On Thursday night, Buffalo RiverWorks was filled with fans excited to watch the second game of Queen City Roller Derby’s 2025 season. The matchup between the Alley Kats and the Saucies featured current and former UB students as players and match officials, with plenty of students in the crowd on “College ID Night.”
After two halves, the Saucies won the match with a score of 213-122, giving them a strong start to their spring season.
The sport of flat track roller derby consists of two teams with 14 members on each. Every play is called a “jam” and can last up to two minutes; each team is allowed five players on the track per jam.
One player on each team is called the “Jammer,” and it’s their job to score points by completing laps around the track and passing the hips of the other team’s “Blockers.” Blockers are the rest of the players on the track and their job is to stop the opposing team’s Jammer from passing, while also creating space for their own Jammer to cut through.
“Buffalo has five teams at the moment,” sophomore classics major Ash Ferguson said. “Three that are ‘home,’ and two that are ‘travel.’” The travelling teams play in the Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby Association, which has teams all over the country.
Ferguson has been doing roller derby since age 13 and says that their favorite part about Queen City Roller Derby is the community and being able to play in a cooler climate like Buffalo’s.
Fourth-year medical student Kate Brashear is also a part of Queen City Roller Derby as a player for the Devil Dollies and also serves as a match official. Brashear started roller derby after their first year of medical school in an effort to relieve stress and to meet new friends. When Brashear found roller derby, they said that the sport “checked the boxes” of what they were looking for in an activity and has been playing ever since.
The women of Queen City Roller Derby, despite being competitors, were supportive of each other throughout the match, high-fiving and smiling through every moment. UB students and Buffalo community members seem to have found a place where they can challenge themselves athletically and surround themselves with a supportive community.
If roller derby is starting to sound like the sport for you, Queen City Roller Derby begins their “no experience necessary” bootcamp this upcoming March, and would love to see people lace up their skates and hit the track.
Queen City Roller Derby’s next match will take place on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. between the Devil Dollies and the Alley Kats at Buffalo RiverWorks.
The sports desk can be reached sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Ken Smith
