Retro fitness.

Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard

SPRINGFIELD - Don't be fooled by the blond pigtails, the fishnets or the short pink shorts - if you're in their way, these women will not hesitate to knock you on your back.

Fortunately, these 40 skaters have each other to take down.

But the members of the newly formed Emerald City Roller Girls roller derby league are quick to say that their sport has evolved from the scantily clad, elbow-throwing, drop-kicking, free-for-alls that saw their heyday in the 1950s and '60s.

"The image is that it's a chick fight on wheels, and that's not the case," Adrienne van der Valk said. "It's more than just wearing short skirts and knocking each other down."

These days, derby involves agility, female empowerment and a touch of escapism.

Not to say tiny tops are out.

However, sexiness isn't to sell tickets: Skimpy clothes are simply a part of the women's alter-egos. Judicious splashes of pink and hearts against black tights and rock T-shirts add femininity to the burly business of intimidation.

"You want something that makes you feel good," said Eugene resident Corinne Taylor, a 42-year-old retail buyer and mother of teenage twins, sporting bright pink lipstick and lacing up her skates over black tights.

One derbier is second-grade teacher by day and "Swiss Missconduct" by night. Many others are nurses. Another is a mental health professional, who perhaps realized the benefit of stress-release through body checking.

The league began in January through a posting on Internet bulletin board craigslist.com by a group of women who knew each other through a knitting group and is part of a revival of the retro sport. Statewide, teams of all-women rollers have cropped up in Portland, Bend and Coos Bay.

Even for a Monday night practice on a basketball court in the Regional Sports Center in Springfield, many of the women paired knee-high socks with bitsy skirts, leaving vast stretches of skin open for injury.

"There's a lot of rink rash, bruises, pulled muscles and stuff," said Jennifer Matyas, a veteran derby player from Los Angeles. Matyas also serves as an unofficial coach, running practice with a whistle and her dreadlocks pulled back in a bandana.

Full contact is part of the draw, derbiers say. While fists and tripping are no longer allowed under the rules of the Women's National Flat Track Derby Association, body checking and other rough play does happen.

The loud smack of helmet making contact with hard floor rings out frequently over the drone of 320 skate wheels.

One teammate, 24-year-old Marcia Mendelson, suffered a broken ankle. She still attends each practice, sitting on the sidelines rooting on her team and comparing tatoos with another onlooker, pulling up her skull-and-crossbones jumper to reveal a large tree on her back.

"When else do you get girls to willingly get hurt and enjoy it?" Mendelson asked.

The sport, dating back to the 1930s, involves two teams of five skaters, circling a track together, for three 20-minute sessions that contain rounds of up to two minutes. Blockers, charged with delivering the blows, are clumped together, while each team's "jammer" tries to break through the herd, scoring one point for each successful attempt. Blockers also lock hands with their own jammer, catapulting her forward.

"There's something so empowering about being with a group of powerful women," teammate Beth Olson said.

Strong players are able to dish and take tough shots, and get up quickly after a fall. Helmets, elbow- and knee-pads - along with the occasional seat pad for the clumsier set - are required for all players.

Derby names - usually a threatening twist on the familiar - complete the hard-core transformation. All are registered with the derby association and cannot be copied.

Mendelson, in tribute to her hobbled status, is looking to adopt the moniker "Peggy Legs." Taylor is "Babe Malicious." Van der Valk goes by "Valentina Slaughter." Olson uses "Bruize Willis." "Ethyl Alkohol" attends each practice.

The team has an age minimum of 21 to join, but sets no upper age limit. Stick-thin women in braids spar with others who are decidedly full-figured. Mothers knock out college seniors.

The league is about 20 women short of its goal of 60, which would allow them to split into four teams of 15 each, van der Valk said. They will accept any and all comers, no experience necessary, she said. Most of their practices - held three times a week at the Regional Sports Center and Skate World in Springfield - focus on building derby basics. Its MySpace.com page asks of its recruits: "Can you appreciate counter and subcultures? Or maybe you can't afford anger management ... or maybe you'd just like to watch a bunch of hot women beating on each other?"

"I think the derby does bring out the rock 'n' rollers," van der Valk said. "People who like to do things differently, who march to the beat of their own drum."

ROCK AND ROLL

Ways to check out the Emerald City Roller Girls roller derby league

Tonight: Rock concert and skate exhibition, 9 p.m. at the Indigo District, 1290 Oak St., Eugene. Donations are $3 to $5.

Online: The team is on MySpace at www.myspace.com/emeraldcityrollergirls.

On wheels: Open skate practices Sundays, 7 p.m., and Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m., at Skate World, 3188 Gateway Loop, Springfield.