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Updated: October 29, 2009, 1:37 pm	Share    Print    Email

The Long Island Roller Rebels roller derby league has given women an outlet to exhibit their physical side since 2005. Photos courtesy HarryPocius.com

East Quogue - Don't be fooled by their pretty faces and their smiles. Strap on a pair of roller skates and the Wicked Wheelers of the West, Mid-Island Rolling Thundercats and East End Ladies of Laceration - teams in the Long Island Roller Rebels roller derby league - will knock you on your wallet. They're everything from lawyers, teachers, flight attendants and police officers, but a few nights a week, they paint their lips red or pink or black, paint their faces, dye their hair and do some bodily damage.

East Quogue's Andreanna Seymore - a.k.a. "Point N. Shoot" - joined the likes of MadDonna, Cheater Steele, Northern ExposeHer and Greasy Deecee on the Wicked Wheelers of the West in September. She's been playing roller derby for two years and can't live without it, can't get enough of it. She's not alone. The Roller Rebels league has allowed women to unleash their physical side since forming in July 2005.

Andreanna Seymore serves as the Wheelers' back blocker, helping her jammer score points while also giving the opponent's jammer all she can handle.

"With the whole economy changing and everybody stressed out, it really provides an outlet for women to let their aggression out," she said. "People say 'Derby saved my life,' and I would have to say that's probably true for me as well. It really kept things in perspective and kept me mentally grounded."

Two years ago, the Hampton Bays native and 1993 HBHS graduate had been touring the country on assignment for a photography book she was assembling entitled "Scars and Stripes: Women of American Roller Derby." It had been three long months on the road. Seymore had reached the East Coast Derby Extravaganza in Philadelphia when she had an epiphany: why photograph the sport when it looks so much more fun playing?

"I dropped 600 bucks and bought all my gear," Seymore said. "I had no idea who I was going to skate with. I had no idea how to skate."

Back in the day, she'd played varsity basketball for the Lady Baymen, teaming up with Kim Tuffy and others to form a squad that perennially competed for the league title. The athletic aspect of her life, however, had taken a backseat to art school and eventually her photography business. At the time of her stark realization, she had owned a second home in Saratoga Springs and upon returning home she began her derby search. Seymore caught on with the Hellions of Troy, a team based in a suburb of Albany. It didn't take long before she was hooked, trekking 45 minutes each way to practice and home bouts after putting in a day's work.

Seymore played for the Hellions for just over a year before relocating to Westhampton Beach. She found the Long Island Roller Rebels, an all-female, flat-track league consisting of the Wheelers, Thundercats and Ladies of Laceration. There are more than 200 leagues in the United States and the best team in the country, per Seymore, is the New York City-based Gotham Girls, annually a contender at regional and national competitions that the Roller Rebels travel team expects to participate in more of in 2010.

The 34-year-old Seymore joined the Wheelers and became one of the league's top back blockers, a position that both assists her team's jammer to score points while also preventing the opposition's jammer from doing so using her 5-foot-8 frame. Altogether, there are a maximum of five players on the track from each team - one jammer, one pivot and three blockers - that is unless one or more have been penalized and sent off. Jammers score points for each opposing blocker or jammer she passes, including those in the penalty box.

The Roller Rebels will be promoting roller derby at Thunder Jack's in East Quogue on Friday, November 6, before taking on the Molly Roger Rollergirls in a charity bout on Saturday, November 14.

"It's action-packed," said Seymore, who, naturally, is also the team photographer. "You definitely see a lot of hitting, a lot of strategy and unlike most sports, you're playing offense and defense at the same time. It's a really good-spirited sport that men, women and children enjoy."

From a player's perspective, wimps need not apply. In four straight weeks, a member of the Wheelers broke either a leg or a finger. Dislocated shoulders, broken ankles or merely cuts and bruises, they all come with the territory and are almost badges of honor. For the camaraderie and the sense of identity, Seymore said it's all worth it. "It's grueling," she said. "It's really intense and very physical, but there's also a sense of community that I've never experienced in any sport."

A common question pertaining to roller derby though: is it even real? Common belief is its bouts have fixed results a la professional wrestling or even the recently released Drew Barrymore film "Whip It." The truth is there's no truth to that, at least not since the sport was governed by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). "It used to be [fixed] back in the day, but now, people who are winning are really winning," Seymore said. "If there are fights, they really are fights."

For a former athlete, the allure is distinct. "You wear make-up, you look hot, you're aggressive - what else is out there?" Seymore asked. "In what sport can you say that you kick butt and look hot doing it? It's a very empowering feeling."

On November 6, the Rebels will hold a meet-and-greet event at Thunder Jack's in East Quogue to promote roller derby, and on November 14, the Roller Rebels will take on the Molly Rogers Rollergirls of Melbourne, FL, in their annual charity event at Skate Safe America in Old Bethpage. For more information on the Roller Rebels, visit www.longislandrollerrebels.com.

Roller derby has proven not to be for the faint of heart: Bruises and broken bones are all too common.