James Bone, PR Coordinator for WestSide Derby Dollz

Like what you've read? Share the love!

Resident of Kingsville

My name is James Bone, a Kingsville resident since 2008. I am a roller derby league member (derby name ‘Bin Dog’) for Westside Derby Dollz (the only mixed gender roller derby league in Melbourne’s West), a programmer for a software development company, a first dan in Taekwondo and a fan of swing dancing.

I grew up in Oxley, a small town on the outskirts of Wangaratta. Growing up, I remember watching the movie ‘Hackers’ and watching the cast skating to get around. It struck me as such a sensible way of getting around. Once, I told my dad I want to practice skating, and he would laugh and point at our grassy paddock and ask “Where?”

I have always been good with computers as a teenager. I loved assembling them and yes, loved playing video games too. I moved to St Albans and lived right across the train station and pursued a Bachelor of Arts and Multimedia in Victoria Uni. I decided to pursue skating in my first year of study.

Interesting fact about roller derby in Australia: The Victorian Men’s Roller Derby is currently 13th in the world and the Victoria Roller Derby League (Female) is ranked 1st in the world, after knocking off New York’s Gotham City Rollers in May 2017.

There is a bit of science to skating. Depending on the configuration, inline skates are the ones you generally use for outdoors or speed skating. Speed skates have huge wheels and more widely spaced apart. Ordinary inline skates (or rollerblades) have smaller wheels and are softer. You want the smoothest ride possible to enjoy it.

In roller derby, we use roller skates (or quads) as it offers more stability as if you get hit sideways, you can actually stay up. It’s much harder on your ankles using inline skates. You don’t want to be injured while on your skates!

I’m in a small league and do a seasonal tournament with other leagues around Victoria. There are lots of teams in regional Victoria with leagues in Sale, Ballarat, Bendigo and Albury. As I’m very involved in the sport, I am involved in Public Relations, I get engaged in officiating, I skate as a competitor and sometimes I even coach. It’s important to engage the community and promote the Westside Derby Dollz. I’m looking forward to competing with West Side Wreckers in the August tournament: United Roller Derby Playoffs.

We get a lot of people who show up and have never skated before. We teach them how to skate safely, how to fall safely, how to start moving, and progressively teach them increasingly advanced techniques, jumping over apexes, skating backwards…

Somewhere in between graduating from uni and pursuing skating, I used to run a PC repair business, did freelance web design and packed vegetables for three years in Bairnsdale. The job paid extremely well as few wanted to do it and it was long hours. I saved up the money and began pursuing a Masters of Computing. However, one and a half year into it I was offered a paid job as a software developer and web designer for a business making software and websites tailor fit for motorbike dealerships. The job mostly allows me to work from home, which I still do.

I got into swing dancing after the last Seddon Festival. I was promoting WestSide Derby Dollz in my roller derby gear and literally stumbled past Swing Patrol performers. We ended having a chat, exchanged cards and I started showing up for a couple of classes at the Uniting Church of Seddon. It’s a lot of fun.

Martial arts is something I have been pursuing since high school. I didn’t really find a sport that suited me until I took up Ken Do Kai in Year 12. When I moved to Bairnsdale, I took up ITF Taekwondo and when I relocated to Kingsville, I saw Oh’s Taekwondo was just down the road so I took up WTF Taekwondo.

Roller derby is a full-contact sport and has evolved over the last few decades. When people hear ‘roller derby’ they think of the 1970s showboating stuff, but these days we try to move as far as possible from that. It’s a genuinely competitive sport and also has lots of support from external parties. The sport engages roller skating technology, organizational bodies, insurance groups and independent skater-run committees.

We train at the local YMCA RecWest in West Footscray every Sunday morning, with various intensity levels to suit anyone’s skill level. To get to the full contact level, you have to demonstrate you are fit and capable. The teams generally have about 7-14 aside, with 5 of each team on the track during gameplay.

People do ask me about my beard. I started growing it out over a year ago after getting the software developer job. I ended up staying at home and hardly went out. Shaving always made my neck bleed and I had to moisturize heavily. I decided since I was home so much, I was just going to let it grow out! The last time I trimmed it was over a year ago. I use a special beard wash and balm to get it separated, smooth and well-conditioned. I have definitely stepped up my beard game.

A lot of people don’t realise roller derby exists in Australia but look around and you may find one in your neighbourhood. Westside Derby Dollz was one of the first leagues to support junior derby, which allows kids 6 and up to begin training. A lot of people who come into roller derby are generally around 30 years old as, like most people, they never knew it existed.

The roller derby community is proud to support and be a part of LGBTIQA+ culture (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Asexual etc…). We welcome anybody, regardless of the sexuality and sexual identity. Westside Derby Dollz is a safe space for everyone to feel welcome and feel accepted. When you are there to train, you are there to train and if your focus is elsewhere you won’t get as much out of it. Local communities are moving towards that supportive attitude in Melbourne.

The pocket of Kingsville I am in is what the locals call the ‘crazy cat lady block’, with cats from many homes frequently seen walking around the area. It’s a quiet neighbourhood, and I am lucky to live in the area. I am a cat lover myself and share my home with an adopted orange and white cat called Peaches.

Going ahead, I would like to develop my skating skills and train more with the Victorian Men’s Roller Derby. If I have time, I would like to get into more advanced swing dancing as well.

I’m just not sure how I am going to find time to date, as I would have to drop one of my activities. I would dread making that decision as I enjoy them all!!

Like what you've read? Share the love!