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The goals of the Muñecas Muertas roller derby team are simple: skate hard, win bouts and beat up girls.
Now the team is taking its goals to Iowa for the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s (WFTDA) Division II tournament. This is the first time in three years that the team has been in the finals and its members are excited to be back in the action.
“It’s always a blast to see (the Duke City Derby) make the national tournaments,” said Nan Morningstar, founder of Duke City Derby (DCD). The Muñecas Muertas are the All-Star travel team of the DCD which is made up of six teams throughout New Mexico.
The DCD was launched in 2004 by local business owner Morningstar and her husband John.
“We brought derby to Albuquerque because I wanted to play,” she said.
The derby started as a single team with players who had never attempted the sport before, she said.
“At the time it was just friends and customers who wanted to play,” she said.
Roller derby is simple to understand, but challenging to play.
Each team chooses a jammer who scores points by lapping other players. The other players must protect their jammer from the opposing team while also trying to keep the other team’s jammer from lapping them. The game requires strength, agility and attention to detail.
“The games were very intense, and very tiring,” said team captain Kelly “Kell’s Inferno” Ard. “The hardest part is playing offense and defense at the same time.”
Ard has been playing roller derby since 2007, starting with the Hard Knox Roller Girls in Tennessee. She transferred to the Duke City Derby team in 2011, and became captain of the Muñecas Muertas in 2013, she said.
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“My biggest goal as the Muñecas Muertas captain for this season was to lead the team to WFTDA playoffs, and I am very excited to have accomplished this goal,” Ard said.
Division II playoffs are open to teams ranked 41-60 in the WFTDA. The Muñecas Muertas are ranked 53.
Ard said she hopes the team will rank high enough next year to compete in Division I playoffs for the top 40 teams, and win the WFTDA championship.
“Our hard work training is paying off. It is a great honor to have done well enough this season to compete in WFTDA Division II playoffs,” she said.
Head nonskating official J. Kriss White said he is happy to see that the team’s hard work has paid off, especially since they receive no compensation for playing.
“These ladies are doing it for the love of the sport,” said White.
The team practices four times a week, and about half of their members attend every practice. This dedication is what earned the Muñecas Muertas their spot in the WFTDA championship again, Ard said.
“The goal is to continue training hard so that in 2014 we can increase our skill and ranking,” she said.
