The Juggernauts

On a clear, warm spring evening, the bleachers inside Jackson’s Snow King Sports and Events Center are filling up. On the oval track at the center of the arena, skaters fly around in warm-up laps, then get in position to begin the bout.

They’re skating on quad skates (a classic rollerskate with four wheels), wearing helmets adorned with sparkly stickers, and equipped with mouthguards and elbow and knee pads. Attire includes short-shorts, teeny skirts, and some ripped fishnet stockings. Tattooed limbs abound. On each team, four blockers fill the skate lane, with one jammer in the rear charged up and ready to roll. The ref blows her whistle, and the skaters are off on the jam.

The self-named players Immodest Mouse, Hell’s Healer, and Damage Patch Kid quickly form a triad to prevent the opposing team’s jammer from busting through and scoring. Jammer Mis-Demeanor plows through opposition blockers and scores multiple points. On both sides, shoves, slams, and tumbles ensue, as the high-energy skaters attempt to score for their team, and at the same time prevent the visiting team from getting points. In a blink, the lead jammer pounds at her hips to signal the end of the jam. With smiles and determination all around, amped skaters regroup to go at another jam.

This is the first bout (or match) of the season for the Jackson Hole Juggernauts, the Tetons’ roller derby team. Part of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, the team is inclusive to women, women-identifying, and gender-expansive participants.

With two-thirds of the team from “over the hill,” Teton Valley is well represented. With eleven years on the team, Sharkpit (Elyse Archer) is the senior member (and named for the shark jaws tattooed on her armpits). The team was founded in 2012 by members who have since moved on to other pursuits. At the onset of COVID, more members moved away, and the team added practices at the fairgrounds building in Driggs in addition to Jackson. As a result, they were able to recruit more Idaho players.

In a typical Juggernauts season, the team will play three home games at Snow King Sports and Events Center, and three away, throughout Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, and some ranging as far away as Colorado. Their schedule also includes a weekend tournament of three to four bouts daily.

Though badass at the bout, the Teton Valley members who fill the Juggernauts roster are also business owners, professionals, and/or moms. But at bout time, they don their alter egos and derby names. In fact, most team members know and refer to each other only by their derby names and not given names. What motivates someone to become a derby player, enduring bruises and broken ankles? Damage Patch Kid (Jeanah Roberson) was feeling isolated after the birth of her two daughters and wanted to make friends in her post-thirty years. Now her role is derby mom. She’s the best teacher of anyone, according to her teammates. After the birth of her daughter, Rosé
Cuervo (Alicia Muñoz-Marmsäter) joined the Juggs and found the team helped her regain confidence following post-partum depression. Now “she can launch people,” Hell’s Healer (Heather Wilson) declares. Immodest Mouse (Carly Hill) sought to make girlfriends and try something new.

“I wanted my kids to see me do something hard and physical,” she says. Her husband and two young daughters attend every local bout.

Surprisingly, many members had never played team sports and didn’t know how to skate. Some note the lack of team sports for women in Teton Valley, and few activities available besides biking, hiking, and skiing. Sharkpit moved from New York City to Tetonia and didn’t ski. At her first Juggs practices, “I was so bad I wanted to leave,” she recalls, but her teammates encouraged her to stay. “I got kind of good,” she says, amazed. Now, she’s their most agile skater, according to the team.

Above all else, team members thrive on the empowerment they derive from one another. “Everyone on the team wants to see you succeed,” Hell’s Healer says.

Damage Patch Kid agrees. “I like to help people achieve something they didn’t think possible.”

With so much momentum on the team, what’s in the long-term future for the Juggs? After driving Teton Pass for years to play, Sharkpit, alongside Immodest Mouse and Damage Patch Kid, are working to establish a team on the Idaho side. The new team, called the Big Hole Brawlers, is still in the early stages. The ladies are hosting “learn to skate” nights and a skater bootcamp this winter in hopes of getting a full team together to compete in seasons to come.

Immodest Mouse mentions that other teams have a junior league, with team members as young as eight years old competing in non-contact bouts, while fourteen and above begin contact play. All agree a facility in Teton Valley would be ideal. As a registered nonprofit, the Juggernauts have fundraising within their reach.

At the end of the two half-hour periods of up to two-minute jams, the Juggs have suffered a big loss to the Portneuf Valley Bruisers. But the skaters are laughing and jubilant, congratulating their opponents. Despite losing, are they still having fun? “Always,” declares Sharkpit.

Bout season starts in spring 2025. The venue for all local games is the Snow King Sports and Events Center in Jackson. Find Jackson Hole Juggernauts bout schedules on Facebook, Instagram, and their website: jhjrd.com.