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Ruff girls: See how they roll

By Kevin Klein /Staff Writer

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From left, Heather Reasner, aka Vicious Violet; Tiffany McIllwain, aka Tiffer Tantrum; and Tasia Coffman, aka Dolly Thrasher, all members of the Santa Maria Ruff Rollerz roller derby team, pose for a picture at the Santa Maria Fairpark. // Mark Brown/Staff

Amid thrashing guitars, AC/DC's lead singer Brian Johnson once crowed, “I'm a rolling thunder, pouring rain, I'm coming on like a hurricane.”

The rock song wasn't about the Central Coast's new roller derby team, but it could have been.

The Santa Maria Ruff Rollerz, whose members have adopted names such as Tiffer Tantrum, Dolly Thrasher and Vicious Violet, fill a seemingly empty warehouse at the Santa Maria Fairpark with the thunder of four-wheeled skates.

And, like a hurricane, the

tough women who propel those skates plan to take the Central Coast by storm.

With the emergence of the Ruff Rollerz and other teams all across the nation, roller derby, a sport that was wildly popular in the 1960s and '70s, is having a 21st-century renaissance.

During a derby bout, two teams circle a flat oval track as they help navigate one of their teammates, called a “jammer,” past their opponents. All other women on the track become blockers, who try to slow down the opponent's jammer by almost any means necessary within a 2-minute round.

“There are four blockers on each team and one jammer,” Ruff Rollerz captain and founder Tiffer Tantrum said. “They're hitting us trying to make a hole and we're hitting them trying to make a hole for the jammers, who score points for each person she passes.”

Tiffer, whose real name is Tiffany McIllwain, moved to Santa Maria from Bakersfield and brought with her the spirit of roller derby. Along with her boyfriend and coach, Jim Beaudet (and a large sponsorship from the National Guard), the Rollerz have assembled a group of about 13 women - with plenty of room for expansion.

As Tiffer explains, there is no prototypical woman for roller derby.

“I have girls that are homemakers, a nurse, some that work in an office, just random everyday girls; some have kids and are married and some don't, it's a variety of everything,” she said.

The Rollerz, dressed in classic derby attire, showed up at the Fairpark for their usual Wednesday night practice with both new and veteran skaters taking part. As one of the only experienced skaters, Tiffer helps the new ones adapt to the sport.

“(Tiffer) is awesome; she is totally cool, and is helping us a lot,” said newcomer Dolly Thrasher (also known as Tasia Coffman). “It's like a sisterhood or a sorority. We all stick together, fall together, we all sweat, bleed, cry together.”

With two years of derby already behind her, Tiffer still hasn't forgotten how she was introduced to the sport.

“I saw a flier at a gym in Bakersfield and I thought, I was so bored, I was overweight and not actually doing much but going to the gym and going home six days a week,” she explained.

“I just needed that one outlet to try and get away, and I have been skating since I was 7 years old, so it was perfect. And I have been doing it for the past two years, and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.”

Once a roller derby player finally makes her way to the rink, she must then choose her derby name. In fact, no two women in the United States have the same name. Thanks to various online databases that require each skater to register her name, whether it's Mauly Von Knockout or Ms. Die'mon Disaster, each woman assumes her own identity, like professional wrestlers.

Because everyone takes on a name and professional persona, Tiffer compares the derby experience to being a comic book superhero.

“Little girls always want an autograph,” she said. “There is a sense of heroism to it, where little girls look up to us like superheroes, in this world where girl-superheroes don't really exist.”

“I totally play up my alter ego, and it's something totally different from me. It's just fun.”

Despite the theatrics that may make observers think of professional wrestling, the bruises, pulled muscles and sprained ankles in roller derby - all badges of honor - are real.

The violent aspect is one of the big draws of the sport for spectators as well as its participants. According to Tiffer and other members of the Rollerz, there's nothing better at the end of a work day than releasing some stress by skating and knocking another woman to the floor.

“I love the competitiveness of it. It's your own personality, how you dress, and you're rolling around and hitting girls, which is awesome,” Ruff Rollerz member B.A. Chica (Cenobia Gonzalez) said with a laugh.

While the team's first home bout is not until Feb. 6, Tiffer has large aspirations for the team as it continues to expand and search for more members. She sees the Ruff Rollerz growing into the community, becoming a family event on Saturday nights and one day a nonprofit organization.

Although those days remain on the horizon, the team members are happy enough skating - and bashing - regardless of their backgrounds.

“I thought it was really cool because we have something to do - and I'm a mom, so it's been a while since I was in high school ... it's great to do something with a team again,” Thrasher said.

What started out with a few women skating around half a tennis court at the Minami Sports Complex has grown into a team with a place of its own.

“If you're looking for something different, or you're sitting at home thinking, ‘Man, I wish there was something to do for me and have it be mine,' then derby is something where you can totally come out here and be yourself,” Tiffer said.

For more information, the Santa Maria Ruff Rollerz can be reached by e-mail at santamariaruffrollerz@yahoo.com or at www.myspace.com/santamariaruffrollerz.

October 8, 2009