VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Rolling into a fresh start
Richard Maj: Finding friends in a new city can be tough, especially when you’re an adult. There’s a group right here in Syracuse, though, that’s tackling that challenge head-on.
At the Magnarelli community center, a group has been building something that seems obvious.
Valerie Bezner: I was looking for a community, and I think I found it.
Maj: But the way they’re doing it is a bit rough, so rough they even need a ref to make sure they’re training by the rules. The Salt City Roller Derby is Syracuse’s only flat-track roller derby league and Morgan Jacobs is one of their newest skaters.
Morgan Jacobs: Well, I feel like making friends as an adult is hard, and especially moving cross-country, starting somewhere new, having such a big life transition.
Maj: When moving to a new city, some people look towards their local basketball court to find their community, but for this group, it’s this building right here, and this track, that helped them find their protection.
Marie-Alayna Janson: Literally, my best friends I’ve ever met are from roller derby, and I’ve lived with and my emergency contacts on things, and like it’s awesome.
Maj: Marie-Alayna Janson, known to her friends by her derby name, “Malibruise Barbie,” says the team isn’t all about winning.
Janson: Boom, roller derby happened, and I got a family that I do like and a community that I do love, and I am, I’ve never once questioned my place in, and I think that’s really important for everyone.
Maj: But even when Janson got sidelined by an injury, her friends were still there.
Janson: While I was gone, I still kept in close contact with all of my friends from derby. That’s what the community gave to me, the friendships outside and off the track.
Maj: When she’s off that track, Janson knows her friends are rolling along with her.
Janson also says she likes to be the “big sister friend” and encourages her teammates to find their space in the team.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Finding friends can be hard, especially as an adult. For one group, roller derby was where they found theirs.
The Salt City Roller Derby is Syracuse’s first and only flat-track roller derby league. New and returning skaters said there’s a family and community within the group.
Marie-Alayna Janson, better known to her friends by her derby name, “Malibruise Barbie” said after moving around the northeast, the league gave her a place where she finally felt comfortable.
“I’ve never once questioned my place in (the community), and I think that’s really important for everyone,” Janson said. “It has given me so much opportunity to have a place in this world that I might not have otherwise had.”
Janson also said the community has helped each other get through tough times.
“In times of hardship, community is important, and resilience is joy. So, we get to have that joy,” she said.
Janson knew she was interested in competing from a young age. She remembered watching the Gotham Roller Derby with her dad. For some newer members, derby came from left field. Morgan Jacobs is pursuing her Ph.D. at Syracuse University, and after moving from Utah, she said she wants to find a hobby outside of her academics.
“I feel like as an adult, I also realized that I don’t have a lot of hobbies, and I want to start having fun again, and finding ways to do that,” she said.
Valerie Bezner started in the new skater program back in November, alongside Jacobs. She said it’s been “nice to figure out how to make friends as an adult.” She attributed that to the shared interest of roller derby.
“I have an easier time connecting with people when I’m doing something with them and have something in common,” Bezner said.
As for now, this family is practicing ahead of their first game which is away on April 12. Their first home game of the season is on May 3 at the Fulton Community Ice Arena. To find out more, check out their website at saltcityrollerderby.com.
