One should know this was going to be one of those intense experiences when the contact person is named “Hot Mess Express.” Sunday morning’s Carolina Rollergirls tryout was a morning filled with tattoos, spills, chills and strong women.
Darlene Davis, 42, said it was a “mid-life crisis” following the tryout for the Carolina Rollergirls. She went on to say where else can you “knock down other women and wear fishnet hose?”
All of the 26 woman who showed up for the tryouts, whether younger or in “mid-life” talked about idea of trying something new and how the game of roller derby is empowering for women.
The two hour tryout consisted of sessions where the Rollergirl coaches and assessors tested basic skills, agility and reaction time. During the session there were two rounds of cuts where those not making it were eliminated. Rollergirl assessors wrote on a white board the names of the girls who were safe, and at the end of a session the women trying out skated over to see if their name was on the board, if it was not, they were asked to leave.
Cory Colmes, 37, of Morrisville, thought it was a good personal challenge to be able to “play hard and hit hard” and that ultimately being a Carolina Rollergirl would be a good alter ego to have.
And while the New Year is a time for new beginnings and new challenges, it takes a special woman to go through a tryout where falling down is practiced and where the 13 women who were ultimately accepted were tagged “fresh meat!”
Click on any image for a larger version and to see the full gallery.
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- Tryouts begin for the Carolina Rollergirls.
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- Monique Merriweather-Yarborough, 41, practices skating backwards during Sunday morning’s tryouts.
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- Women trying out wait for their next instructions.
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- Roxy Rockett, a Rollergirl skater-coach, sits in the middle of the rink as she watches the women who are trying out.
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- Michelle Stewart, 39, left, rearranges her hair after being eliminated from the tryouts. She is talking to her Mom, Susan Stewart, who is sitting on the bench.
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- Mimi Coker, 33, of Durham, jumps over cones in obstacle course.
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- Thrashley, Jesse King and Roxy Rocket, current Rollergirls write down the names of the women they want to stay. Thrashley and Roxy Rocket are their Derby names which they prefer to use.
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- Their three children watch as Kevin Blanchard, right, kisses his wife Angel after she was eliminated from the tryout. They are from Coats.
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- Monique, Merriweather-Yarborough, 41, of Garner skates past the assessors during Sunday’s tryouts.
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- Women trying out are taught how to get up after a fall.
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- Sprinting during the tryouts.
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- One woman takes a fall.
