OakParkApartment.com likes to shine the spot light (in this case a disco ball may be more appropriate) on its commercial tenants. Today’s featured tenant, Derby Lite, is the belle of our ball at OakParkApartments.com’s indoor sports training facility, The ARC.
Everyone knows about roller derby, but did you know that roller derby’s origins reach all the way back to the 1880’s where multi-day roller skating races where held for cash prizes? Those roller skating endurance races evolved, over time, into the sport of roller derby, with roller derby reaching a pinnacle of popularity in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. Interest in the sport began to wane in the 1960’s & 70’s but roller derby saw a revival in the early 2000’s when women began forming amateur leagues and the movie, Whip It, made its debut.
Today there is a huge resurgence and interest in roller derby as a sport with numerous derby leagues competing on both a flat track surface as well as the traditional banked track. The sport of roller derby has once again gone global, from America to Australia, Sweden to Singapore.
So where does Derby Lite come in?
Derby Lite is a recreational league that provides “roller skating for fun and fitness for women old enough to know better.”
Derby Lite was founded in 2007 by a retired roller derby player, Barbara “Queen B” Dolan and gained a partner in Trina “New York Doll” Bockus in 2009. Together the”Queen B” & the “New York Doll” grew Derby Lite as a way for women “to exercise on roller skates because it’s good for you and a whole lot of fun (with less time commitment and risk of injury than derby regular).” This “non-impact, non-competitive” exercise class uses roller derby drills to help women from 18 to 65 to get in shape the fun way!
Derby Lite operates at OakParkApartments.com’s ARC building, located at 18 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park; hosting classes almost every night of the week for all levels of abilities – beginner, intermediate and advanced.
To find out more about this great way to get fit, stay fit and mostly just have fun with a great group of women, go to Derby Lite’s web page: http://www.derbylite.net/home.asp
Or check out Derby Lite’s You Tube video for some live action fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6R3UItWzX0
