength, balance, endurance and a certain amount of reckless abandon.

"It takes about six months to get in shape to really compete," Turner said.

By now, the Chemical Valley Roller Girls are coming into their third month of practice. They practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights at Skateland, but it's winter. Frigid temperatures and the holidays have occasionally thrown a wrench into the schedule.

The skaters come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Some of the roller girls are young, in their late teens or early 20s. A couple could be pushing 40 or older, but it's hard to tell, and no one is particularly fond of telling their age.

"We get them from all walks of life," Turner said.

Turner says she works in retail. Collins is a legal assistant.

"We've got teachers, librarians, nurses and domestic engineers," Turner said. "We're wives, girlfriends and mothers," sometimes with children in tow.

While the team practices drills, a young boy and girl amuse themselves in the game room. The little boy shoots pool, or tries to. The little girl has her own skates and periodically zips across the old gym floor to the restroom.

Putting on a pair of skates at age 10 is very different than lacing up at 30 or 40. Some of the roller girls haven't worn a pair of skates since they were teenagers or younger. Getting their "skatelegs" back takes time. People fall down. They wake up sore the next day with bumps and bruises.

Erin Cunningham has been part of the team since they first started practicing. She's one of the strongest skaters of the bunch, although she says it's been 20 years since she really skated. A legal librarian by day, she says the aches and injuries just come with the territory.

"Being a derby girl is just awesome," she said.

Roller derby is easily as flamboyant as professional wrestling, but without the choreography. Players take on rowdy names and personas. Elizabeth Turner is Liz Vicious. Laura Collins is Myna Disaster. Erin Cunningham is Annie Knuckles. Team uniforms range from rock 'n' roll gothic to punk. There is a lot of very dark and occasionally ghoulish humor ingrained in the sport.

"There's a lot of showmanship in this," Collins said. "In some states, there are multiple leagues with multiple teams. Dallas has the Dallas Derby Devils and the Assassination City Roller Derby League."

The latter is a reference to the assassination of President Kennedy. Teams in that league include the Deadly Kennedys and the Lonestar Assassins.

It makes the name the Chemical Valley Roller Girls seem somewhat tame.

Collins and Turner say their start-up league has a long way to go. The wish list for things they'd like for the league is long. Each skater pays for her own gear, and it eventually gets pricey. Kneepads, elbow pads, helmets and derby skates can run into several hundred dollars.

"You can get a pads kit at one of the chain stores that runs you $20," Turner said. "It won't last, but it's good enough to get started or until you figure out if you really want to do this."

Collins and Turner say they'd like to be able to get sponsorships to help offset the costs of gear, travel and uniforms. They're also still trying to get the word out and find a few more women willing to lace up the skates.

"We've got, I think, 14 right now," Turner said, "but in the 20s is desirable."

"It would be great if we had enough for more than one team," Collins added. "We'd love to have a traveling team or someone to scrimmage right here in Charleston."

Finding a larger space they can practice in regularly also is on the wish list, but one thing at a time. Right now, the group is just practicing and getting into shape, with plans to scrimmage a roller derby team in Bluefield in the early spring. More matches will become available once they establish themselves.

They say there's a lot to love about the sport.

"It's really empowering," Collins said. "I used to worry about being taller, prettier and blah, blah, blah ... Roller derby gives you confidence."

"Growing up, I didn't really have a lot of women friends," Turner said. "I just didn't make them."

She laughed. "It didn't seem all that important at the time, but as I got older, I wanted female friends. Roller derby has been a great way to meet other women of a like mind."

To find out more about The Chemical Valley Roller Girls, visit them online at www.myspace.com/chemicalvalleyrollergirls or e-mail chemicalvalleyrollergi...@yahoo.com.

Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.