Skating sorority rolling in Lake Worth

Dee Klairs War/
stay-at-home mom

What do a corporate lawyer, an environmental scientist and a stay-at-home mom have in common?

If I told you, they love to roller skate -- what would you guess? If I said they like the full-body contact of this sport, you might correctly guess roller derby. 

The three women from diverse backgrounds love playing for the Dub City Derby Girls.

"What other sport can you be physical with a woman and not get in trouble for it?" says Dee Klairs War (aka Danielle Dodson), one of the founding members of the nearly 4-year old team.

Sparta-Kiss #300/
corporate lawyer

The first time I saw a roller derby bout was on April 20 when Dub City took on Palm Coast. Guess who won? Dub City by a whopping 295-64.

"We are more a second-half team because we have a lot more endurance," says Sparta-Kiss #300 (aka Eleni Pantardis). As the new team president, she attributes that endurance to the "20 minutes of hell that Coach Billy puts us through" at the start of each practice.

Hellish 20 minutes 

Tip-toeing across the rink during practice

How bad could that be, I wondered.

I went to a Dub City practice one Monday night at Palm Beach Skate Zone and saw for myself: 20 crunches, 20 push-ups, 20 squats and tip-toeing back and forth across the rink -- all done while wearing roller skates. 

Plus, the innumerable speed bursts across the rink. And, did I mention skating backwards?

And in between exercises, Coach Billy blows his whistle, signaling the start of a different set.

The endurance training strengthens their legs so much that when other teams are tiring, they are still skating strong, Sparta-Kiss #300 says.

What's with skating names? 

Elle MacFearsNone/
environmental scientist

Their skating alter egos are supposed to be violent while still sexy, Sparta-Kiss #300 says. Her Greek background and a client helped pick Spartacus, and the 300 is for the 300 Spartans who supposedly held back a Persian force of over 100,000. The "kiss" is the sexy part.

Dee Klairs War says she never backs down from a challenge, as in she "declares war." The Dee comes from her last name, and the K from her husband's last name.

Elle MacFearsNone (aka Elli Hammond) says her name is a play of the supermodel and Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model Elle MacPherson. 

Mental challenge

Push-ups during practice

Few women's sports are full contact, MacFearsNone says. Plus, roller derby is mentally challenging. "When you get knocked down (in a bout), you have 3 seconds to get up, otherwise your team gets a penalty for delay of game," she says.

In her previous career as an arborist, she came home daily with more bruises than she receives in a roller derby bout. 

"My husband married me knowing I was a rough-and-tumble kind of gal," she says. They were high-school sweethearts.

The most serious injury she's had in her nearly two years of roller derby occurred about a month ago when a few ribs got knocked out of position. She went to a chiropractor who pushed them back in, says McFearsNone, 32, as if it were merely an inconvenience.

Worst injury

Dub City takes on Palm Coast bout.

Sparta-Kiss #300 missed 8 weeks last summer when she tore her left MCL. 

"I just got new skates...but I didn't have surgery," she says. At age 42 she is among the older skaters on the team. "My husband and I have a deal, after two (serious) injuries, I am out....enough of this mid-life crisis, he says."  

But she doesn't worry about getting injured again. Her position as the pivot is the one who calls the plays, similar to what a quarterback does on a football team.

When Dee Klairs War started the Dub City Girls with two others, the team became a "home-away-from home, just like being in a sorority." 

That sisterhood feeling must be why she plays jammer and blocker with an injury -- a shoulder bone popped through the muscle. 

"It would have to be repaired surgically. Maybe when I'm an adult, I'll get it fixed," says the 27-year-old. "But for now, I can live with the pain. It hurts  only when I get banged up during a bout."

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Saturday, May 18, 2013, when I walked:

Steps: 11,173

Miles: 5.6