B’kini Whacks #21
INTERVIEW FOR QCRD
By Litch:
Litch: Thank you for speaking with me! First off, could you tell me about yourself?
B’kini Whacks: I lived in North Buffalo for 20 years. I’m pretty boring, I was much cooler when I skated. I’ve been a probation officer for about 18 years now; I started skating in the summer of ‘08. I skated until 2015 with the Saucies and with the Furies
Litch: What did your transition away from derby look like?
B’kini: We were looking for some strength training to get my edge back because I was 35 and everyone else was 25, so we located a weight lifting gym and we were doing that as a supplement, and I just kind of naturally gravitated towards that and it seemed like a good time for me to retire. I had a good year, the Furries did really well that year, and I wanted to see what I could do with weightlifting. So that’s what occupies my time nowadays. I went from one major time sucker to another. I’m trying to be strong, I’ve stopped trying to be fast.
Litch: So how did you get into roller derby?
B’kini: 2 years before I started skating, I saw the Texas Roller Girls reality show and how they kind of invented flat track derby in the early 2000’s and I thought “Oh my god that’s so cool! Is there roller derby around here!?” and there wasn’t! I kind of forgot about it. Then I was in Atlanta in around ‘07 and we were looking for something to do and saw listed Atlanta Roller Girls! We ended up not getting to go, but it really stuck in my head, and shortly after that there was an ad for bootcamp in Art Voice. It said, “Show up at Rainbow Rink in North Tonawanda 8am” and I said “I’m doing it! I’m really going to do it!” I rented skates, but pretty quickly I decided that I was all in. I thought I would only do it for one or two years! It was all time well spent; it really was.
Litch: So, you said you played for the Saucies and the Furies, what position did you play?
B’kini: I was a jammer! I mean, I blocked occasionally, probably more so my last couple of years, but yeah, I was a jammer. I was getting older and the new girls were still young. The new skaters kept getting better and better and coming up from juniors.
Litch: Did you have a background in skating? Or did you jump right into playing derby?
B’kini: When I started, I had just skated around as a kid, but I never spent any significant time skating. There were a few skaters who did figure skating or some hockey, so they had some knowledge, but you could not know how to skate at all and pretty much figure it out enough to get on a team. But as time went on, the talent got higher and higher, which is awesome!
Litch: The difference between skating against the new skaters vs the former junior skaters is baffling!
B’kini: I believe it! I would love to just skate for a practice again just to see how it’s changed. I got to see the alumni game and everyone and I got very much in my feels.
Litch: With seeing a bout recently, did anything about the game play stick out to you that was different than when you last played?
B’kini: When I started it was fast, but then it got slow, really slow and now it’s fast again which is exciting!
Litch: Did you have a go to move as a jammer?
B’kini: We used to call it “can openers” when someone would cut in front of you and pop a shoulder into you and take your space, and I loved doing that because, for a smaller person, it was a good way to get in a good hit. I was a shrimp so you have to use what you can.
Litch: So, I assume with your size, agility was a good portion of your strategy .
B’kini: And trying not to get my a** kicked!
Litch: What do you miss the most about skating or even just the community?
B’kini: It was a closeness that I don’t know can be replicated anywhere in my life. I grew up playing team sports, and there was always the team unity thing, but we’re adults now, and usually you stop playing sports, especially as a woman. So to play and then to see the next generation, it’s a really cool thing to be a part of. I miss the community in and of itself. It’s just a great bunch of people. The smartest, funniest people that I ever met and crossed paths with, people from all walks of life, I’m very thankful!
Litch: I guess my last official question is, what advice would you give to new skaters?
B’kini: Appreciate it, because down the road, you’ll look back and think, that was the coolest. It’s a special time in your life. Keep showing up, keep trying, there’s a spot for you. That’s kind of what derby is all about. Winning is great, but it’s never the most important.
Litch: Thank you again for chatting with me, it’s amazing to see how much the league has changed, but how the heart of the community has not!
B’kini: Thank you for taking the time to sit down and reminisce with me!
