Submitted by Rain City Roller Dolls
February is American Heart Month, and the women of Centralia’s Roller Derby Team, the Rainy City Roller Dolls, know about the importance of heart health. “This is an intense sport,” says Rainy City president Rebecca Parvin, who goes by the alias “Ivanna Pop a Tart” during the team’s matches. “We want to give our audience an exciting bout to watch, and we spend a lot of hours training to be physically able to do it.”
The skaters, women ranging in age from 20 to 50, spend 4-6 hours a week on skates at the Centralia Rollerdrome, giving and taking body-jarring hits with their hips, shoulders, and chests. Most spend additional time outside of practices lifting weights, doing yoga, Zumba, boxing, running stairs – “Anything that makes you breathe hard and your heart pound,” says Parvin, “Cardio conditioning is vital to roller derby.”
For team captain Katie Lewis, who goes by Cleo Katra while playing derby, Heart Awareness Month has special meaning. Her eight year old daughter Lillian Denney was born with a hole in her heart. Lillian had surgery when she was 18 months old at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Her family has recently discovered that a second surgery will be needed to close a cleft near a valve in her heart as soon as Summer 2015. Through her several appointments and diagnostic testing, Lillian has faced the news with a strength even some derby girls lack. Lillian is ready to move forward with the procedure as soon as possible.
In honor of Lillian, the Rainy City Roller Dolls plan to donate a portion of the proceeds from their upcoming home bout to the American Heart Association. Their first home bout of the season, Hits from the Heart, is on Saturday February 21, 2015 at 7:00pm at the Rollerdrome at 216 W Maple in Centralia, WA. Tickets can be purchased online at BrownPaperTickets.com or from a league member in advance for $10 or at the door for $15. The doors open at 6:30 and the bout begins at 7:00pm. There will be a beer garden for those 21 and older. More information is available here.
The Rainy City Roller Dolls is non-profit, skater-ran organization that was established in 2007 and has continued to fulfill their mission of advancing the sport of roller derby by encouraging athletic development of its members. The league is dedicated to assisting their local community and offers a welcoming environment for women of all backgrounds to participate in the sport of roller derby.
