It was a typical practice scrimmage.
Tattoo-covered women clad in skull-emblazoned leather jackets and roller skates were the center of attention Sunday afternoon as they clawed and pushed each other around the Skate Ranch of Raleigh.
Five times a week, the rink plays host to women clad in dominatrix-inspired costumes and pseudonyms suggesting violence and sexuality from "Kama Suture" to "Harlot O'Scara."
The women, donning fishnets under their skirts, practice a unique sport showcasing female aggression and athleticism on wheels: roller derby.
The Carolina Rollergirls were assembled three years ago by Laura Weakland, known to teammates and spectators as "Celia Fate." In February 2006, the Rollergirls placed eighth in a national tournament, weaving through the competitive circuit by scoring points and knocking off female competitors.
Tickets warn spectators that "a rollergirl may fly out of bounds and into your lap!" while the team promises to "get down and derby" in pursuit of the win.
Roller derby bouts are played in three 20-minute periods, with two 10-minute intermissions, by teams of five women: a jammer, or point scorer, three blockers and one pivot, the pacesetter.
Teams start off in a pack, and the jammer tries to break free of the other team's defenses to score points by passing other skaters. The jammer glides fluidly around the rink only to be pushed around by the opposing team.
Weakland said roller derby is experiencing a resurgence in popularity since its 1970s peak. In relation to the old derby days, however, the skaters are creating an entirely new sport symbolic of their empowerment.
The real fun lies in their intensity-a dichotomy of beauty and violence. Weakland even likens it to an extreme sport.
"It's interesting how derby has changed," Weakland said. "What's sexy has changed. The girls who can knock the others out are the hot ones."
The Rollergirls cannot easily be stereotyped, however.
Women in their 20s to 40s, full-time professionals or students, have all been wrapped up in the sport's sweaty, sometimes bloody, embrace.
Woman-on-woman violence is a given, explaining some men's captivation as spectators.
It is with some relief that Weakland added that "our fans are very normal."
With a photographic archive of injuries, the Carolina Rollergirls are not afraid to showcase their grit. Practices are intense and collarbone breaks, rotator cuff injuries and ankle rolls are common.
"It's a mix of toughness and sexiness- that's the appeal," Weakland said. "The girls have a lot of freedom to be sort of sassy. You get knocked down and you get back up."
The Carolina Rollergirls had been selling out the local 720-person capacity Skate Ranch of Raleigh for the past year and have since graduated to Raleigh's Dorton Arena.
"It's impressive that a grassroots organization such as ourselves can fill up Dorton Arena when the Stanley Cup champions had to move out," said Duke senior and Rollergirl Betsy-Shane Rosenblum, known in the rink as "Heavens to Betsy."
"I've never run into anyone from Duke in our crowd of 2,000 or at our after-parties," Rosenblum said. "But I've definitely hoped the Duke community might turn their attention to it. It's an exciting sport."
Duke students might find more than a new form of entertainment at the Rollergirls' next bout slated for Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in Dorton Arena.
But when the teams skate through the door, the only lady welcome in the rink by these belles on wheels will be Lady Luck.
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