Mount Washington's Junior Derby Dolls Will Brawl on Mother's Day

The bucolic Mount Washington neighborhood, with its gracious homes and green hills, might seem an unlikely place to have spawned teens nicknamed “Jackie the Ripper” and “Cleobrattra”.

Then again, the ‘hood, with its steep hills and sidewalks that have surrendered to tree root upheaval, also seems the last place to breed skaters.

 And yet, the serene and lovely Hill is home to Natasha Boyd and Mia Osinski (“Jackie” and “Cleo” respectively) who jam, block and brawl for the Jr. Los Angeles Derby Dolls: the 18-and-under faction of the femmes-on-wheels who tear around a banked track in front of fanatic crowds at the Doll Factory in historic Filipinotown.  This Mother’s Day, both Jackie and Cleo will be skating in a half-time exhibition game during the all-ages Baby Doll Brawl.

Boyd laughs when she recalls her introduction to the Jr. Dolls three years ago.  “At the beginning of summer, my dad saw a picture of scary-looking, muscled women with tattoos and skates.  So of course, he decided to sign me up for [the Junior Derby Dolls] summer camp.”   Boyd had only skated on in-line skates before the Jr. Dolls although she’s clearly no stranger to rolling danger.  “My dad and I used to play soccer on skates in Venice Beach,” she confesses.

Despite her previous experience, summer camp was anything but easy for Boyd.  “It was five hours a day, five days a week and it was the most fun and most painful thing I’ve ever experienced," remembers Boyd.  The pressure didn’t stop there.  “The first game was horribly stressful.  I vomited beforehand.”

Still, Boyd fell in love with the sport and was having so much fun that she urged her long-time friend Osinski to try it. “I thought, ‘How can I ever do this?' remembers Osinski, who also belly dances and does yoga.  “Then, I decided I wanted to try.  I like things that are different.”

Still, summer camp proved as challenging for Osinski as it was for Boyd.  “It was hard,” she confides.  “I thought, ‘I’m never going to be able to do it.’  I would fall, and I would cry but I would keep getting up until I started to see improvement.”

L.A. Derby Doll “Killo Kitty”, who coaches the Juniors, including three of her own daughters, explains the object of the game.  Points are scored when the “jammer” skates through the scrum of teammates and skaters from the opposing team.  The latter are trying to block the jammer while the former are trying to block the “blockers."  The “pivot” helps direct the action.

Even though Killo and fellow coach “Regulator” teach the girls safety as well as strategy, it’s both exhilarating and nerve-wracking just watching the jammer bob and weave through the roiling obstacle course.  It’s no surprise, then, that both Boyd and Osinski, who actually fight their way through friend and foe week after week, were hooked the first time they “jammed”.

For Osinski, the fashion is as much fun as the fight. “People don’t realize [roller derby] is a girly sport,” asserts Osinski.  “You get to dress up and show off.”

It’s true that, aside from the mouth guards, knee pads, helmets, and other protective gear, the garb is often glammed out.  Still, turquoise fishnets , strategically ripped t-shirts and cute, flippy skirts can’t hide the contusions – and worse -- that are an inevitable part of the sport.   

In her three years with the Jr. Dolls, Boyd has already suffered a “purple, wheel-shaped bruise” and a tail bone injury that made walking difficult for two weeks.   But that’s small stuff according to Boyd.  “During a game, [adult Derby Doll] “Spinerella” was sandwiched between two blockers and broke both her collarbones.”

The danger isn’t limited to the track.  According to Jill-of-all-trades “Intern L Bleeding”, the pink, “danger zone” painted around the track is kept clear of fans during the game because Dolls are sometimes going so fast when they fall that they fly off the track.

Despite the rough and tumble nature of action on the banked track and off, Boyd is more fatalistic about possible injury than afraid. “I’m not looking forward to it,” she says.  “But I’ll be proud when it happens.”