Boulder County Roller Derby holds energizing…
Boulder County Roller Derby holds energizing season opener
The Boulder County Roller Derby Devils (wearing white) battle the Denver Roller Derby Major Turbulence (wearing navy) in the first juniors league bout of the season at the Boulder County Fairgrounds on Saturday night. (Dana Cadey — Staff Writer)
By Dana Cadey | dcadey@prairiemountainmedia.com | Longmont Times-Call
PUBLISHED: January 14, 2023 at 8:46 p.m. | UPDATED: January 14, 2023 at 8:48 p.m.
Boulder County Roller Derby skaters enjoyed a smooth ride into their season opener Saturday night, backed by a full house of fans at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont.
The opener featured two bouts for the skaters of BCRD. The first bout pitted the BCRD Devils against the visiting Denver Roller Derby Major Turbulence as part of the juniors league — a category with skaters ages 6 through 17. BCRD's adult skaters took the track next, facing off against each other in the "Clash of the Cryptids" battle.
BCRD's season runs from January through September, with six bouts scheduled at the fairgrounds and more in states like Utah and Nebraska for its traveling competitive team.
Last year, BCRD had to cancel its January bout due to the high number of COVID-19 cases throughout the county. Before that, the league didn't hold bouts from March 2020 until June 2021, sinking the numbers of skaters well below the roughly 50 it has now.
"COVID was hard on us," said BCRD president Brandy Krow. "People kind of got disengaged, quit jobs and moved, and we were down to less than 20 skaters. So we're pretty proud of what we've built."
BCRD used to be the Boulder County Bombers, but the league changed its name to better align with its welcoming and safe brand. In addition to connecting local youth organizations with the juniors league, BCRD skates in Pride events during the summer and partners with LGBT advocacy group Out Boulder County.
"We try to be a good influence on the community, and we try to be a very inclusive space," Krow said.
The team holds around three practices a week in Lafayette. Former president Lisa Weisheit said BCRD, as a nonprofit, is currently on the lookout for a new home that also works for the group financially.
"We've been searching for the perfect home for us," she said. "We're constantly in flux (in terms) of what makes the most sense for us as far as a space that can be our long-term home, but also making correct financial decisions about it."
With over 200 spectators filling the fairgrounds' exhibit building Saturday night, support for the league was evident.
"I hope that we make lifelong derby fans from this," Weisheit said. "I'm hoping we have a lot of people who haven't been before, and they find derby as something super-fun and enjoyable to watch, and that they come back for the rest of the reason."
BCRD skater Topaz Michael, who lives in Westminster, has been doing roller derbies since 2009. She used to skate for the Rocky Mountain Roller Derby but recently joined BCRD; in fact, Saturday was Michael's first time competing not just with BCRD, but in any bout since before the pandemic.
For Michael, the sport not only provides an entertaining way to stay active, but also a chance for social connection.
"You can be as competitive or as laid0back as you want, so you can choose to just do it for fun or try to really be athletic," she said. "And if you move somewhere new, you'll instantly have, like, 30 friends. It's a nice way to get to know people."
Dana Cadey | Community reporter
Dana Cadey is the community reporter for the Longmont Times-Call. She previously worked for the Times-Call and its sister paper, the Boulder Daily Camera, as a summer intern in 2021.
dcadey@prairiemountainmedia.com