ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author considers the benefits, or the reasons why women play roller derby, despite those hurdles. Specifically, participants attribute numerous benefits to derby, including improved health as well as developing certain aspects of their personality, especially confidence and self-esteem. Many women also shared how derby feeds their need for a contact sport in their life, especially what some women referred to as an "outlet for their aggression." Participants also cited building a large circle of supportive and diverse female friends, a first for many of the women, as a major benefit to playing derby. Some of the women specified that their weight loss was due to derby. A few of the women shared that part of their motivation stems not from wanting to be skinnier, but for how their strong bodies can propel them in the sport. Some merely described this as motivation to be better at derby or as meeting the goals they set for themselves.
