In a blur of spandex, fishnet tights, shin-high socks and helmets, the Windy City Rollers raced around the track fighting for positions and points. The organization began its sixth year at the home opener on Jan. 15 at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion, 525 S. Racine Ave., for a crowd of more than 4,000 people.

Chicago’s WCR league consists of four home teams: Hell’s Belles was up against Manic Attackers and The Fury competed against Double Crossers, and both match ups were for inner-league rankings.

The home opener was highly physical and competitive between the four Chicago home teams. The matches ended with two decisive victories for the Manic Attackers and The Fury. Manic Attackers swept Hell’s Belles 137-to-71 and The Fury beat Double Crossers 128-to-84.

Athena DeCrime, social worker by day and founding member and league trainer of Hell’s Belles by night, played five seasons with the team before joining the all-star travel team, which won the North Central Regional Championships last year.

“Each season I find something different to focus on,” DeCrime said. “Sometimes it’s the teamwork, sometimes it’s the camaraderie, sometimes it’s the competition, sometimes it’s wanting to hit someone, but right now it’s really the athleticism.”

The sport requires agility, strength, endurance, quick thinking and a lot of practice, according to DeCrime.

“I tend to practice about four times a week,” she said. “One of those is usually an off-skates boot camp. Practices focus on agility, speed and certain positions in the pack.”

DeCrime is a jammer, which means she is the game’s point scorer.  These players wear a star on their helmets and score four points every lap they make around the track. If one of these point scorers laps the opposing team’s jammer, she scores five points, and that is called a Grand Slam.

Skaters hold one of three positions, which are all identifiable by markings on their helmets. The pivot wears a striped helmet cover, and her job is to control the pack with effective positioning, maneuvering and shoving of the skaters

around her.

Blockers don’t wear helmet covers and are part of both a team’s offense and defense. They assist the jammers, helping them get through the pack and block the opposing team’s jammer.  They work in conjunction with the pivot to out-maneuver other skaters. Each team consists of one pivot, three blockers and one jammer.

“You look out there and you see women who are larger, you see women who are smaller, short and tall; every body type is valuable in derby,” DeCrime said.

While the sport is physical, there are rules about what can and cannot be done to an opponent, said Barbara Brawlters, No. 2020, a blocker for the Haymarket Rioters, which is the farm team for the WCR.

The rules about contact apply to members of opposing teams. Players can pull and grab their teammates to move around the track.

There is no elbowing, pulling, tripping or grabbing of opponents. Any of those actions will result in a penalty, and players are allotted four penalties per game. Mostly, players shove one another sideways with their shoulders.

“We show off bruises to each other all the time,” said DeCrime, who has never been seriously injured on the track, but has sprained her ankles and hurt her shoulders.

During the two home-opener games, there were more than four injuries. One member of Double Crossers had to be helped off the track after taking a bad fall.

“I don’t think one girl comes into derby without expecting to get bumped and bruised here and there,” said Miss Illannoy, a high school art teacher and Rioter.

Illannoy said she never played sports nor had any prior skating experience before coming into the derby, which is common among players.

At the end of January, there will be a small draft of four or five Rioters members to the WCR teams. Future drafts will recruit in larger numbers. The players said they are anxiously waiting for the results of the first draft.

“We come from all walks of life and we’re united,” Illannoy said. “We’re all strong, tough females; we’re able to get our butts kicked and be together while we’re doing it. You just can’t replace that.”

Julia Rosenwinkle, a jammer in her seventh season and Double Crossers captain, said in addition to loving the violence and competition of the sport, she loves the team’s camaraderie.

“It is a way of life. It becomes family,” Rosenwinkle said.

The average stay in the derby is two to three seasons, according to the players.

“But there are some of us who stick around forever,” DeCrime said. “We just can’t get it out of our blood.”