Area players get tough for all the right reasons

Fans of roller derby in the Big Horn Basin had reason to celebrate Saturday, as the Heart Mountain Wreck on Wheels hosted its final home bout of the season against the Electric City Grrrlz at Riley Arena in Cody.

Sophia “SockHer Blue” Macik and Chelsea “B.O.B.” Lund were named team MVPs.

Despite a gutsy performance, the visitors from Great Falls proved too much for the hometown WOW, heading back to the Treasure State with a 179-60 win.

Losing is tough; losing in front of your home crowd even more so. But for the ladies of the Heart Mountain WOW, the final outcome of home bouts are about more than who scores the most points.

“Every home bout we have, we try to pick a non-profit in the area to help out,” said Siina “Illuminaughty” Swanson, one of the founding members of the Heart Mountain WOW. “Our first bout on June 10, we supported Park County 4-H, so we donated a portion of the proceeds to them. This bout was for 3-Dog Rescue.”

A portion of the proceeds from a June 10 bout went to Park County 4-H while Saturday proceeds are going to 3 Dog Rescue.

3 Dog Rescue is a non-profit, all volunteer organization based in Cody that finds suitable homes for dogs that need them. It’s a cause that hits close to home for Heart Mountain.

“We have a couple of girls who work with the organization, fostering dogs,” Swanson said. “They (3 Dog Rescue) place a ton of dogs, so we wanted to help out. It’s things like that we like to be a part of, things that help out the local community.”

Though the team has a primary beneficiary, the players decide together on what other organizations they will be playing for.

“4-H is our main charity; if the team were to ever fold, all of the money we have in the coffers would go to them,” Swanson said. “But at the beginning of every season the girls look for organizations in the area that could really use some help, and then we vote. That’s how we get that process going. In addition to that, if things pop up during the season, like an organization such as Special Olympics needs volunteers for something, we’ll help out with man-hours. Or if we have a little extra money we’ll write a check. We like to help out wherever we can.”

The Heart Mountain Wreck on Wheels was formed by

Swanson in the fall of 2013, with their first full season of bouts in 2014. A collegiately recruited athlete out of high school, Swanson said the idea of forming a team came out of a desire to increase local activities for women.

“I had gone to a bout, and thought it was a very interesting sport,” she explained. “I’ve always been active in sports, and when I came to the area, there wasn’t a whole lot of options for women. You could play softball, but I didn’t find it to be a very active activity. So I said, ‘Hey, let’s try roller derby and see if people like it.’ That’s kind of how it all began.”

Recruiting could be a challenge at the beginning, as the team battled to overcome the negative connotation attached to the sport. When people hear “roller derby,” many immediately picture professional wrestling on skates. Clever nicknames and colorful uniforms notwithstanding, today’s incarnation of the sport is based more in athletic competition than over-the-top theatrics.

“Back in the 1970s, when the sport was on TV, viewers would see players getting punched, bloody noses, broken bones on a regular basis,” Swanson said. “It’s not like that now; it’s actually regulated really well. It was in the running to become an Olympic sport at one point in time. As people see that, recruiting has become easier, but a lot of people still think it’s basically WWE on skates.”

That’s not to say the sport has lost any of its famed physicality. Roller Derby is still a full-contact sport, an aspect that the ladies who play it embrace.

“I definitely love how it’s a very physical sport,” said Sophia “SockHer Blue” Macik. “It gives us the opportunity to go out and play hard and play for the fun of it. I love the sport for that.”

Interest in the Heart Mountain WOW has grown every year, with players coming from all over the Big Horn Basin to compete. They’ve had players from Greybull and Swanson hails from Deaver.

“We have people from all over the area,” she said.

The team practices twice a week, and had their first bout in March; their final bout is scheduled for October. Next season will run from April to September. Though the season will be shorter, the WOW will play the same number of bouts.

“The season gets a little long and tedious; we have a lot of moms on the team,” Swanson said. “Once school starts, it’s hard for them to keep making the commitment.”

Players on the WOW range in age from their early 20s to mid 40s. A player must be 18 to legally compete, and Swanson knows of some who continue to compete into their 50s — proving you’re never too young or too old to learn a new sport.

“Derby attracts a wide variety of ages,” Swanson said. “On our team, we have housewives, moms, people who work at the police station. We have people who work in offices and in the mental health field and we have a few students as well. We have a wide variety of people.”

For Swanson and her teammates, it’s all about competing and having fun, dispelling misconceptions about the sport, and, most importantly, giving back to the community.

“It’s actually a lot of fun, and you meet a lot of different people,” Swanson said. “It’s a sport and people should come check us out.”