WILMINGTON — If you think of roller skating as making lazy laps under a disco ball, watching the Cape Fear Roller Girls would be a very rude awakening.
The Cape Fear Roller Girls are the region’s top-ranked team in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. The sport consists of a series of “jams” during which one team designates a member who tries to skate past members of the other team, who can stop that player. There are rules, of course, but if you’re playing this game, you’re aware things are going to get physical.
The matches are a ballet of agility and violence, not unlike football – except on roller skates. In the first of two matches on Saturday, May 20, the Cape Fear “all-stars” fought their way to a victory over the Carolina Roller Girls of Raleigh, before regrouping for a second match.
All of this would certainly be a good time on its own; the crowded stands at the Cape Fear Community College’s Schwartz Center seemed to enjoy themselves. But this home match served a higher purpose, as many of the Roller Girls’ matches do. Proceeds from the game will go to benefit Wilmington’s own Canines for Service.
Linsey Smith (aka Red White N’ Brooze), a member of the team in addition to the of marketing, said, “Canines for Service is one of our favorite charities to work with and this will be our second time featuring them for a home bout.”
Two dogs – Nicodemus and Forest – along with their handlers, attended the event. Pat Hairston, program director for Canines for Service, told Port City Daily that events like this are beneficial for the dogs because they help them prepare for real life situations they will experience once they’re placed with a military veteran (learn more about Canines for Service, and see some of the dogs in action).
For more information about upcoming bouts, players or the team’s charitable efforts, check them out here.
