Photos courtesy of Scott Butner
Slamonella, Lorelai Killmore, Lois Slay’n, Skaterbug—these could be the names of Triple Crown-winning thoroughbreds, or hot new dubstep bands. But these irony-tinged monikers belong to bipeds on eight wheels with protective knee pads and mouth guards, brightly colored uniforms and knee socks, and sometimes, tutus and tattoos. They are roller skaters—and they are ready to rumble.
Walla Walla’s roller derby team, the Walla Walla Sweets, started in 2009 as an outlet, says co-captain Vicki Hillhouse (team name Lois Slay’n), for “people who like to skate, who like contact, who find it incredibly daring, and who think, ‘Can I do something bigger than I think I am?’ Plus, roller derby is super fun to watch.”
Hillhouse took an interest in the team shortly after it was incorporated, and she was pregnant. She had to wait 18 months until she was ready to join and she’s been with the league ever since – more than 15 years!
Roller derby teams have been around for decades, but began to rise in popularity (and public awareness) in the early 2000s, notably after the 2007 film, “Whip It,” starring Drew Barrymore and Elliot Page. The Sweets are a recreational league, and a 501(c)(3) non-profit benefiting women or youth-focused charities. Skaters range in age from their 20s to their 50s.
Though the team is officially unsanctioned, “we take it pretty seriously and follow all of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association guidelines,” Hillhouse says. This means games must take place on a standardized flat track—the Milton-Freewater Armory, where the Sweets practice, is a skosh too small; official home games are played at the Walla Walla YMCA—and feature two 30-minute bouts, or ”jams,” per game, with a halftime.
Three basic positions comprise the team—jammers (designated skaters who score points for each completed lap around the track); blockers (skaters who physically block the opposing team’s jammers); and the pivot position, a blocker who can “pivot” to a jammer as game play demands.
The sport is notoriously high impact, and two medics are on site at every game. Skaters have suffered torn ACLs, broken collarbones (Hillhouse counts one), and what is called the “nine month injury”—the condition typical of expecting mothers that can take a player out of the game for seasons.
Melissa Queen (team name Queen Greatest Hits), who joined the team in 2016, sustained an injury—what she calls a “season ender, a PCL tear in my right knee in 2019.” Fully recovered after physical therapy, she’s back at it—now playing all positions—and a co-captain with Hillhouse (both Queen and Hillhouse are also writers for Visit Walla Walla). Queen’s and Hillhouse’s dedication to the league is a testament to the camaraderie and community that has become famous in roller derby.
Hillhouse says the combination of the game, its physical and mental challenges, working as a team, and getting involved in something bigger than yourself serves a real need for many.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of opportunities when you’re an adult, and you’re not going to be in the NBA or the NFL, to find sports recreation and community like this.
“It really pushes people outside of their comfort zone. We fall all the time and we’re foolish and silly and vulnerable, and it’s completely okay. It’s just, ‘Can you get up? Can you keep fighting? Can you go for two minutes? Like, you can do anything for two minutes, right?’ You get off the track and you think, I’m so exhausted, I can’t go again. And you sit out a couple rounds and you’ve got it in you all over again.”
The Walla Walla Sweets take on the Rodeo City Roller Derby in their season opener on Saturday, June 14 at 7:30pm at the Walla Walla YMCA, 340 S. Park St. $10 advance/$12 door. Kids 12 and under free. wallawallasweetsrollerderby.org
2025 Schedule
6/14 vs. Rodeo City Roller Derby @ Walla Walla YMCA
8/23 vs. Lilac City Roller Derby Yetis @ Walla Walla YMCA
9/27 vs. Port Scandalous Roller Derby @ Walla Walla YMCA
