I don’t come from a skating background other than rollerblading around my old neighborhood as a kid. Being relatively new to Knoxville I didn’t have many friends, much less any connections to the local roller derby scene. I didn't show up at a meet-n-greet to get recruited or meet any of the Hard Knox Roller Girls around town and get talked into checking it out. I honestly didn’t even know Knoxville had its own roller derby league. No, I was introduced to roller derby by different means…via virtual reality.
Read MoreCat-snuggler, day-hiker, 10-year derby vet, Allstars’ Captain, and now league President, Barbara Bushwhacker is like the Horse...err…Unicorn of a Different Color. As an original member of the Hard Knox Roller Girls, she has watched the league grow and evolve into what it is today. In Brooke’s interview last month, she chose Bush as July’s Featured Skater because she said: In the spirit of our ten years of derby, I would love to read Barbara Bushwhacker’s answers to some of these questions. I am sure she could elaborate more on some of these thoughts. So to appease Brooke’s request, I’ve repeated some of the same questions I asked her back in June to get Bush’s viewpoints now. Let’s see if Bush’s opinion on things is different or stays the same.
Read MoreYour Hard Knox Roller Girls are at it again. Hard hits and raw tenacity smack the floor in bout two of the 2016 10-year anniversary season! First off your Hard Knox Brawlers will take on the Smoky Mountain Roller Girls of Bryson City, North Carolina at 5pm. Then, your Hard Knox Allstars will take the track against Appalachian Roller Girls of Boone, NC at 7pm. These teams are sure to feed your need for derby speed so get ready for some exciting, nailing biting action!
HKRG is celebrating A Decade of Derby and they want you to enjoy in all the fun! Come dressed up as your favorite derby skater for a chance to win free entry to the after party and a personalized photo of the team!
Read MoreBack in 2012, I was taking a swim class at the university. One day, the woman I often swam next to asked me if I liked to skate. I reminisced about field trips and birthdays that used to fill my schedule at Roller Kingdom. Of course, this followed with an affirmative answer and she invited me to a recruiting event for the Reno Roller Girls. They had plenty of gear and milk crates full of skates for us to use as we got a feel for what this sport was all about. The first two skills I learned – one technical and one “soft” – were how to fall and “there is no sorry in roller derby”.
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