Katherine Bauer, a senior, has hobbies like any other student, but her participation in roller derby contests is her favorite.  Bauer is not the only MVHS student member of her club, as two other MV students participate as well in Renee Vig and Annaleah Daugherty. Roller Derby is not a sport that many know about as it is not particularly popular in the area at this time. 

Katherine competes on a team from Iowa City.  They travel around the country competing in bouts.  Katherine had just begun this sport a year ago, having been told about it by two of her closest friends. 

In the sport there are three positions on the track at one time; they are the jammer, pivot, and blocker.  A jammer is the person who scores points, and can be identified by a star on their helmet. The blockers try to catch the other team’s jammer to protect them from scoring points. The pivot, who wears a stripe on their helmet, must also be be a blocker. The pivot is also the most vocal as they give directions to the team during the time on the track.   

Katherine likes the physicality of the sport.  One of the rules that she has to follow during the event is you can’t hit anyone from the back or head.  Because it is such a physical sport, protective equipment is needed.  Katherine wears a helmet, mouth guard, wrist guards, and elbows and knee guards.  She has the opportunity to travel as far away as St. Louis for events. Her favorite memory is before each round they play music.  Her teammates use this time to hype themselves up by dancing.  She encourages others to check out the sport.