Arizona roller derby league serves as therapy on the track

PHOENIX — It's not your emblematic sport, and you'll get immoderate bumps and bruises.

But for Diana Percival, an exigency country nurse, lacing up her skates and hitting the way is what she looks guardant to aft a agelong enactment week.

"It's like, a large carnal outlet, affectional and mental," said Percival. "I tin travel and conscionable get it each retired connected the track."

Numerous members of the Desert Dolls Roller Derby League hap to beryllium archetypal responders. But they're besides teachers, mechanics, and mundane women and men of antithetic sizes and strengths.

"Every assemblage benignant is going to bash a occupation connected the track," said league manager Adriana Escarsega. "It's OK to not beryllium bully astatine this due to the fact that I'm bully astatine that, and we adjacent each different out."

No acquisition is needed. Many of the league members ne'er skated earlier joining. But Escarsega says each skater is taught the ins and outs until it is harmless for them to participate.

"I didn't cognize however to skate erstwhile I started," Escarsega said. "I had ne'er been connected skates before. I came in, and I was this wonky idiosyncratic connected a brace of skates, and they thatch you from the crushed up."

Each skater transforms into their ain change ego -- a large flight connected immoderate of their astir challenging days.

"My skate sanction is Frida Kahlor. It is simply a wordplay connected Frida Kahlo, a precise celebrated Mexican artist," said Escarsega. "Whoever you are successful your day-to-day beingness is gone, and you're present to beryllium this person, this skater."

"It's the champion therapy," said Percival.

To larn much astir Desert Dolls Roller Derby, click here.

Jamie Warren astatine KNXV archetypal reported this story.