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Copper City Queens ready to open season at Butte Civic Center

Posted at 4:38 PM, Mar 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-24 00:44:52-04

BUTTE – “I think the old style of roller derby is still on people’s minds. The game we play now originated in about 2003 in Texas on a flat track, everyone used the bank tracks and it was more like a race around the track,” says Jennifer Kueffler.

You heard it right, this isn’t the roller derby your grandma grew up watching in the 1960s. The sport has taken a new form. New rules, new playing style, and new safety measures. It was all established to bring a sense of legitimacy back to the sport itself.

“You know it’s funny because I hear often times, ‘Oh I used to watch Roller Derby all the time. And what they’re referring to is kind of the comic like WWE type of roller derby, and its since transitioned to a very aggressive sport,” said Casey Vanatta

The sport has progressed a lot since the 1970 and 1980s. A lot of the rules implemented nowadays are much safer for the athletes involved. But if you think there’s any less chance you’re going to see some hard hitting contact when you go to a roller derby match, you’re sadly mistaken.

The sport is on the rise in the Treasure State. And a recent huge accomplishment from a Montana-based team will help shed more light on the sport.

“The state of Montana was awesome about it. They just created a team Montana roller derby team, and they just went and played in a tournament in Philadelphia and placed seventh,” added Vanatta.

And to truly get the most out of a roller derby bout you’ll want to sit as close to action as possible.

“Roller derby is a sport where you can enjoy the closer you are to the track. So we bring some bleachers down at the (Butte) Civic Center and try to get everyone as close as we can,” mentioned Kueffler.

The “High Five Her Face” bout will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday night at the Butte Civic Center.