Jun 20, 2025
Dairy Queen, far left, regroups with Keweenaw Roller Derby teammates Pippi Strongwhomping and Starbuck after the Chippewa Valley Roller Derby jammer gets past in the bout Saturday, May 24, at the Calumet Colosseum. (Kent Kraft/For the Gazette)
One of the primal needs a person seeks to fulfill in life is a sense of community, finding a place not only where they feel like they belong, but where they feel safe to be their true self. For some, that means finding a group with a common purpose they’re all working towards. Others might look for people who have common interests. There are some people who have more of an intangible something they’re looking for, unable to describe it, but knowing they haven’t found it yet.
Dairy Queen, a skater from Keweenaw Roller Derby (KRD), was on just such a quest. Finding herself coming back to the Keweenaw area after a few ventures out into the world, she never felt she had a place where she belonged. Since she had a background in sports, such as soccer and track, and has long enjoyed skating, she thought roller derby was worth a try.
After only a few months with the squad, having started KRD’s new skater program earlier this year, Dairy Queen already competed in her first bout on May 24. While that temporarily sated her thirst for competition, the more important part to her is that she’s finally found her community.
“I grew up here and I just never felt like there was a place for me [in this area],” she said. “So, I keep coming back [to KRD] because there’s a place for everyone at roller derby, on this team. I think they do a really good job at making everyone feel included and welcome, and I think it’s needed in this area. Coming from someone that’s lived here my whole life, this is the most I’ve felt included anywhere.”
Despite being a part of the KRD squad for such a short period of time so far, Dairy Queen already has a favorite memory which is the lead up to her first game. “Before the first game,” she stressed, “because the first game was scary. But when we were getting ready in the locker room was super fun. I’ve never done makeup before any sporting game… this was really more of an event.”
She loved the performance aspect of roller derby, something very different than her previous outings, but all of the sports she’s been in have the commonality of competition. Working towards a goal and seeing the progress you’ve made towards that goal as a team is an aspect Dairy Queen relishes about competing and something her new teammates at KRD have helped her tap into once again.
Long before she went through the new skater program, however, the impetus behind her affinity for sports came from her father.
“He’s my driving force for the athletics, my dad,” she said
She pays tribute to that in her choice of No. 14, her jersey number for KRD as well as every other sport she’s played. Her derby name, even, goes back to her dad as he nicknamed her Dairy Queen and stressed both that she should try out for roller derby, and choose that as a perfect derby name when she did.
Equally as poignant for Dairy Queen, her teammates often call her Queen for short, and this resonates with a memory of her mother. As she was growing up, her mother showed her a television program that was an offshoot from “Roots” which followed a young girl, half black and half white, who was named Queen. The girl’s journey through life had many similarities for Dairy Queen who is of similar ethnicity. As she skates with the KRD team, she can bring her parents along with her whether or not they’re able to attend the bout.
Looking to her future career with KRD, she reflected on what she’s most looking forward to. After a brief pause, a smile came to Dairy Queen as she answered, “Hitting more people.” Then she laughed, genuinely, with only a small hint of a sinister undertone.
She hopes more people will fill the stands to come watch her serving up those hits. For those that do, she recommends sitting on the floor, close up to the action, to heighten the spectacle. And, if anyone is on the fence about whether or not to attend, she wanted to let everyone know there is a happy hour before the bout starts.
Dairy Queen also joins in the sentiment of her KRD teammates in the hopes even more people will come out to join the ranks. If someone is interested, she says they “should totally do it. It’s fun, everyone needs a hobby. You’ll find you think your hobby will be roller derby, but you’ll suddenly have 70 other new hobbies, all these other new things that everyone is interested in. I’ve never been more involved in this town before now!”
If you want to know more about becoming a part of the KRD community, visit their website at https://keweenawrollerderby.com/. The next home bout for KRD comes up on June 28 at the Calumet Colosseum as they take on the Traverse City Toxic Cherries. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the first whistle blows at 6 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online in advance or at the colosseum.
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