Learning to fall in roller derby taught me how to be me

IN 2018, HOPING THAT THE MOODiness of the trees and mountains might help me discover something about myself, I left Columbus, Ohio, for Portland, Ore. Sometimes I biked to work, and on the first warm day of the year noticed a warehouse by the bike path had its doors open. There was an oval-shaped track inside, where a handful of people on roller skates were running into each other.

- BY MARGOT FISHER

I slowed my bike and stopped, putting one foot down to watch them. I figured it was roller derby (I had of course watched Whip It shortly after realizing I was gay), but I'd never seen the real thing. The people in the warehouse were of all sizes, all ability levels, and they were hitting each other hard. I signed up.

Roller derby is played in increments called jams. Each team fields five skaters per jam: four blockers and one jammer. The jammer is the only skater on each team who can score points. When the jam begins, the jammers fight through the pack of blockers, then race each other around the track, earning a point for every opposing blocker they pass with their hips. The first thing they teach you is how to fall safely, because it's not a question of if you'll fall. I got used to palm-size bruises on my arms and legs, quads so sore I couldn't walk down the stairs.