She wears her team’s uniform with pride as she skates around the flat track with her navy blue jammer helmet that has lime green stars indicating her position.
Dressed ready to compete, 37-year-old Staci Park sports tattoos on her arms and legs, with several of them an ode to the Japanese character Hello Kitty.
Park founded the San Fernando Valley Roller Derby league in 2012, making it the Valley’s first and only flat track league.
Park played for the L.A. Derby Dolls, but the commute from the Valley and her three daughters’ interest in roller derby led her to create a junior league, which eventually led to the adult league.
“I always thought roller derby in the Valley would be such a good thing because there’s such a market here,” Park said. “There’s a lot of women here. Not everyone wants to travel over the hill to play roller derby or commit that much to roller derby as a hobby. I just wanted to make it more accessible to women.”
In roller derby, everyone, including the referees, have what they call a “derby name.” Park’s derby name is Killo Kitty.
“I chose Killo Kitty because I love Hello Kitty so much,” Park said. “I have a bunch of Hello Kitty tattoos and I like to kill things, and it’s super aggressive.”
In a double header against the Angel City Derby Girls in April, fans showed up to the Lot in Sylmar, California, with posters, and paid to get their faces painted SFV Roller Derby navy and green.
“I’m actually shocked that people care and want to pay to come and watch me skate around,” Park said. “I skate around everyday and it’s nothing special. I feel honored that those people do, and it’s an amazing feeling. I really appreciate it.”
Park is the captain and coach, and to hear her tell it, driven to win.
“I am the most competitive person you’ll ever meet, and I’m going to say that because I’m competitive,” Park said. “I love it when we’re down by 10 points and the adrenaline has to kick in and your mind has to focus, and everyone has to come together as a team in order to win. That’s my favorite part about any kind of sport, the competitive aspect of trying to win something. That’s what it’s all about-winning s***.”
Melinda “Legacy” Lesley, a SFV derby player, received her certificate from the ASL interpreter program at Pierce College in 2005. Lesley has been best friends with Park since they met in 2007.
Lesley started playing roller derby in 2005 but was sidelined for a year-and-a-half after breaking her leg in her second practice, initially choosing Broken Legacy as her derby name.
“When I first got back to the track, I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing, and she really taught me to get out there and put it all on the track to give it your all,” Lesley said.
Before roller derby, Park played tournament paintball for five years. Due to a lack of women in the sport, she wanted to play something that was more encouraging.
“I love the fact that roller derby is so women empowering, a ‘you go girl’ kind of deal,” Park said. “No matter what body type you have, you can play roller derby. There’s a spot for everyone.”
The team consists of only women, but any gender is welcome as a referee.
Richard San Agustin is the head referee for SFV and has known Park for about three years.
Agustin recognizes the physical aspect of roller derby.
“Roller derby started a really long time ago and was really big in the ‘70’s. It’s definitely gaining a lot more popularity. It’s one of the most underappreciated sports. It’s very physical,” he said.
Agustin said that to become a referee you have to know how to skate and to do 10 laps in under a minute-and-a-half.
“Just to become a ref you have to learn to skate,” Agustin said. “There are skating assessments. That’s just a series of learning how to maneuver yourself while on skates, being able to get out the way of hits and being able to fall properly, skate forward, backward and sideways.”
Park doesn’t think there’s anything bigger that she wants to do with her team and believes she has accomplished so much already.
“I want to compete here for the next couple years,” Park said. “Usually the shelf life of a derby girl is five years and I’m going on almost nine, so I’m probably only good for another couple years. I just want us to have fun. The ultimate goal is to have fun and kick ass.”
