Roller derby girls rumble for charity

July 16, 2016 at 12:08a.m.

Little Steel Derby Girls team up with Ray Mancini foundation to host charity bout at Youngstown Skate

By BRIAN DZENIS

Today in Boardman, a group of local derby girls are donning roller skates, helmets and other padding to dish out some punishment for charity.

The Little Steel Derby Girls, a Mahoning Valley-based roller derby team, have teamed up with the Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini Foundation to hold a charity bout at Youngstown Skate on Tiffany Boulevard. The Derby Girls will face the Rubber City Roller Girls in the team’s first home bout of the year. It’s the first time the team and charity have paired up.

“We’re all so hungry and driven and prepared for it,” Derby Girls vice president Christine “Brick House” Featsent said. “We look forward to having more of these to spread word of roller derby and keep entertaining our home crowd.”

Proceeds from the event go to the Mancini foundation and the Animal Charity of Ohio. The Derby Girls picked out the charity. They’ve previously worked with Relay for Life in Salem, where the team holds its practices.

“The president of our league got a cat through them,” Featsent, who’s from Struthers, said. They’re great people and they’re very deserving.”

A couple furry friends will be walking around at Youngstown Skate. Mancini himself be on hand to blow the opening whistle.

The Derby Girls roster has 18 players representing Boardman, Youngstown, and East Liverpool, as well as other parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The team plays in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association and often travels for bouts. The team is hoping to use today’s bout to recruit more women to play and men to be referees.

“The camaraderie is great. You fall, you get back up and strangely, that’s what keeps you coming back, Featsent said. “It’s a very tight-nit community and you look across the room and you know there’s just a set amount of people that can do what you do and it’s great.”

Doors open at Youngstown Skate in Boardman at 6 p.m. and the bout starts at 7.