NEWARK – Local movie-goers seeing trailers for the upcoming film, “Whip It!,” may be surprised to learn that northern New Jersey has it’s very own roller derby league – the Garden State Rollergirls.
“Whip It!,” directed by Drew Barrymore and starring Ellen Page (“Juno”), tells the story of a Texas teen who, after joining her local roller derby league, learns to “be her own hero.” The Garden State Rollergirls, based in Newark, consists of 45 skaters living the real life, tough yet rewarding, story of roller derby. The film opens in theatres Oct. 2.
Those interested in the world of roller derby are invited to attend the next home bout for the Garden State Rollergirls, a double header with Pioneer Valley Roller Derby and the men of the New York Shock Exchange in a double header on Friday, Sept. 25.
The Garden State Rollergirls All-Stars, the Ironbound Maidens, will take on the women of Western Mass Destruction, Pioneer Valley Roller Derby’s women’s team, while the men of the New York Shock Exchange take on PV’s Dirty Dozen, in alternating periods.
The doors of the Branch Brook Park Roller Skating Center, 7th & Clifton avenues in Newark, open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 at the door.
