The L.A. Derby Dolls are Southern California’s all-female, bank track, full-contact roller derby league. Though many of the L.A. Derby Dolls skater struggled with learning how to skate, every one of them have come to love derby and the Doll Factory, their venue located in Historic Filipinotown, which is set to be demolished to make room for condominiums.
The L.A. Derby Dolls have played in the doll factory for about six and a half years, but are now looking for a new facility in the Los Angeles area.
The L.A. Derby Dolls is a volunteer based organization, consisting of more than 150 adult skaters, 130 junior skaters aged between seven to 17, and hundreds of volunteers and staff. The league is divided into five teams – Fight Crew, Sirens, Tough Cookies, Varsity Brawlers, and the L.A. Derby Dolls’ all-star team, the Ri-Ettes. In addition to these five teams, the Doll Factory also houses the L.A. Derby Dolls’ referee team, the L.A. Derby Dolls Enforcers, which consists of 18 male and female referees.
Kelly Farrell, otherwise known as Hurt LockHer on the track, plays for both the L.A. Derby Dolls Tough Cookies and L.A. Derby Dolls Ri-Ettes, could only reminisce on her favorite memories, from the first time she picked up skates to now, that took place in her soon to be demolished home.
Hurt LockHer became interested in roller derby after working on a documentary film about the sport in Cincinnati, Ohio. She joined the L.A. Derby Dolls in 2011, only one year after she attended her first bout.
“I came to my first bout in December of 2010, and from the minute they started warming up, I knew I wanted to be a part of this. I wanted to be the best I possibly could, and on the bank track level the L.A. Ri-Ettes is what that is,” said Hurt LockHer.
Hurt LockHer grew up playing competitive sports, so she expected to pick up derby a lot quicker than she did, even though she had only been on skates once in her life prior to learning how to play roller derby.
“It was a hard learning curve. It doesn’t matter how athletic you are, the minute you put on skates and can’t skate, you are terrible, and you’re terrible for a long time,” said Hurt LockHer. “So [learning how to skate] was probably one of the most humbling experiences that I’ve ever been a part of.”
Hurt LockHer grew up in Manteca, Calif. and moved to California without knowing a single soul.
“Derby has affected my life is so many more ways than I thought possible. I moved here and didn’t have a single friend in L.A. and now I have family members. Los Angeles Derby Dolls is a family,” said Hurt LockHer.
Though the majority of the L.A. Derby Dolls skaters did not grow up on skates, Hurt LockHer has found that derby becomes a giant part of everyone’s life who makes the commitment to be a L.A. Derby Dolls skater.
“I think that roller derby is one of the most important things in my life because it’s that fun thing everybody needs. It’s just as much of a job as a lot of things, but it’s so much more worth it because the pay off is amazing,” said Hurt LockHer. “Roller derby is probably next to having a roof over my head, gas in my car, and health insurance.”
One of the things Hurt LockHer loves most about derby is the uniqueness of the roller derby community, especially that of the L.A. Derby Dolls.
“Everybody comes from so many different walks of life. We have lawyers; we have doctors; we have teachers; we have unemployed people; we have a lot of people in the entertainment industry; we have everything,” said Hurt LockHer. “We are so open and accepting of all walks of life that it’s unlike any other environment that I’ve ever seen.”
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The L.A. Derby Dolls’ banked track is 100’ x 60’, and was built and designed in-house. |
Currently, the L.A. Derby Dolls are in a little predicament because their 50,000-square-foot venue is not going to be existent for much longer. The L.A. Derby Dolls are currently trying to locate a space that can hold all of their teams and events. Not only does the space have to be affordable, but it must be able to house the L.A. Derby Dolls’ bouts; the L.A. Derby Dolls typically have about 2,000 fans coming to bouts, and their future venue must be able to hold all of these people within fire marshal rules.
The L.A. Derby Dolls are currently trying to raise $100,000 to cover their first and last month’s rent and their physical movement to their new venue.
“The Doll Factory might not be around for much longer, which is sad, but the L.A. Derby Dolls will definitely be here for many years to come,” said Hurt LockHer.