Life + Arts

All-star alumna skates across country

Roller derby1

An intense contact sport, roller derby, sparked Tinisha Bonaby’s interest as she traveled across the nation, competing as “Freight Train” from the Houston Roller Derby All-Stars and The Brawlers. | Courtesy of Hung L. Truong

Roller derby, a sport that has been revived over the past decade, is an enjoyable pastime for alumna Tinisha Bonaby.

Known as “Freight Train” to her teammates, Bonaby has been skating for about 20 years, with encouragement from her father since she was a child.

“I basically grew up in the skating rink because my dad would take my brothers and me every weekend when we were younger,” Bonaby said.“I went to one of the practices and played in my first scrimmage. At the time, I didn’t know many of the rules, and I was skating really fast. I kept slamming into the back of people.”

“One of the other teammates said that if I didn’t have a derby name yet that they would just call me ‘Freight Train.’”

According to U.S. News & World Report, modern roller derby is an international contact sport that is dominated by all-female teams with an increasing number of male, coed and junior teams. The rising popularity of worldwide roller derby has allowed the sport to be under consideration for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Organized in 2005, the Houston Roller Derby is a league with more than 120 skaters and four home teams, including the Bosses, the Valkyries, the Brawlers and the Sirens, who all play against each other.

Bonaby plays for the Houston Roller Derby All-Stars — with 19 members and the opportunity to compete in one of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association division one tournaments in September.

“The All Star team is composed of the best players from Houston Roller Derby and is invited to conferences to compete with other states,” Bonaby said. “I never got the chance to travel. Roller derby has given me that opportunity for a very cheap price, and I also get to make new friends from all over the U.S.”

She plays as a jammer or blocker during games and is also a member of the Brawlers.

“It’s something that I’m good at, and I like to invest my time in it. I’m proud to be a part of the roller derby team,” Bonaby said.

According to the National Museum of Roller skating, Roller derby started in the 1930s and went through periods of high popularity and low periods where it almost ceased to exist. 

“If you look at roller derby back then, it was more of a contact sport,” Bonaby said. “There were a lot of elbows to the face and injuries. When I was thinking about joining the team, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a part of everything roller derby had to offer — injuries and all.”

With new rules implemented from the WFTDA earlier this year, roller derby evolved into a different sport.

“Now that there are more rules, roller derby is changing into an actual sport,” Bonaby said. “Most of them are penalty rules, so people don’t get elbowed in the face anymore.”

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