Roller derby broadens with addition of men's team

In this case, a roller derby team of women, the Roller Dames, had been spinning and blocking since February 2008, and the men were the Johnny Come Latelys. The Kornstalker men’s team is drawn largely from guys who had refereed the Roller Dames or were dating or married to team members.

The Roller Dames are nearing the end of a more than dozen-bout season, with only a road contest remaining in May. When at home, they circle a track set up at the Long Lines Family Rec Center. They travel to other cities in Iowa, as well as Norfolk, Neb., for bouts that draw people ranging from the inquisitive to highly supportive.

Andea Buckley, an attorney by day who skates under the name The Annihilatrix, said a big bunch for schoolgirls from third to eighth grades have embraced the Roller Dames, for the chance to see a rare full-contact female sport. Buckley has been on the team since late 2008, and is pleased with how the team has improved over time.

“It has really been obvious, starting at the end of last season and the beginning of this season, that we have really come together as a team. We’ve really matured and I think we’re at a point where we’re going to be playing more competitive teams,” Buckley said.

“We’ve really improved and have come together, and I think a lot of that is because we’ve had a consistent group of girls who are really dedicated and we are really learning about our sport. It’s not just – we go out and play and have fun – we sit and we study other teams, and we study what is going to make us better. We’re a different team than what people may have seen two years ago or last year.”

Four women have been with Roller Dames the whole time – Crystal Huls, Melissa Dittberner, Libby Claeys and Kris Harlow – while others have come and gone over the three years. Through it all, the team has fielded the required roster number of 14 members, and at times the team has grown to 25. The Roller Dames is made up of people from diverse backgrounds, from professionals to waitresses to school workers.

Five skaters from each team are on the track at a time, as jammers try to pass the blockers to score points. Buckley is the pivot blocker, who serves as a sort of coach on the track, calling out plays and setting the pace of the blocking group.

Buckley joined the team to meet people after moving to Sioux City from Lincoln, Neb., in 2007. She figured she wouldn’t be that good, and might not make it more than a few months, but she’s really picked up the intricacies of derby.

“Playing derby is stressful. During an active season, we are practicing a minimum of six hours a week,” Buckley said. “Then you have your own time working out and skating.”

Buckley said she’s glad to have the Kornstalkers as colleagues of sorts.

“They are part of us, even though we are separate entities. If it brings more people to want to watch derby, that’s great,” she said.

The roughly dozen men who comprise the Kornstalkers hail from as far away as Omaha and Sioux Falls, and their first bout was Feb. 19 in Des Moines, the nearest city to field a men’s team in the growing sport. In May, they’ll travel to Indianapolis to take on the Race City Rebels.

Player Rod “The Rodster” Reinsdorph, the longtime Dames’ ref credited with starting the team, along with other ref/players like Joey “Skitch” Prefera, said they picked the name Kornstalkers because they wanted one that went with the three Siouxland states.

“I originally started reffing for the girls, and I’ve been doing it for about three years now,” Reinsdorph said. “We finally got enough guys interested in starting a men’s team. So we decided to do it.”

The team’s strength? Skating skills.

Ryan “Camel Joe” McClennen said he grew up playing hockey.

“So it’s pretty much natural to be on skates. And it’s fun,” he said.