Skate, Jam, and Roll

TC Roller Derby looks back over 15 years

By Ellen Miller | May 10, 2025

For the past 15 years, TC Roller Derby has been tearing up the rink and building relationships on and off the track.

Back in 2010, a group of interested potential derby players met up to discuss the possibility of forming a team. They met at public spaces downtown, including Horizon Books and Cherry Republic, before finding a place to start practicing.

“We’ve definitely been growing, changing, and evolving. If you look at pictures from our first games, everyone was wearing fishnets and booty shorts. Now if you look at our graphics, you can tell that the team has grown up,” says Liz Mac Intyre, aka Lizzy Luscious. (A hallmark of the game is choosing a nickname, or skater name, for the rink.)

Fifteen years later, the team has come a long way, but they’re still on the hunt for a permanent home.

“The Civic Center is our home during our seasons…once they melt the ice!” says Mac Intyre. “They have been great to work with. In particular they have been helping us with open skates. Those have been the biggest fund-raiser to date. We want to have our own space, maybe a shared space with other interest groups in town.”

An Underground Network

Whether or not you’ve played derby before, Mac Intyre says you likely know someone who has. “It’s really cool that the more you talk about it, people that you know will know somebody that plays roller derby. There’s this underground network of people that all kind of know each other,” she says.

Over the years, the team has seen lots of growth, with some natural ebbs and flows. At times they have had two full teams, and then had to rebuild and figure things out due to natural turnover or people moving out of the area. Currently, TC Roller Derby has two teams: the charter team, or “A” team, which adheres to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) rules, and a “B” team, which is all-gender and includes anyone who wants to play and passes minimum skills requirements.

There have been many memorable moments through the years; in 2018, the team had a great season and ended up being ranked high in the state, but when they went to the Mitten Kitten (the big state tournament), they lost every game.

“It was really sad, we had come so far and worked so hard,” reflects Mac Intyre. “But then, in 2019, we went back. We called it ‘our revenge tour,’ playing all the same teams, beating them all and taking home the D1 trophy!”

The team is also deeply committed to training the next generation, and supports a junior team. “At any age level we start with the basics: we teach you how to roll, stop, and fall,” says Mac Intyre.

Prior to COVID, the team partnered with TCAPS; though that partnership no longer continues, TC Roller Derby is still trying to get more youth involved. “It’s important to have places for youth to go and do things,” says Mac Intyre, who “can’t stress enough how much I grew up while playing roller derby. I now run a marketing agency because of those life skills I learned in roller derby.”

A Safe Space for Everybody

Athletic and all-gender, TC Roller Derby is intentional about inclusivity and has been since the beginning. Player pronouns are listed on the team’s website, and the team is thoughtful about ensuring safety with members.

“It’s really important that it’s a safe space for any and everybody,” says Mac Intyre.

The team is working hard to reestablish community partnerships post-COVID adds Sarah Nordby, aka Vypertension. This year they are teaming up with Up North Pride, sponsoring the upcoming Rainbow Run in June, and participating in UNP’s field day and Big Gay Brunch.

“Ultimately, we are creating a safe space for all skaters of all gender identities to come and play,” says Nordby. “That’s part of why I love our junior community so much. I see kids fully expressing themselves with pronouns and preferred names in a safe environment, where they might not feel comfortable acting that way elsewhere.”

With 15 years under their belts (or under their elbow pads), the team hopes to continue to be able to compete in Michigan and beyond.

“It’s such a powerhouse downstate; there’s a larger pool of talent to pull from. It can be harder to be competitive sometimes with them,” says Mac Intyre. The team has also taken international trips to Iceland and Canada.

Wherever they go, though, the important thing is that they are there for one another.

“The big thing is the community. We are all here for each other in that cliche family way,” says Nordby. “If there’s ever a family member that passed or an injury or surgery, we all rally together. There are many cards passed around, care packages made, helping each other with house projects. It really is the biggest and best support somebody could ever ask for.”

The first TC Roller Derby home bout (a double-header!) of the 2025 spring season is May 17 at the Traverse City Civic Center from 4:30-10pm. Learn more at tcrollerderby.com.

Player Cards

Name: Raina Terror (Veronica Dragovich)
Number: AC130
Position: Blocker
Tenure: “I’ve been with the league for 12 years and held multiple Board of Director positions. In 2015, I broke my arm at the beginning of a bout and it took six months to be cleared to skate again, but I could not wait to get back on skates!”
Why Derby? “I love derby because it changed my life. It gave me the confidence and strength to find my voice again; it taught me how to own my space on and off the track; it made me appreciate my imperfect but strong and capable body. But most of all it gave me the most amazing, welcoming, loving, supportive and real family. My derby family has seen me through so much, I don’t know what I would do without them.”

Name: Tenacious D (Dez Eaton)
Number: 419
Position: Blocker
Role: “As a blocker I don’t score the points, but I do stop the opposing team from scoring. I like to set some sneaky offense and work with my wall to be a solid defense.”
Why Derby? “I love roller derby because of the community. This sport can bring almost anybody together. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, where you’re from, if you’ve skated before or not. It’s about all of us coming together to do something we all enjoy. I’ve made some of the best friendships I’ve ever experienced in this sport. It’s amazing to have this community of people who will support you on and off the track.”

Name: Lizzy Luscious (Liz Mac Intyre)
Number: 13
Position: Blocker
Tenure: “I’ve been playing since the beginning of the team in 2010, minus a broken ankle the first season, two pregnancies (I played in a game pregnant with my first and skated until eight months, no contact, with my second), and COVID.”
Why Derby? “Roller derby is my community, my stress relief, the place I go to get away from real life. Life is just better on skates!”

Name: Vypertension (Sarah Nordby)
Number: 711
Position: Jammer
Role: “I had a 20 point jam at last year’s statewide tournament in the rookie scrimmage, which earned me MVP of the game! (And to put my points into context, that’s skating past the other team’s blockers six times to score those points!)”
Why Derby? “I love it for the community of incredible humans who gather purely for the love of the game.”

Name: Carolina Fury (Aubrea Holland)
Number: 27
Position: TBD
Tenure: “I don’t have a position yet as I haven’t reached the level needed to be able to play! Hoping by the beginning of summer I’ll be where I need to be. My guess is that I’ll probably be a blocker.”
Why Derby? “I just started skating in January so I’m very new to TCRD and roller derby in general, but it’s been a great way to make friends as I moved here in August knowing no one. I’m really grateful to them for their kindness in teaching me how to play and welcoming me to the area!”

Photo by Angela May Photography