Hellgate Roller Derby Empowers Women in Garden City

If you’ve ever heard of Roller Derby, you might expect broken noses and punches flying. The Missoula Hellgate Roller Derby is doing its best to distance itself from its violent past. And instead of fighting each other, the team is fighting to finally be taken seriously. “Most of the time when some people ask me about [Roller Derby], they say, ‘Oh, you hit girls in the face.”’ Um, no. That’s what they used to do. We take this very seriously,” Hellgate Derby Jammer Ella Hubbard said. “People just don’t understand because all they’ve ever seen is the really bad, dirty hitting and when they come and watch they’re like, ‘you’re out there to do something good.’” And while it is a serious sport, it’s also serious fun. Roller Derby, played much like football on roller skates, is characterized by its players and its ability to empower women all over the Treasure State. “It’s such a different sport, it’s very empowering for women and I think I’m very drawn to that,” Hellgate Derby Blocker Zoe Holmes said. “I like all of the people here. Everyone’s very unique and I’m proud to be a part of it.” The fun, skaters say, comes from the confidence they gain from playing the sport they love—something that has helped the 18-year old skater Hubbard feel no fear on the track. “I feel a boost of confidence. And when I get out on the track, it’s kind of nerve-wracking warming up but then when I get out on the line, it’s just a completely different feeling,” Hubbard said. “I just feel so confident in my skating and I feel so powerful even though I’m so little. I like that. It’s just a great feeling for me. But overall, this team is a family. And that mantra could not be any more true for Lynn Hoerner, who gets to play every game beside her mother. “There’s not too many mother-daughter combos in roller derby, there is a few of them,” Jannette McDonald, Hellgate Roller Derby Coach and Mother of Lynn Hoerner, said. “But I think it’s just a great opportunity to share a similar passion, we both have a similar passion so it’s nice to be able to share that with each other.” “It’s kind of a mother-daughter event,” Hellgate Roller Derby Jammer Lynn Hoerner said. “Like some mother and daughters go shopping, for me and her it’s hitting each other. So it’s a lot of fun for us.” For the Hellgate Roller Derby, teammates may come and go, but family is forever.