Student by day, roller derby star by night

By Dave Paone
Campus News

During the day, Sara Sapienza is an interaction design major at SUNY Farmingdale on Long Island. But at night, she trades her laptop and notebook for roller skates and safety gear and is known by her alter ego, Brute Skater Ginsburg (both pictured).

Sara is a roller derby queen.

Sara’s interest in roller derby was piqued after seeing the feature film, “Whip It.” She also had a falling out with a group of friends and was searching for a new group to hang with.

She met a team member at a pride parade in 2018 who’s Sara’s height but even thinner. Sara deduced if someone of this petite stature can participate in roller derby, so can she. These three factors led her to the Long Island Roller Rebels.

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“I started in the summer of 2018,” said Sara. “I had never put on roller skates before that. So you can start fresh out of the gate with no experience whatsoever.”

The first week is “boot camp,” where recruits learn the basic skills of skating. The second week is tryouts, where recruits demonstrate what they learned in boot camp. While others couldn’t even stand up on skates, Sara was able to transverse the floor on them. “But I had a hard time stopping,” she said.

All the players go by skater names that are both comical and frightening. There’s Indiana Bones, Abracadaver and Son of Slam, to name a few.

Sara considers herself a feminist, so when it came time for her to create a skater name, she thought about other feminists she admires. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg came to mind while Sara was brushing her teeth one morning.

She started rhyming words and lo and behold, Brute Skater Ginsburg was born.

Oof!

Sara’s preferred position is jammer, although she finds her endurance lacking, which means she has to sit out often. She plans to start breathing exercises to strengthen her lungs.

Injuries are expected in this sport and Sara (or in this case, Brute) has been injured twice already, including a sprained ankle. Other team members have had broken bones and surgeries after skating accidents.

“It is a brutal sport,” she said. “You get hurt.”

Injuries aside, Sara loves the camaraderie. One may say the mantra of roller derby is “acceptance.” Participants are often from the LGBTQ community and that’s fine with all involved.

“It’s a super-accepting community,” said Sara. “I feel so safe in that space. I can be honest with everyone. No one is judging anyone.”

Actual roller derby games are only half of what the Roller Rebels do; the other half is community outreach. The team is sanctioned by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association which is an international, nonprofit organization.

Photos by Dave Paone

Recently the Roller Rebels collected and donated business clothing for underprivileged women in the working world who needed proper office attire for job interviews.

Members of the team plan to donate their no-longer-needed prom and bridesmaid dresses to girls from lower-income families at a high school in New York City.

The camaraderie surpasses games and charity events. Teammates often attend social functions together. Last year a group went to the Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, New York, together just for fun. They still call each other by their skater names even when they’re far from a roller rink.

Sara attended Suffolk County Community College for a while and, since Farmingdale is a SUNY school, just about all her credits transferred.

Sara doesn’t hide her nighttime persona from her daytime cohorts. “One of my professors knows,” said Sara. “He thinks I’m a weirdo.”

At 32, Sara may be older than most of her classmates, but is around the median age of her teammates. The Roller Rebels have had participants up to the age of 60. One has been skating for 12 years.

“I don’t see myself slowing down anytime soon,” said Sara. “I can do this for a long time.”

Interested in joining the Long Island Roller Rebels? Visit longislandrollerrebels.org/join.

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