To walk into Lombard Roller Rink on a Bout day for the Chicago Riots girl’s roller derby team is to slip into an unexposed sect of LT culture. Skates are flying, cheers abound, and girls with nicknames like “Sandra Bullet” and “Alpha” scream as they pass and push each other to score points for their team.

Roller derby is truly unlike any other sport out there. Originating in Chicago, it involves two teams, each with five representatives on the rink at a time. Each team has a jammer, who tries to lap all the members of the opposing team in order to gain points. Each team also has a lead defender, who is in charge of pushing girls of the opposing team out of bounds and hindering the opposing jammer as they circle the track.

“There is so much going on all the time in roller derby,” Chicago Riots coach Lyn Hooley said. “A well-timed hit is an opportunity that happens in a split-second.”

In effect, it’s a physical game with a focus on teamwork as well as individual skill. Cheyenne Baker ‘15 is one of two LT students on the team, and credits it as a stress-reliever and source of pride.

“I am able to release frustration and have a great time playing this amazing sport that makes me feel important,” Baker said. “It is something I am good at and I love it. I have found my place.”

Hooley agrees, expressing that she has seen the girls grow considerably in the short time they have been practicing.

“Roller derby is an incredible confidence booster,” Hooley said. “You go from having balance issues to being able to execute a backwards block of the opposing jammer. No one was born with eight wheels attached to their feet, so there is a learning curve. But I coach these awesome ladies because I wish I had the chance to play such a neat sport when I was their age.”

The team practices weekly on Sunday mornings, and has bouts at varying times with teams from everywhere in the Midwest. In addition to the Chicago Riots girls team, there are also adult co-ed and boys leagues in the area.

“Watching the girls practice can be intense and exciting all at the same time,” Christine Baker, mother of Cheyenne, said. “The sport is fast-paced and the girls can get really hurt when they fall. Like any sport, there is always a chance of injury.”

At the beginning of the season, each girl adopts a nickname, which is announced at the beginning of each bout. Cheyenne’s name is Lilo in Stiches.

“We play under these fun names that make us feel like another person,” Baker said. “When people watch us play, they do not expect us to be intelligent and kind in real life.”

According to Hooley, the girls are a community both on and off the track, and have each other’s backs.

“It’s okay to fall,” Hooley said. “This is how we learn. It’s getting back up again and coming to practice the next week to try something new that really matters.”