CoMo Derby Dames return to Columbia

COLUMBIA — Off the track, they're moms, students and middle-aged women, but when the roller skates hit the floor, they're superheroes.

The CoMo Derby Dames, who have been competing in Jefferson City for the past three years, returned to Columbia on Saturday night for their first bout at the Columbia Canine Sports Center.

Hundreds ringed the edges of the rink as the beginning of the event grew closer, waiting for the game to begin. This first bout sold more tickets than any of the Dames' previous contests in Jefferson City.

The floor had been laid with a network of Masonite tiles, the rink was taped to designate lanes, and a scoreboard hung behind the announcers. In just 24 hours, the CoMo Derby Dames had turned a building that normally hosts dog competitions into a real roller derby arena.

"It's good to be back in Columbia," the announcer began, prompting the crowd to go wild.

Looking for a home

The CoMo Derby Dames began playing in 2007 when several girls in the area decided they were interested enough in roller derby to start a team in Columbia. They played their first two seasons at Empire Roller Rink, a small venue that was difficult to operate well, according to CoMo Derby Dames president Jessica Hawk, or "Maimy Fisher," as she's known on the rink.

The Dames left for the Boone County Fairgrounds for their third season, but it wasn't ideal either.

"We had been wrapping mattresses around things and putting futons up on the wall," Hawk said.

But they did join the Women's Flat Track Derby Association, the international governing body for women's flat track roller derby, meaning they had to move to Jefferson City to find an arena up to par with WFTDA guidelines.

The Jefferson City location worked in the beginning, but after a while, the group began to lose money because not as many people were coming to bouts.

"Immediate family and friends were the only people who were coming to see us," Hawk said.

It was a game in Evansville, Indiana, that changed the future for the CoMo Derby Dames. There, they noticed that the Evansville team skated in an old-fashioned City Hall, but put down taped blocks of Masonite to skate on.

"I was like, 'Holy crap, that's a good idea,'" Hawk said.

They had looked at Columbia Canine Sports Center in the past, but didn't have a flooring option. Now they had one, thanks to inspiration from the Evansville game. All the group needed was to raise money to purchase the floor material, which they calculated to be $8,000 total.

The team launched a campaign on Indiegogo, an online crowdfunding platform, and in just 45 days, the CoMo Derby Dames raised $11,021.

The team was ready to return to Columbia.

Behind the scenes

To make their first game possible, they had to transform the Columbia Canine Sports Center into an arena. The girls arrived at 9 a.m. to begin laying the floor.

Skaters took large Masonite tiles, fit them together like bricks and taped the boards together. They worked until noon, and then arrived two hours before game time to continue setting up.

But the women didn't seem to mind the hard work it took to make a night of roller derby in Columbia possible, dancing to upbeat music and laughing while working.

"Working toward having our own venue and having our own floor has been a huge push over the last four to six months. It's something we've always wanted," skater Sarah Wells-Morgan, or "Plain White Tease," said.

"The fact that we've finally gotten here is a big deal. This is a chance to play. Home team gives everyone a chance to play, so it's exciting," Wells-Morgan said.

Skating superheroes

The CoMo Derby Dames offer opportunities to skaters of all levels. There's the local team that participates in bouts in Columbia, a traveling team that plays throughout the Midwest and a beginner's class that lets newbies test the waters.

Skating for the Dames gives team members an opportunity to give (and take) some bruises, but the main reward comes from learning something new.

"I don't classify myself as being great (at roller derby), but every time you learn something, and it's such a tangible difference," Wells-Morgan said. "It pushes your brain; it pushes your body. It challenges you."

And it brings many different types of women into the Dames' tight-knit community.

"You know that if you picked up the phone at any time and you needed something, they'd be there. They're the ones who see you at your best and they see you at your worst. Aside from most of our significant others, they're the ones you see the most," Wells-Morgan said.

"I met all these women around the country that I never would have met," Hawk said. "It's an amazing phenomenon, that all these crazy people could come together for something so bizarre as putting on roller skates and knocking each other down."

As for the funds needed to skate in Columbia, the CoMo Derby Dames plan to stay here as long as the fans keep showing up.

"Derby is worth having in Columbia," Hawk said. "When you play in front of a crowd, you feel like a superhero. You're wearing sparkly hot pants, you're skating real fast, people are screaming and you just feel amazing."