Should Girls Be Permitted To Skate With Guys?

[DavidSams]

The TV execs I'm talking to posed the question "Why not mix it up and have the guys and girls skate together?" Interesting question. What do you think? I personally have seen a lot of the women skaters be just as tough as the guys.

[D-Maschine]

Yes. Our guys and girls skate on the track in practice and in some games.

[Thomas D. Smith]

In fact I vaguely remember Terri Lynch skating with the men in the 70's, However, I'd rather keep the traditional men vs men and women vs women

[Grand Poobah]

There was a wee bit of co-ed scrimmaging at RollerCon, and the refs bout on Fremont St was co-ed.

Most of the men's flat track leagues are in their infancy. The consensus amongst knowledgable skaters I spoke to was that the guys don't really have the skills as of yet. Their strength isn't really matched with as much skating ability and experience that the girls have. Which may be why their presence wasn't so much of a problem. If you have a guy who can skate and isn't pulling his (figurative) punches there'd likely be some injuries.

That said, there was one particular well-known WFTDA ref who was one of the better jammers I saw all week. Strange skating style, but he's fast and was effective at scooting around blockers.

[Paul Hill]

I've seen the women skate with the guys more than once. However that was only due to the men's team being unable to fill a team due to injuries and that was usually only late in a game.

Overall, I don't think it's a good idea. The men and women skate a slightly different version of the same game. At least that is my personal opinion. Neither one is better or worse than the other, just a little different.

Also, I think the fans have a preference for either the womens or the mens team and support them accordingly.

To get back to the original question, I don't think it is a good idea to mix them.

[Jersey Joe]

I don't think it's necessary and it just would come across as another gimmick. I do hope the new league will concentrate on skating skills and not gimmicks like the alligator pit, wall of fire, etc., etc.
It should be a SPORT and not a TV SHOW.

Jersey Joe

[Dave "Wildman" Marez]

I think over all men are much stronger than women. I can honestly only think of a few woman around today that could knock down us guys and that would be the "Great" Jan Vallow, 1964 Rookie Of The Year & All-Star Derby skater Lydia Clay, Fiery Sandy Dunn, Tough Delores Tillie Tucker, Francine "Canadian Spitfire" Cochu, Diane Syverson & BJ Peterson.

[Jersey Joe]

Judy Sowinski and Judy Arnold skated against the guys too and they handled themselves quite well. The ones you named are all top of their class too.

Jersey Joe

[D-Maschine]

Judy Sowinski could knock down any guy on our team. She's tougher than nails and harder then steel.

[Dave "Wildman" Marez]

Hiya Jersey Joe. No disrespect to the skaters you made mention of. I've heard nothing but good things about Arnold's and Sowinski's skating talents. Its just that I never was interested in Roller Games when I was a young kid. It was only when I watched Roller Derby did the sport capture my attention. And I grew up in LA in the late 60's and early 70's. Take care buddy.

[Jersey Joe]

You heard right about their talents!

And remember -- Judy Sowinski and Judy Arnold were both rookies-of-the-year on the Bay Bombers! They both could easily skate with the best of Derby because they were Derby!

Jersey Joe

[Father James]

I honestly don't have a problem with both on the track.. I am just more used to the men vs men women vs women format.

[Jim Fitzpatrick]

There have been at least two attempts over the years to run leagues which mixed guys and girls together. Around 1993 a short lived group in Florida tired it (banked track) and in Japan, Hiroshi Koizumi even attempted it during the mid 1990's (flat track). Interestingly enough, both attempts were done on in-lines (a few years prior to Roller Jam).

As for training, it's always worked great having the girls train with the guys. The girls learn to be more physical and the guys develope their finesse.

Jim Fitzpatrick
GM, SF Bay Bombers