Lady West Photography had the opportunity to take pictures of Broken BabyDoll who grew up in Montana. She now lives in Northern California and is part of the Silicon Valley Roller Girls. BB Doll has been with the league from the beginning and helped it get its start. Through those years she has had quite the journey. Her biggest challenge was having to have two back surgeries (these injuries/surgeries were not caused by derby). The first was a discectomy and the second was fusion. They removed 2 discs and replaced them with cement and bone fusion. Even though she could not skate she continued to be part of the league volunteering and helping in any way she could. Eventually she was able to use skating as part of her physical therapy to help build strength and muscle. As her back healed and stamina returned she started reffing with a goal to back on the team. With lots of work and determination she is happily on the team KillaBytes for SVRG getting bruised up and hip checking!
People often get the idea that roller derby is fake and staged fighting. This stereotype is very wrong! Those girls are out there practicing every week developing their skills, working out, and icing injuries just like any other athlete. Leagues have a set of rules they have to follow and keep sportsmanship behavior (that's right to contrary belief there is no punching allowed). They are dedicated and hard workers. The leagues are non-profit so it's up to them to fund raise to keep their teams going. They also stay active in their communities by helping charities and public events. There's so much more to roller derby then meets the eye and you would be surprised what you learn from the skaters.
If you would like to find out more on roller derby you can follow Broken BabyDoll on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/update_security_info.php?wizard=1#!/pages/Broken-BabyDoll/119693498097776
