The season opener for the Beet City Bombers is Saturday, May 6 agains the Wydaho Pickup Team and The Renegades Juniors v Pixies from Spokane at the O’Connor Fieldhouse in Caldwell.
The season opener for the Beet City Bombers is Saturday, May 6 agains the Wydaho Pickup Team and The Renegades Juniors v Pixies from Spokane at the O’Connor Fieldhouse in Caldwell.
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Beet City’s lineup is made entirely of drafted players, ranging from veterans with 10+ years of experience to newly drafted rookies.
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As a skater-owned and operated league, Beet City pays to play, for nothing more than the love of roller derby.
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Founded in 2013, Beet City Bombers chose its name as an homage to the Canyon County area’s beet factory and the Warhawk Museum in Nampa.
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Caldwell’s Beet City Bombers are celebrating their 10th anniversary.
If you’ve ever been to a roller derby bout (as games are called) or seen it depicted in film or TV, you know it’s an exciting sport; women with derby alter egos race excitedly around a track, often taking rough falls to the floor as the five teammates on the track at all times try to score points. For Caldwell’s Beet City Bombers, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary as a roller derby team, derby is fun and exciting — but it’s also about a community of women they’ve formed. Between away games, practices, and team-bonding outings, the 13 members of the Beet City Bombers have become a true family.
Founded in 2013, Beet City Bombers chose its name as an homage to the Canyon County area’s beet factory and the Warhawk Museum in Nampa. Aundrea James, aka Dynamite Doll (each member of the team has a player nickname/alter ego), is one of the team captains and a founding member of the Beet City Bombers.
“I joined roller derby because I was looking for a sport that I could challenge myself to participate in, something out of the norm,” said James. “So I grabbed my sister and went to the Nampa Rollerdrome to try it out. I could barely stay up on my feet that first night, but with hard work, practice and dedication (bonus points for the task of starting a league from scratch) I found the challenge I was looking for in this unique sport that I have come to love.”
Beet City’s lineup is made entirely of drafted players, ranging from veterans with 10+ years of experience to newly drafted rookies. As a skater-owned and operated league, Beet City pays to play, for nothing more than the love of roller derby. Since many players who are drafted to the league have little to no skating experience, there’s a weekly skater practice in addition to twice-weekly regular practices.
Sierra Zuberer, aka Bash, joined Beet City in March of 2018 after seeing the movie “Whip It” (a 2009 film about a female roller derby league) at the age of 15. “I had wanted to do it ever since, and when I was in college, I told everybody that when I graduate, I’m going to play roller derby,” said Zuberer. “I’m pretty sure no one believed me, but I did it and my parents were completely shocked when I told them and laughed in my face cause I’ve never been aggressive in any sport I’ve played and never really stuck with anything.”
Five years after joining Beet City, Zuberer is still sticking with it, finding community in her team both on and off the track. Some of her favorite memories over the years are the team bonding outings, especially after coming back from the pandemic. “I’ve become close with a lot of my teammates that I didn’t really know before the pandemic; I knew them, but we weren’t close or anything, but now we’re a really close, tight-knit community.” Some of those bonding activities include going to hot springs, local breweries, or trail skates in Boise. There are also recruitment events, which are comprised of small roller derby “boot camps” where people can come and use donated gear and skates to try out skating and playing around.
For James, her favorite part of being on Beet City Bombers is the crowd interaction. “It’s no secret that I am a ham, full of energy and spirit to keep the crowd motivated and (the) crowd entertained. It’s invigorating to hear the roar of the crowd.”
If you, like Zuberer, were a fan of the movie “Whip It,” you might be under the impression that roller derby is a dangerously violent sport, with faces full of blood being a regular occurrence during bouts. But when asked about injuries over the years, both Zuberer and James are quick to point out the overdramatization of the physical aspect of the game. Zuberer said she’s sprained both ankles and gotten her ribs cracked — but that’s about it. “We have specific parameters on where we can hit people and make contact to avoid injury. So, like everything we do is basically to avoid injury. But I really love hitting people — and I do it a lot.”
After 10 years as a league, what keeps James coming back is seeing the team grow more and more. “I love watching and encouraging each skater to grow, develop, learn, and become more comfortable with the sport. I keep coming because of the excitement of knowing every year we are only going to get better—as a league, as a team, as skaters, and as individuals.”
The season opener is Saturday, May 6 agains the Wydaho Pickup Team and The Renegades Juniors v Pixies from Spokane at the O’Connor Fieldhouse in Caldwell.
After that, the next home game is Saturday, June 3 against Junction City. If you’re female-identifying and over the age of 18, come to the next BCB recruitment event! For more information, visit the website: beetcitybombers.com.
