Port Jefferson Skater Helps Power Roller Derby Team

Most of the time, Port Jefferson resident Jennifer Fite wears the hat of a mother of two. She wears the hat of a wife, and she wears the hat of a perfusionist at a local hospital. 

But some nights, she trades her mommy hat and her medical hat for a helmet. She puts on pads and a pair of skates, and joins 30 other women from across Suffolk County and Long Island who are part of the Strong Island Derby Revolution, a women's roller derby league based at World Gym in Setauket.

In the tradition of roller derby, each skater gets a nickname, and so Fite – pronounced like "fight" – goes by the name of Helluva Fite. She racked up 41 points for SIDR as one of the players skating the role of jammer in the team's first bout this season, a 314-57 victory over the Finger Lakes Lunachicks.

Roller derby bouts consist of two 30-minute periods in which skaters square off in "jams" – similar to the equivalent of plays in other sports – of up to two minutes in length. The positions have names like "blocker," "pivot blocker," "jammer," and "lead jammer," with the lead jammer able to score the team's points by passing opposing skaters in laps. Blockers attempt to stop the opposing jammer from passing through. The team with the most points wins.

Fite joined SIDR in August of 2011, when a friend talked her into accompanying her to recruitment night. Her friend never made it to recruitment night, but it didn't matter – she was hooked.  Fite, who enjoys playing softball, kickboxing, swimming, doing pilates, and dancing, said she didn't have any skating experience when she joined.

"Unless you count the time I was 8 and my sister and I roller-skated down a hill holding hands, until I let go and she fell down and broke her arm," she said. "On second thought, maybe that was an omen."

The idea of roller derby can be intimidating to some.

"You should see some of my competitors, not to mention my fellow teammates," Fite said. "Some are physically intimidating.  Others have more experience than me, and then there is the fear of the unknown. The unknown skater, that is."

But, she said, the biggest challenge is finding the time to train and practice – just like any athlete who wants to truly be good at his or her sport of choice. "Family, work and everything else in my life needs to be carefully balanced in order to not upset the apple cart," she said.

For many of the Strong Island Derby Revolution skaters, the draw of the game goes beyond the thrill of competition. It's a sisterhood, Fite said – just one more hat that she wears, along with the rest of her teammates.

"Teammates look out for each other and help each other in need, on and off the track," she said. "Everyone respects one another, appreciates what each has to bring to the table. And everyone has the same love of the sport, the love of the derby."