B*N*S*N2

From War on Terror News:

Military Wives By Day, Black River Rollers By Night

Spouses find off-the-beaten-course outlet for coping with military life

Apr 21, 2011

By Jennifer Caprioli (USAG Fort Drum)

FORT DRUM, N.Y., April 21, 2011 -- They don helmets, mouth guards and knee pads about five days each week. They raise families and hold down careers while their husbands fight for a peaceful nation. And they love to blow off steam by plowing through groups of roller skaters.

The women of the Black River Rollers, especially the military spouses, hold it together as a team and have each others' backs - on and off the course.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Caprioli, USAG Fort Drum.

Black River Rollers from left, Whitney Walker, Amanda Moore and Kristy Pastrano, all military spouses, block the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Roller Radical skaters during Saturday's bout at the Watertown Arena.

The skaters busted their way along the Watertown Arena's 130-foot roller derby course Saturday, during the Black River Rollers' first-ever bout.

The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Roller Radicals made the four-hour trip to take on the local roller derby team, and after an hour of pushing, shoving and falling, the Radicals beat the Rollers with a score of 141-138.

Roller derby made its debut in 1935. Since then, interest in the sport has risen and fallen, and in 2001 was revived.

Teams are composed of a pivot, the skater who sets the pace for the rest of the team; a jammer, the only skater who can score; and blockers, the skaters who help their jammer score by blocking the opposing team's jammer.

The Black River Rollers, an all-female team founded in January 2010, is composed of 11 competing skaters; six of them are military spouses.

Whitney Walker, who was on a roller derby team in Georgia, joined the team in February 2010 after moving to Fort Drum with her husband, Spc. Cody Walker, 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment.

They have three children, including a 4-month-old infant. Although her husband is deployed, Walker still finds time to make it to practice...

Much more at WOTN here.