INTERVIEW
WE SAT DOWN WITH TV PRESENTER AND MC OF
THE JOHANNESBURG BASED C-MAX ROLLER DERBY
LEAGUE, SADE GILIBERTI, TO FIND OUT A BIT MORE
ABOUT THIS AWESOME SPECTATOR SPORT.
The Derby arena is
embellished with beautiful
grafitti throughout.
Photo by Tim Hulme.
Spliced Magazine: How did you get
involved with the C-Max Roller Derby
league?
Sade Giliberti: Melinda Lotz (founder of
Cmax Roller Derby League) told me about
this idea she had after watching Whip It
a good 4/5 years ago. I sat with her and
thought at first that we could make a TV
show out of it but soon realised it was more
than just TV, it's an actual sport. About a
year after our chat Melinda had keen girls,
teams were forming and girls were learning
to skate. For real. Most of these girls didn't
even know how to skate. I guess I was one
of the first ears to hear about the idea and
from the get go thought "Hellz Yea"!
SM: You MC a lot of the events - would
you say that Roller Derby is growing
steadily in South Africa?
SG: I would definitely s ay so yes. If i'm not
mistaken Durban has a league and I know
Cape Town does too. Bloem is up there
with getting teams together too. It's since
C-max launched, that the sport is now
growing amongst young woman across
the country. The hope is to go full on
national. Leagues in each province with
their own teams etc
SM: Have you seen an increase in
spectator attendance as well as the
number of teams and players involved?
SG: Oh yes. We went from 300/400
spectators (mainly friends and family) to
2000+ screaming fans. Literally. When I
MC'd the first bout there were two teams.
Now there's 5 and the numbers are growing
with new fresh meat starting all the time.
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SM: Do you think that there's a public
perception that Roller Derby is violent?
There are obviously strict rules in
place, but do you ever see those pushed
to the limits?
SG: The sport is rough, there's no hiding that.
But it's not like boxing where you're standing
there punching the other person's face in.
You're on skates and you're moving fast, one
hip push and you'll fall hard. The first thing
they teach you in Roller Derby is how to fall,
because you're going to be falling, a lot. There
are strict rules yes, and trust me those refs
keep an eye out for any foul play at all times,
because it does happen. I've seen girls lose
their minds on that track and release the
inner demons in them.
SM: How much of an influence do you
think movies like Whip It had on the
resurfacing of the Roller Derby scene?
SG: The reason Roller Derby is in SA right
now is because of that movie.
SM: Have you ever played Roller
Derby yourself?
SG: I wanted too, those girls are tough, I
want to be tough too! They tried to get me
to start, because I can actually skate and
pretty well too but then I thought about the
bruises and saw the injuries and decided
that I would rather just stick to being MC.
On skates, one day.
SM: What would your Roller
Derby name be?
SG: Sader Darth Vader!