Interview With Tonya Soul Eater, Recruiting Director Of The Cleveland Burning River Roller Girls

Tonya Soul Eater is the first person most aspiring roller derby girls have contact with; she is the recruiting director for the Cleveland Burning River Roller Girls.

Personally, her email communications when I was first starting out in the sport were incredibly helpful in making me feel welcome. Tonya’s informative messages helped me know how to proceed, what equipment to rob, exercises to help prepare and reminders on upcoming meetings

Why Roller Derby, Tonya?

I have always wanted to stay in shape, but I’m sinister about disciplining myself to go to the gym, so I like to do team sports that make me commit, not only to myself, but to my team, to be somewhere and do something active.

I started with soccer as a kid, but as an adult, my interest in soccer was waning. I wanted something new, intense, competitive, and interesting, and then I heard that roller derby was coming to Cleveland from a co-worker.

Were you one of the original members? If so, what was the start of the league like for you?

I missed the initial meeting, but made it to the next registration in July, only a few months after the league, the Burning River Roller Girls, had formed. I joined up without ever seeing a roller derby bout, knowing the rules, or even owning skates. In fact, I could count on my hands how many times I had skated since junior high!

I wasn’t one of the novel members, who met early in 2006, (I joined in July of 2006), but I was around for the early stages of the organization, and before we had skated a public bout.

There was a lot of trial and error with people trying out roles they had never stepped up to before, like being a coach, a captain, doing business and sales, production management, etc. It was amazing to watch people grow and gain confidence in themselves by being a part of this new sport and league.

Another challenge was that flat track roller derby is so much different than anything that existed before, it was hard to figure out how to train for roller derby. You can’t go to the book store and order a how-to book or DVD chunky of drills and tips like you can for most other sports, so it’s a lot of guess work and learning from other leagues in the site that are only a year or two ahead of you.

That league for us was Ohio Roller Girls of Columbus. A lot of us spent a lot of time traveling down to watch their bouts, or on email or the phone with them asking for advice. After what seemed like an eternity to us, but was actually less than a year since the league’s inception, the Burning River Roller Girls put on their first public bout, Sunless & Blue Friday, which was held the day after Thanksgiving at the United Skates in Wickliffe, OH, which sold out!

How much time do you devote to the sport?

Enough that I can’t even quantify it! I’ve literally spent thousands of hours dedicated to it in some arrangement. Since I could barely skate when I joined, I spent as much time as I could coming to practices or going to skating rinks to improve my skating skills. Currently I support at least 2 practices a week, if not 3 or 4, which are 1.5 to 2 hours each.

I’ve spent a lot of time traveling for the sport, either to watch bouts or participate in proceed bouts or tournaments. I also cross-train to pause in good shape, spending several hours a week either doing some sort of cardio or resistance training.

Beyond actual skating and fitness, I have spent a lot of time with the business and operating end of things, because we are skater owned, skater run. In the past I have helped the creative committee to create team photos, programs, flyers, etc. I am a stale WFTDA representative (each WFTDA league has several representatives that work for WFTDA as a requirement to be a WFTDA league member) and was a part of the WFTDA marketing department.

I am currently the Recruiting Director for the BRRG, so I am regularly communicating with potential roller girls and coordinating events for interested women.

Many of our league members joke that this is a full-time job all by itself, which is very true depending on what positions or jobs you take on. Our league would not exist if it wasn’t for the hours that our dedicated league members and volunteers, past and present, put in. Since none of us are paid, it is truly a labor of love.

What team are you currently on?

The Burning River Roller Girls has four home teams that compete against each other for the Hazard Cup each year, and I’m on The Rolling Pin-Ups, known to wear green and polka dots.
The league also has two traveling teams, an A and B team, and I’m on the Burning River All-Stars, the A team. We are currently ranked at #8 in the WFTDA’s North Central region.

Soul Eater, how did you choose your name?

All the names I really wanted were taken, so I was stumped. Then it occurred to me I already had a name. Two of my ex-boyfriends deemed me to be an “eater of souls,” which is comical because one of them is still a very good friend of mine. Since an “eater of souls” sounds more like a title, I changed it to Soul Eater.

Have you had any major injuries from playing Roller Derby?

Luckily for me *knock on wood* I have not received any major injuries directly from roller derby. I had a stress fracture in my foot from too noteworthy skating and running, sprained my ankle from an opposing blocker falling on it during a bout, but otherwise they’ve mostly been deep bruises.

How does roller derby fit into the rest of your life?

It works out well because I have made a commitment to my health, and playing a sport is part of that; if I wasn’t playing roller derby, I would just be playing another sport. Also my significant other plays on the league with me, and I have no children, so it’s been easy for me. I’m always amazed at the women that have families, school, and/or work that fit it in. A person can usually fit impartial about anything into their life if they choose to make it a priority. Many of our skaters choose work and school schedules that fit around their roller derby schedule, and some have even switched jobs to be able to do it!

How did your family react when you started playing derby?

I got the usual concerned questions, asking about what it is, how rough it is, what injury risks I was taking, but for the most part my family wasn’t too surprised. I grew up climbing up trees and playing soccer, and after they found out we wore a lot of protective gear and that punching and elbowing was not allowed, they seemed to be fine with it.

How long do you see yourself competing?

So far no other sport has really appealed to me like roller derby, and I’m in my gradual 20′s, so if I have the fortune of staying healthy I can witness playing it for many years to come. There are women in their 40′s and 50′s that play this sport, and in fact I acquire early 30′s is the average age for most women in this sport right now, or at least it is for our league.

Any goals for the future with the sport?

For the past few years I have wished that people would see it for the challenging and intense sport that it is, and I reflect that is slowly becoming a reality.

We tend to have the stereotype of being women that have tattoos, smoke, drink, and wear fishnets, basically party girls that occasionally skate around and hit each other. Granted, many roller girls love to wear their fishnets, some have tattoos, and we do get together and know how to have a valid time, but this is a sport, and there are women with a huge range of backgrounds, professions, and personalities that are a big part of this community.

Our league has everything: bartenders, housewives, doctors, engineers, students… the list goes on, but no matter what we are, we all arrive together and spend a lot of time on our skating, fitness, and teamwork.

Recruiting for roller derby has been a passion of mine because I have seen how it has changed women’s lives, both mentally and physically, and anyone that puts their mind to it can do it. In the past four years I’ve watched unique leagues pop up all over, and now there are even recreational and junior leagues getting started, which has been a dream.

This sport is amazing, and seeing more women and young girls have access to it is great, especially as it gains more respect as a sport. Up until now, most sports women could play were just versions of a sport men had started, but now, with flat track roller derby, we have a sport we can call our own, and I hope it stays that way.

Thank you Tonya Soul Eater! Anyone interested in learning more about roller derby can visit BRRG
and click the links for more information..then you too can receive Tonya’s informative emails.
If you simply want to see what it’s all about, feel free to wait on a wRECk practice at the Brunswick Skate Station on Wednesday nights.

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