By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
They may come from different walks of life, but when these 19 women of the Nerw Jersey Hellrazors roller derby team come together and lace up their skates, they are a force to be reckoned with.
”It is an amazing group of girls,” Sara Klavon, 31, of Somerset, aka “Dame Grohl” said following Sunday night’s victory over the Salisbury Rollergirls at he Kendall Park Skating Rink. “I love every one of them.”
Although its website lists the team’s base as New Brunswick, its home rink is Kendall Park where the girls throw on their skates, orange and black makeup to match their uniforms, and become true weekend warriors in a genuinely rough sport.
Ms. Klavon, a bank employee by day, said she has to modify her attire at work following some of the rougher matches, or “bouts.”
”I am a desk jockey. I have to wear long sleeves after the games to cover the bruises,” Ms. Klavon, who won the most valuable player award for the team, said. “It is very good therapy.”
The other ladies on the team come from backgrounds just as mundane and ordinary as Ms. Klavon’s before they transform into an aggressive unit as the Hellrazors.
Jen Palko, 30, of Somerville, aka “Mental Block,” is a physical therapist and intern studying acupuncture during the week, but loves the action.
”I grew up playing roller hockey outside and love being on wheels,” Ms. Palko, who has been on the team for six years said. “(Roller derby) used to be more staged. Now, it’s a competitive sport and it’s for fun.”
According tom its website, the team is one of the first in the state and was a part of the Dirty Dames League. Now, the team is independent and not part of any particular league.
The team abides by the national Women’s Flat Track Derby Association rules and regulations, according to the team.
The national organization was formed in 2004 to foster flat track skating, according to that organization’s website.
The sport can be traced back to the 1930s, according to the Roller Derby Foundation’s website. The sport increased in popularity throughout the 1940s and 1950s with several big city teams competing in televised matches.
After declining in popularity, the sport re-emerged in the first part of the last decade with a switch from the older banked tracks, to the flat tracks teams play on today, according to the WFTD website.
The rules of the sport have remained relatively the same through the years, with a team member, called a “jammer” breaking through the pack of skaters and scoring points by passing opponents during the “jam” period of two minutes.
Kendall Park resident and Hellrazor Jen Aillon, 29, aka “Thiza Glory,” said the team practices twice a week for a couple of hours each to stay competitive.
”We work our butts off from the time we come in until the time we leave,” Ms. Aillon said.
Ms. Aillon is a veterinary technician for an animal hospital in East Brunswick, and sought out the team.
”I was looking for something to better yourself as a person and a strong group of women,” Ms. Aillon said. “The camaraderie (of the team) is amazing.”
One of the team’s opponents, Rachel Steinhardt, 26, aka “Penny Sprain” of the Salisbury Rollergirls, came to the sport six months ago as a mathematician that studies plankton in the ocean.
”It is a nice extracurricular thing to do,” Ms. Steinhardt said.
Rachel’s older sister Sarah, 28, of New Brunswick stopped by to see her younger sister skate and said despite her younger sister’s smaller size, she wasn’t worried about her participating in such a rough sport.
”She can take care of herself,” Sarah said. “She’s just tiny.”
David Drerssel, 36, of Kingston said it was his first time watching a match live.
”It’s fantastic,” Mr. Dressel said “We’re big fans of the Hellrazors now. We’re loving it.”
Mr. Dressel, who works for Princeton University, said he had watched televised matches before, but didn’t realize how athletic the sport was.
”I didn’t realize how aggressive it was until I was up close watching the action,” Mr. Dressel said. “It looks softer on TV.”
The next home match for the team in Kendall Park is scheduled for Sept. 9.

