Dr. Cathy Lysack
Border City Brawlers – Women’s Roller Derby

Taking up a new sport is something most people will do as they get older as their limitations may change. Golf is a game that we picture when we hear of someone turning 50 and starting a new game. Dr. Cathy Lysack, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University picked up a game that most of us may not even be aware is still played – roller derby.

This physically challenging game is played by women of all ages, predominately in their 20’s and 30’s. Dr. Lysack was interested in the game for a while and after meeting one of the founders of roller derby in her hometown of Windsor, Ontario one “Foxy Peroxide,” she decided that this was something that she can do. So she signed up to become fresh meat for the Border City Brawlers.

Fresh meat is the term used for the prospective new members. Before you can participate in full games you need to be able to demonstrate certain skills and we were able to film with the Brawlers during a practice/training session. The seasoned players were running drills while a few others practiced their skills on the side. The fresh meat were put through a series of drills to work on the basic skills necessary to compete. Cathy not only held her own, but she excelled, especially in the 27/5 drill. For that the participant must complete 27 laps around the track in 5 minutes. If you have ever roller-skated before you know how difficult that can be. Dr. Lysack not only accomplished it, she did an extra half of a lap on top of it.

At the end of practice there was a short scrimmage that we filmed and it is obvious how difficult of a game this is. Not to mention how serious the ladies take it.

Part of the appeal of the game for Dr. Lysack is the camaraderie among the women. Even though most of the women participating among the more than 40 there at practice were younger than Dr. Lysack, they all got along very well making it clear that age didn’t matter. “Foxy Peroxide” echoed that when we asked her about what she loves most about the game.

The women of the Border City Brawlers take pride in the work that they put in to be the best that they can be in the rink. You can tell that it is more than just that though, it’s about the connections and fun that they have. Part of the fun is in the selecting of your official derby name. There is an actual registry for names. To select a name it needs to reflect your personality. Some of the names of the Border City Brawlers include: Foxy Peroxide, Kim Bashinjure, Smack Daniels, Pain Eyre and Traumasaurus. Dr. Lysack does not have a name yet since she still has to pass all of her skills tests. “I’m really not sure of what my name will be yet, but I have some ideas,” she shared. "My derby name may be 'Crasher in the Rye', but if I look like jammer material, the girls say I should go with 'Dr. Go!', we'll see.”