Athens, Ohio is known for Ohio University and all the activities that come with the school. What is sometimes forgotten is that there are other activities apart from the university that locals take part in. A very lively activity that is available to the community is Athens, Ohio Roller Derby, known as Appalachian Hell Betties Roller Derby (Betties). The Betties are a group of women ranging from their 20s to their late 40s.
The Betties are women participating in the women’s flat track derby realm and they definitely raise hell when skating on the rink. The roller derby team practices once a week in Dow’s Rollerena where faded yellow posters warn to skate at a reasonable speed and to not skate reckless. However, reasonable speed is not roller derby fashion and when the Betties step on the rink they speed off faster than lighting. The Betties also don’t follow rules when it comes to attire. Some women dressed in colorful striped knee-highs, while others are in skirts and fishnets. Many also where red and black, official Hell Bettie colors.
Team founder Jessica Beckford, whose spirited derby name is Kracka Le Whipski, explained how she started the roller derby team. She chose the name “ Hell Betties” as a play on “hillbilly”. She wanted to create something positive and that represented the Athens community. She said, “In October 2010, I created a Facebook page to attract women to join her endeavor. I was able to get women from all walks of life.” Most of these women have no derby experience and just wanted an activity that connected them to other women in the area. Practices are held at Dow’s Rollerena. This is the place where most of them get used to the wood flooring pretty quick due to the falls they take learning how to skate roller derby style. This bruise inducing activity allows the women to be aggressive but also have a good time.
Betties’ President, a 29-year-old Liz Hammer of Athens, Ohio said, “For me, personally, finding derby has been a very rewarding experience. I have pushed my body to accomplish athletic and physical feats I never would have imagined I could do but now I can do them (at least in some capacity) and achieving that has given me confidence in myself.”
Elizabeth Lehman, a 29-year-old Events Specialist at Ohio University has been with the Betties for two years. She had no skating experience prior to joining the group besides the occasional roller-skating birthday party growing up. “After leaving an abusive marriage. I was a single mom without an outlet. I tried to find an adult ballet class, and instead of pointe shoes I laced up some skates.” She has many found memories of skating with the Betties and right now is just a recreational skater due to her to other obligations. Lehman appreciates the warmth and compassion that the group members have for each other. In December 2014, Lehman’s 3 year old daughter was diagnosed with a severe form of epilepsy. “My amazing derby sisters organized a rockin’ fundraiser at Jackie O’s for her this summer. These women, who already have jobs, families, and classes, took the time to hang posters all over town, write press releases, and collect prize donations from local businesses” said Lehman. The kindheartedness that she felt from the Betties when she walked into the event they had planned was indescribable. She explained how that feeling those women gave her pushed her through many hospital stay and long nights, “I know I have a tough group of women standing behind me.” Lehman is happy to go around the track for a few hours with a great team.
Family is the nature of this team and holds them together. Many of the women on the team have a derby wife, a member, with whom they connects with. The wife will always be there for the member no matter what she is going through. Derby wives recite vows from Alex Cohen and Jennifer Barbee’s Down and Derby, a novel that has everything a derby girl would need to know about the sport.
The Betties recruit year round and have a “Fresh Meat” clinic every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. at Dow’s Rollerarena. Hammer explained how they advertise new members via “ posters, flyers, and handouts.” They also have a variety of social media sites and volunteer at many events to promote the group. This year they have had 13 new recruits who have laced up skates and put mouth guards in their mouths to begin their derby life. As they wobble through practice, the Betties make sure they are properly padded before they begin skating. They have a bag of helmets and padding at each practice to make sure everyone is safe. It’s a very rough sport so the women are bound to get hurt during practices and bouts, roller derby competitions. When someone gets hurt, the women immediately stop what they are doing and the rough and tough Hell Bettie persona completely disappears. Instead they turn into friends, mothers and caregivers to make sure their fellow Bettie is well. The Betties know that what they do is hard but the reward and the encouragement that they receive is so much greater than the injuries. They know they have a group of women that stand behind them and true friends.
At then end of every practice the team huddles in a circle with their hands high above their heads and yell, “One, two, three, Hell yeah, Hell Betties!”
Creative Buffs 