Photos Courtesy of DR. ALLISON WILKES ST. CLAIR
A whistle blows and the pack takes off, skates hit the ground in rapid succession and each jammer searches for an opening through the brick wall of blockers. Each jammer displays a star on their helmet and the lead jammer controls the game for the rest of the jam (like a play in football). The constant clatter of skates and pads fills the packed stadium while opposing jerseys whiz past one another.
The Brazos Valley Roller Derby team will suit up Dec. 2-3 for the Texas Seven on Seven Tournament at the Brazos County Expo Center in Bryan. This annual tournament originated in Houston, but has been on a 3 year hiatus due to COVID-19. Returning with a cash prize for the winners, “The Sevens Tournament” is expected to bring high level players from all over the country to the Bryan-College Station area.
Dr. Allison Wilkes St. Clair, better known by her “derby name” Doc Lawless, currently serves as the President and Head Referee of the Brazos Valley Roller Derby. Between the three practices a week at Brazos County Veterans of Foreign Wars, Doc says she also attends regular training sessions and emphasizes that a good derby player trains like any other athlete would. In 2015, Doc attended her first bout as a spectator that couldn’t skate.
“I was mesmerized,” Doc says. “I did not need a hobby. I didn’t need anything else. My plate was full and I suddenly realized that I was going to have to make room on my plate because I need this.”
While pouring a chemical at work, a sudden fireball flashed, leaving Doc with burns covering her arms. After the accident, Doc says her immediate thought was how she could recover so she could get back to skating. Luckily, within two and a half weeks, Doc says she was cleared to travel and ref with Team Texas All-Stars, an all star travel league. After the work incident, Doc says she sported bandages under her pads, and says derby players often laugh at how some athletes fake injuries to pause gameplay; whereas derby players downplay injuries to stay in the game.
“Roller derby is my self care,” Doc says. “Derby is why I remember to eat, work out, get sleep and keep my life on schedule. I knew that I didn’t want a work related injury to slow me down or throw me off track.”
Since becoming a derby player, Doc has been an attendee and referee at RollerCon for years, a five-day worldwide roller derby and rollerskating convention held annually in Las Vegas. The convention has taken place since 2005, and Doc went with three other players from Brazos Valley this year. Because derby season ends before the holidays, Doc says it’s a great opportunity for players to shake off the season and she loves that it’s a place for players from around the world at all different skating levels.
“For me, that’s always the best part is I get to officiate and be down on the track all day,” Doc says. “Then in the evenings, I go and I get to just watch roller derby and just kind of take it all in.”
Since Brazos Valley Roller Derby is a nonprofit organization, they attend local events like First Friday to get their name into the community and Doc says they hope to eventually see a dedicated skating space in the community. Aside from VFW offering up their space, the closest track is in Brenham, and their once-dedicated outdoor space was turned over to a pickleball court. For those interested, BVRD Bootcamp happens twice a year for people who want to learn to play derby as well as people lacing up skates for the first time.
With roller derby being a full contact sport, Doc says that being a good derby player means also being a good athlete and says she wishes more people knew how much it is a real sport and the more training a player puts in, the better they will be on the track. With hosting the upcoming tournament in the Brazos Valley, she hopes that they will be able to share the sport with the community and that will be one step in growing the sport in the Brazos Valley as the team continues to support the community in everyway they can.
“I love a sport where two people on opposing teams can be head to head going at it and then the whistle blows and they shake hands and fist bump,” Doc says. “I love that because to me that just shows how even though we are on opposite sides of the team, we are all a family, we’re all a community. I always say it takes a village right, and it just so happens that my village also includes roller derby.”
For people that want to be involved, Doc says there is a place for everyone even those that don’t skate — volunteer spots from DJ’s to medics are always open for people wanting to get involved without playing. Despite being a female-dominated sport, Doc says derby is highly inclusive to all people.
“We are always looking for people that need a safe space,” Doc says. “I’m a scientist and I’m there with someone who is the owner of a small business and they’re hanging out next to someone who works in the finance department and then on the other side of the track is a youth pastor — there’s a place for everyone.”
