Sig: I went to graduate school with Librawlian back in the day, like 2010/2011. A bunch of our fellow library students went to a bout together at Rainbow Rink in North Tonawanda to cheer her on. I had no idea what was happening, but I knew nothing ever made more sense in my life. I spent months researching it but until I had regular health insurance, I knew it was out of the question for me. Years later, she and I ran into each other at a local professional development event and I said, “I always wish I had done that” to which she responded, “So do it.” And I did.
Box: I love that journey! What was the process like when you joined? Did you start with boot camp?
Sig: I have fond memories of Sunday morning bootcamps! I spent part of my youth on roller blades so I knew I loved zooming around but I didn’t know much about the mechanics of skating so I was very much Bambi on Ice when I first started.
That all said, I joined boot camp the summer before an October draft. While we were all being pushed to show our best selves at every open practice and I did so, I knew I wasn’t ready. Thankfully, I was NOT drafted that year and I was incredibly pleased to continue learning in a calmer environment.
At the time, Boot Camp and Queen’s Court were essentially one and the same but the cohort that came through during my time (both that first draft and the following year) ended up both strong and sizable. I think we came in 3rd at The Fresh and the Furious tournament in Toronto the next summer!
Box: How did you come up with your derby name?
Sig: That’s a very good question in that I’m not entirely sure how I came up with it, mostly because I was spitballing a lot of ideas at the time. I know it took me so long that Vile struggled to call me anything but Becca for at least a year or more. Back then, I was a college Librarian so I would bounce ideas off students and colleagues. Eventually, I landed on Sigourney Cleaver, particularly because of the famous line “Get away from her, you bitch” from Aliens, as I was operating under the naive delusion I’d be a Blocker.
NONE of the students understood Sigourney Weaver as a reference unless I mentioned Finding Dory and the voice over about the Marine Life Institute. Of course, that doesn’t bring to mind the absolute badass that is Ellen Ripley. However, when I floated the name to anybody over the age of 23, it landed very well so I went with it.
Box: And once you felt ready and declared, when was that and which team did you start your career with?
Sig: The year I was drafted was the very first home team scramble. I ended up a Saucy! The draft would have been 2015, so I was a 2016 Saucy.
Box: And what other teams were you a part of?
Sig: Saucies: 2016-2018 (2018 Champs!)
Subzero Sirens: 2017-2018
Devil Dollies: 2019-2020, Team Co-Captain
Sig: Yes!! Not that I was able to contribute much throughout the season.
Box: Gurl! You were there for all of it! Being present is just as important as being on skates!!
Roller derby is a full contact sport, so sometimes injuries happen. If it’s not too invasive to ask, what was your experience coming back after your game play injury? What were some of the thoughts or emotions that you had returning to derby?
Sig: Oof, yeah that was a big one – and very public. It was a Sunday night game, too, which only added to the practical complications.
Coming back was tough, as I can definitely get stuck in my own head and give in to the anxiety, especially since I had the whole spring to sit and stew on it. It was my rookie year and I was just starting to get a handle on the sport and on jamming. I was upset that my development was cut short and I had some acute stress challenges, which I think is fairly typical with an injury like that. However, my derby wife is a social worker and she made sure to take very good care of me with her particular brand of assertive, loving care. Among other things, she made me watch the footage and rewound it until I stopped covering my eyes (she knew the injury wasn’t visible in the footage). She helped me breathe again.
I still spent my pre-season telling my Saucy coaches and teammates that I didn’t think I’d feel comfortable jamming again. However, the thing that made me a jammer in the first place happened – a drill started and everybody skated away from the Star. The familiar compulsion hit, I grabbed the star, threw myself at the blocker wall, and that was that. I came back with a vengeance that year. I earned a spot on the Sirens and received three league awards at the end of that season. It was wild!
Honestly, this has always been one of the most important facets of this sport for me – it teaches you who you have the capacity to be when you get knocked down. I’ve learned that I will keep getting back up.
Fun fact: I had not yet met my husband when I got injured but years later when I was getting to know his friends, one of them said, “I’ve only ever been to one roller derby game and one girl straight up broke her arm.” It was very funny to be able to say, “Oh that was ME!”
Box: Your story is really incredible, and I think speaks volumes to the community that roller derby provides to its members. Not only does everyone belong, but everyone champions for each other. No skater is left behind. After the world flipped upside down and the pandemic hit, you didn’t come back right away when QCRD restarted. What kept you away and what finally brought you back?
When the league restarted in 2022, I just wasn’t ready to split my time between my career change and the commitment I knew derby required – but I was always ready to hop on mic and announce when asked! And that involvement certainly tickled the derby itch. Folks began to nudge me to come back that year but I was planning my wedding and didn’t want to risk breaking an ankle (lol) before walking down the aisle in August 2023.
That fall, I crashed bootcamp unannounced. Of course I should have emailed somebody in advance but I had a moment of “if not now, then when” and ran out the door at 7AM on a Sunday morning – sometimes I have to put my own feet to the fire to do the things I know I need to do, especially if they’re hard. I told myself it would just be casual so I didn’t declare for the draft. Then winter came and I didn’t want to leave the house after dark in January so the casual involvement was more of a non-involvement aside from announcing.
And then you, my friend, convinced me to come back last year. We didn’t know each other prior to 2020 but I know we became close fairly quickly. Thank you – truly. I always feel better on skates, zooming in circles with my friends. I’m so glad I came back!
With the draft coming up in early November, it’s all still up in the air, but there are some seriously wonderful coaches for this upcoming season and I think the 20th anniversary year will be one for the books!
Interview by Box Cutta