by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
A few times a week, Jen DeBettignies straps on roller skates and jams herself in between and past blockers at River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.
DeBettignies, a Sauk Rapids resident, is a St. Cloud Area Roller Doll. S.C.A.R Dolls was founded in 2011, and is the first and only women’s flat-track roller-derby league in Central Minnesota. S.C.A.R. Dolls, a non-profit, was created as an opportunity for women in the St. Cloud area to participate in modern roller derby.
DeBettignies has been a S.C.A.R Doll for about one year. She is a jammer, which means she attempts to pass the opposing team’s blockers as her own team’s blockers attempt to stop the opposing team’s jammer. Each team deploys one jammer and a team of blockers during a match, so each team is playing both offense and defense at the same time. Each team has up to 14 players who field up to five members for each two-minute jam. As many jams as possible are fit into two periods of 30 minutes each. DeBettignies’ roller-derby nickname is Mischief Managed. Players tend to choose roller-derby names to play under, many of which are creative examples of word play with satire, puns, alliteration, and allusions to pop culture.
“It started off as a fun thing to try with friends, and a way for me to have some ‘me’ time,” DeBettignies said in a Newsleader interview. “I am not an overly sporty person, but thought ‘Hey I love skating, so why not?’ I didn’t intend for roller derby to become my thing, but once I tried it, I was hooked.”
Roller derby is currently one of the fastest-growing sports in the world with more than 1,450 amateur leagues currently in existence and new leagues forming all the time, according to the S.C.A.R. Dolls website. The S.C.A.R. Dolls field two teams, the Pin-Up Prowlers and the Gargoyle Brigade. These two teams face off against each other at home. There is also a traveling team which faces off against other regional teams.
“The women who play this sport are amazing. They are strong, competitive, kind and have the biggest hearts,” DeBettignies said. “I love the challenge it provides, and the outlet to do something that is just for me. And I love that our organization is very involved in the community. We spend our time helping as well as donate funds to area non-profits.”
The S.C.A.R. Dolls designate a charity for many of their events.
Special Olympics Minnesota is the charity for the home team playoff game at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 at the convention center, where the Gargoyles will face off against the Prowlers. There are many local St. Cloud faces among the two teams.
DeBettignies said a typical roller-derby match in St. Cloud can bring in more than 700 spectators. If it’s your first time at a roller-derby match, be prepared to be overwhelmed.
“We get kids involved with programs, have a super fun half-time show and have a lot of fun playing. I think people who have never seen derby might be surprised at how hard we play,” DeBettignies noted. “Someone told me our hits remind them of football on roller skates. Of course the game-play is different, but it’s not uncommon to see someone get hit pretty hard.”
DeBettignies said in the past, roller derby had the reputation of being similar to television wrestling, in that it was scripted. She says they and other teams have fought hard to overcome that stigma and show people how real of a sport roller derby is.
The S.C.A.R. Dolls Facebook page indicates they are recruiting both skaters and volunteers to be referees, scorekeepers and other positions. You can find out more about joining or watching them on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SCARDolls.
Mischief Managed, otherwise known as Jen DeBettignies, races around the track. As a jammer for the S.C.A.R. Dolls, her job is to lap the opposing blockers as many times as possible to score points for her team.
