Girl fight!
DARNELL RENEE/Special Contributor
Michelle Metzinger (front) participates in a sprint practice at Dad's
Broadway Skateland in Mesquite.
Roller derby is making a comeback with all-female teams forming in
cities across the country. And the latest team to hit the rink – in a
sport that last raged in the 1970s – is Dallas-based Assassination City,
which hosts an exhibition bout Sunday at What's Hot Fun World.
Assassination City, which gets its name from President Kennedy's death
in Dallas, formed in February.
The team can count on 43 steady members, who have spent much of the last
five months practicing. Most will play at Sunday's exhibition, with 10
women on the floor at a time in five-against-five matches.
After Sunday, they will break into smaller teams and form a league,
according to Melanie Levy, who organized Assassination City, she says,
to bring old-school fun back to life.
"I was always involved in sports, and I loved the camaraderie with my
teammates," says 35-year-old Levy, who uses the name Hella Fitzgerald
during derby play. "I was missing that as an adult."
Most of the players, who've adopted names such as Black Vixen and Iona
Switchblade, are in their 20s and 30s.
The league will be capped at 60 women, so there is room for others to
join, Levy says. "We just ask that they already have basic skating
skills, like good balance. Oh, and they need to know how to stop."
Lori Price
What: "Fully Loaded Derby-Taunt Brawl" roller derby exhibition
match
When: Sunday; doors at 6:30 p.m.; match at 7
Where: What's Hot Fun World, 400 S. Buckner Blvd.
Cost: $12
Of note: Bring your own beer (no glass please)
•Sign up at the team's Web site – www.assassinationcity.com – and
someone will get in touch.
•Or e-mail
info@assassinationcityderby.com.
