Every derby girl knows the dangers of her sport. The risk for injury is something we are well aware of. We've all fallen, or taken a good hit, and shown the bruises off proudly as a badge of honor.
In my short time in derby, I've had a few bruises, and am currently sporting a large one on the inside of my left calf from landing on my own skate on Thursday night. But there are many more serious injuries than bruises.
During a scrimmage a week or so ago, a girl on the opposing team lost a temporary cap from one of her teeth, and banged up her chin. A ref skated into a wall head first about a month ago, in an attempt to keep from further injuring a previous injured shoulder, and that resulted in him needing a few stitches from jamming his helmet into his forehead.
There are some girls who get injured so badly they can't skate anymore. Some of them stay involved as coaches, NSOs, or volunteers.
One of my close friends, a girl who I've known for years, who lives back in Canada, and joined derby a few weeks before me, well, she broke her tailbone on her first practice. She continued to go to practices, learning the rules of games while she officiated the scrimmages for the girls who were skating. When she healed from the tailbone injury, she went back on skates. Unfortunately, on Thursday night, as she was leaving the rink, she fell and broke her ankle in three places. She had surgery yesterday to put in pins and plates. It will be six months before she'll be allowed back on skates. Some girls might refuse to do it again, but I have a sneaking suspicion she will lace up her skates again one day, because as dangerous as derby can be, if you love it, it becomes a part of who you are.
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