At the Fremont County Fair Building in Riverton, mild-mannered teachers are transformed into hard-hitting racers as they practice for their next roller derby bout.
Known by their more colorful nicknames such as Rosie Reckless, Pinky Piledrive, and Rip Tide, these racers are required to push and shove their opponents in what resembles a rugby scrum on roller skates.
This fast-paced, full-contact sport is played on quad roller skates and is growing in popularity around the Cowboy State. Leagues have been formed in communities ranging from Cheyenne to Rock Springs.
In Riverton, the Red Canyon Rattleskaters and the junior skaters, Dinomite, are part of the Fremont County Roller Derby league, which draws people from as far away as Thermopolis and Lander to practice on Mondays and Thursdays.
Jenny Oviatt, 41, of Hudson — aka Toxygen in the rink — said that the sport is a great confidence booster. She is an acupuncturist by trade and spends most of her time in a quiet office surrounded by relaxing music.
“A lot of women don't get the opportunity to be aggressive in a way that's safe and healthy and just fun,” Oviatt said. “It's really nice to be able to get those stressors out.”
When getting ready for a game, Oviatt said that people wear a variety of outfits from shorts to tutus and fishnets. She likes to put on her war paint.
“I like to do my makeup to try and make me look intimidating,” Oviatt said. “Not that anyone would be scared of me, but I try.”
Jenny Oviatt, aka Oxygen, right, is a roller derby chick from Hudson who dons her war paint whenever she heads to a race. She is a mild-mannered acupuncturist by day and mayhem in the rink, pushing and shoving during roller derby competitions. (Courtesy Jenny Oviatt) 
Blockers have two jobs. They are to block the opposing jammer from getting through them and earn points. They are also to help their own jammer get through the other team’s blockers which means a lot of pushing and shoving. (Courtesy Red Canyon Rattleskaters) 
Roller derby is making a comeback in Wyoming as women swap their mundane day jobs for hard-hitting action on skates. Teams across the state are rebuilding after the pandemic, embracing the sport’s mix of strength and strategy. (Courtesy Fremont County Roller Derby) 
Roller derby is making a comeback in Wyoming as women swap their mundane day jobs for hard-hitting action on skates. Teams across the state are rebuilding after the pandemic, embracing the sport’s mix of strength and strategy. (Courtesy Fremont County Roller Derby)
A Hard-Hitting Sport
Oviatt said that simply put, roller derby is a race on skates.
Defense and offense play at the same time on an oval track.
Each team has four blockers and a “jammer” in charge of scoring points by lapping members of the opposing team. Jammers need to push through the opposing team to gain these points, and the blockers are there to shove the jammer through the wall of skaters.
The blockers also need to make sure the opposing jammer does not get through. It is fast paced with body checks strongly encouraged.
According to the Minnesota Derby League, roller derby began in the 1930s as skating marathons during the Great Depression.
It was Leo Seltzer, a promoter, who realized that the events were more exciting when the skaters would push and shove one another to gain position.
Thanks to his insight, these races quickly became a full-contact sport.
Eventually, some of the races became predetermined and were just for show. That all changed in the early 2000s. The modern sport now has penalties and rules, but it is still all about the pushing and shoving.
“It's really a mentally heavy game,” Oviatt said. “The longer you play, the more you understand where to be and what to do at any given situation.”
In recent years, Oviatt has played as a blocker and enjoys being the one doing the pushing and shoving so her jammer can race through the wall of opposing skaters.
“There's a lot of experience and smarts involved,” Oviatt said. “We're trying to hit them out of bounds or knock them down to prevent them from passing us so they don't get our point.”
Oviatt explains that you are fighting for your space on the track and fighting to keep someone from besting you and taking your spot.
“Most of my team are comprised of gals that are very short,” Oviatt said. “When you take down somebody who's significantly larger than you, it just feels so good to be able to physically best them.”
Oviatt said that it is important not just to know how to hit your opponent but to be able to fall and get back up. She said the adrenaline definitely kicks in during those moments to help her focus on the game.
“When somebody knocks the snot out of me, and I fall down and get back up, it makes me so proud of the person who owned me,” Oviatt said.
She said that the sport is similar to hockey in that they can do shoulder and hip checks.
“You're not allowed to use elbows or grab hold of anybody, there's no tackling like football,” Oviatt said. “It keeps everyone able to push or shove or hit someone in a way that is safe, and you can fall safely, and ideally injuries aren't happening.”
Roller derby is making a comeback in Wyoming as women swap their mundane day jobs for hard-hitting action on skates. Teams across the state are rebuilding after the pandemic, embracing the sport’s mix of strength and strategy. (Courtesy Fremont County Roller Derby) 
Roller derby is making a comeback in Wyoming as women swap their mundane day jobs for hard-hitting action on skates. Teams across the state are rebuilding after the pandemic, embracing the sport’s mix of strength and strategy. (Courtesy Fremont County Roller Derby)
Rebuilding The Sport
Like so many sports and activities, the roller derby in Riverton had fallen apart during COVID and they are now working on rebuilding their team. A full roster has 14 players, but the Rattleskaters are lucky to have 12 players ready to skate for competitions.
“Most of the other teams in Wyoming are very similar, and so we all borrow skaters from each other for games,” Oviatt said. “The cool thing is if you're on a Wyoming team, we all know each other, we all play together, and you have friends all over the state that you get to play with and against.”
Another option is to have a mixer where skaters are placed wherever they are needed even if it is not on your own team. Oviatt said that it is often done in Wyoming to make sure everyone has enough players.
“We have people from other states that will show up,” Oviatt said. “We let people draw out of a hat, and then you're thrown on a team, and you get to play with new folks.”
The Red Canyon Rattleskaters have also started allowing men to play so that they can have enough on their team to compete. Their coach and a few referees now compete in unsanctioned venues where it is allowed.
"It is changing,” Oviatt said. “Roller derby is a niche sport, and what we've discovered is it doesn't necessarily matter who you're playing. It's more about having enough people to form a whole team.”
Oviatt said that they always ask each team beforehand and when they skate against all-women teams, they usually just have to borrow a few players.
“For us, it was the right choice because after COVID, we struggled a little bit getting a lot of membership back,” Oviatt said. “It has started to become a trend.”
Oviatt said that Casper, Jackson and a Pocatello, Idaho, team have also allowed men to play so it is becoming more common.
To help increase their numbers in the future, the Fremont County Roller Derby league also started a junior league for kids 8 through 18 who all play at their level of skate ability, and not necessarily with a particular age group.
The plan is working because two members recently graduated and joined the adult league. Oviatt said that roller derby is a lifetime sport and they are always recruiting, even those who cannot skate yet are welcome to join.
Oviatt said that the sport gets her the blood pumping and she loves that she can work out her aggressions with a few well-placed shoves and pushes.
“I feel amazing after practice and I'm ready to take on the next day,” Oviatt said. “It’s just a great stress reliever.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
