Roller Derby

This article appeared as a web extra for The Grinnell Magazine, Fall 2008.

Adrienne van der Valk '97 never expected to become an avid participant in roller derby, but that's exactly what happened. She loves the "brazen, post-feminist flamboyance, pin-up punk aesthetic" of the sport, evident in these photos by Angie Ponso.

player looks over her shoulder during a match
Adrienne van der Valk seems to be keeping an eye out for marauding competitors as she flies around the floor.
Player on a bench winces while another looks concerned
Aches, pains, and "gnarly bruises" are definitely a part of the mix, van der Valk says.
Three women, two in gear, sitting together
Modern roller derby athletes include "teachers, welders, landscapers, attorneys, therapists, bartenders, and students," van der Valk says. About half of these women are mothers — and very tough mothers, indeed.
skater leads group around the track
Van der Valk says she was lured into roller derby by the "excitement and the girl-power" but she stayed for the sport.
Woman in skull makeup with a toy raygun
Roller derby has changed since the days of Kansas City Bomber, says Adrienne van der Valk. For one thing, she competes in a flat-track league, rather than the banked track leagues of the past. And fighting is not allowed.
Woman in Id Rather Not t-shirt holds helmet on head
Van der Valk’s league, the Emerald City Roller Girls, is a nonprofit, skater-run affairs, unlike "professional" clubs of the past.
back of a woman in a wide leather belt with a waistline tattoo and holding a pair of black skates over her shoulder
Adrienne van der Valk says she plans to compete until she is broken — "And I hope I skate until I die," she adds.

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