This month’s featured skater wears the zebra stripes and a whistle, and can often be found with a stopwatch in-hand. Cassadee Dope has been with Queen City Roller Derby eight years, and for the last several, has been part of the Buffalo Herd, our pack of skating and non-skating officials.
How long have you been skating?
I learned to skate when I was very young. My parents had me try other sports, like gymnastics, but I don’t like waiting in line. The roller rink in Lockport was five minutes from my house growing up, so my mom took me there for skating lessons when I was around 10 or 11. I stuck with it for years, and my first job was at Skateland.
Where are you from?
I was born in South Korea and was adopted as a baby. My parents are from Western New York, and I grew up in Lockport.
What’s your day job?
Pharmacist. My day job is director of clinical development for a medication management software solutions company.
When did you join derby?
I entered derby as a bootcamp skater in 2017. My coworker and I joined Queen City together, but she doesn’t play anymore.
What is the significance of your derby name/number?
For my number, I just used the birth months of my parents and mine. You know how when you’re growing up, you get attached to certain music and never really leave it behind? Well, when I was in high school, I was very into emo music. My favorite band was Hey Monday, and their lead singer was Cassadee Pope. So that’s why I picked Cassadee Dope.
Do you have hobbies outside of derby?
Work takes up a lot of my time, but this past January I took up an adjunct professor position teaching an elective class in pharmaceuticals at D’Youville University. I also played recreation league kickball and dodgeball with OutLoud Sports.
Why choose being an official, instead of playing on a team?
I started out as a skater. I entered the draft back in 2017 and was on the Alley Kats, but I never played a game. Leading up to the season, we were doing a scrimmage, and I was jamming. I spun one way and the leg didn’t go that way. I had a spiral tibia/fibula fracture.
It took me a while to heal and that gave me time to think about what I wanted to do in derby. I still went to every game and hung out at practices, but there was some fear about getting back on skates after that. I knew I still wanted to skate but wasn’t sure if I wanted to skate that aggressively again. I was an NSO for a few years. I thought I might want to skate again but I didn’t know if I wanted to compete again, so I thought, “let me give officiating a try.”
What’s your favorite positions as an official?
Anything with the name “jam” in it is probably my jam. When I started out, I wanted to be a jammer, so I like jam timing when I’m off skates and jam reffing when I’m on skates. I’m somewhat scattered in my thoughts, so it’s easier for me to focus on one person.
Do you ever feel bad when calling penalties?
No. The ultimate goal of reffing is to keep things safe and fun. I try to approach derby in a way that keeps the game going. For example, if someone used their forearm, but they didn’t impact the outcome of the play, that might be something I don’t call. As skaters, you watch footage to learn and improve. As refs, we watch footage too, because that’s how we see why a penalty was called and which ones should have been called and weren’t.
Will you ever go back to skating on a team?
I don’t think I’ll ever go back to being a skater, because I don’t like to wait my turn, and you don’t have to sit at all when you’re an official. Also, I feel like I’m learning something new about the rules every time I’m on the track. We have so many talented officials in the group. I learn something new every single time. I don’t really think of us as separate groups of refs and skaters, but I think we’re all just one league, like one big happy family.
Who are your favorite derby skaters?
On the Kats, Locked & Loaded, because she’s just so strong and fast, and it’s so fun to watch her jam. On the Dollies, Ubebee because she’s so versatile. I like watching her jam, even if it’s not her favorite position. On the Saucies, I like Darth Mali, because she makes amazing baked goods and is an amazing blocker and teammate. My favorite skating official is Nicky Needles because she’s been so supportive and patient from the beginning when I started thinking about trying out being a skating official, and I learn something new from her every time I work with her.
Any advice for new skaters?
Just have fun with it. It sounds so cliché, but you want to have as much joy as you can. It’s easy to get scared. I did bootcamp with people who had never skated in their life, and now they’re some of the best skaters out there.