Luna Stormborn, on far right facing camera, joins Keweenaw Roller Derby teammates to block the Mid-State Roller Derby jammer in a bout earlier this season. (Kent Kraft/For the Gazette)

Colorful is a word which accurately describes roller derby in both of the main definitions.

First, “full of interest; lively and exciting,” (from the Oxford Languages Dictionary) is definitely present within the sport which is quickly obvious to anyone walking into the arena during a bout. Ten athletes are whirling around the track bumping into one another, teams are shouting strategy and advice to one another, crowds are cheering and music is playing.

Going past that, the names of the skaters are certainly colorful by the same definition. Just look at the names of those interviewed this year: Starbuck, Kim Kong, Liz Boss, Jeffrey Dahminator, Johnny Crash, Amelia Hitshart, Wheelsley Crush Her, Random NPC, and Melissious Intent.

Moving to the other definition, again from the Oxford Languages Dictionary, we have, “having much or varied color; bright,” which would probably be considered the more classical definition. Roller derby has that in spades as well.

Keweenaw Roller Derby (KRD) has bright green combined with black for their colors and their competitors usually have at least one bright color in their palette as well. Then there are the accompanying outfits and makeup many skaters choose to wear.

Some skaters have something approximating war paint. Barring the color choices, they could fit in with William Wallace’s fighters in the movie “Braveheart.” Others just put on colors that will dazzle as they skate by their opponents and wow the crowd.

If you’re ever at a KRD bout and want to find Luna Stormborn, just look for the most colorful player out there. She’s guaranteed to have some kind of face paint on, has blue and purple skates, and will have something sparkly and colorful to go along with her KRD jersey.

Not every player chooses to embrace the showier side of derby, and to each their own, but for Luna, the showier side is what first drew her in to the sport.

While she was working at the Holiday gas station in L’Anse, a roller derby team came in wearing their makeup and uniforms (or, as Luna calls them, “boutfits”) which had her entranced. She asked them what they were dressed up for and that was the first she remembers hearing about the sport of roller derby.

A few months later, Luna found herself in Marquette and saw a poster for the local roller derby team advertising a home bout. Deciding Marquette was far too far away, she decided it just wasn’t something she was going to do.

Luna credits her husband with the tenacity to dig deeper and he found out there was a team up in the Keweenaw and they had an upcoming bout. Making the trip up, she was a mere two seconds into the first bout and watching Thimbleberry Slam (a former “rockstar” KRD skater, according to Luna) showboating for the fans in glamorous style when Luna knew this was something she had to do.

She signed up for the new skater program in the fall of 2014 and had her first season in the spring of 2015. Despite the worry and stress she had internally about meeting new people and trying a new sport, the community of KRD was so welcoming, accepting, and supportive of her there was never any question in her mind of continuing.

A fringe benefit with roller derby, in Luna’s mind, is the exercise that naturally comes along with the sport. While she hates (or, based on her tone, HATES might be more appropriate) working out, derby is fun and makes the exercise something worthwhile. She feels stronger and healthier with derby in her life.

Like several of the other feature skaters, Luna had a hard time figuring out what her derby name should be. At first, she thought about tapping into her Korean heritage with a name like Kimchi Killer or Korean Khaleesi (a title from “Game of Thrones”).

Deciding to move on from that, she tapped into another love: the world of Harry Potter. Luna Lovegood is her favorite character, so she thought about Luna Shovegood but found that was already a popular name amongst other roller derby leagues.

Compromise happened and she took Luna from Harry Potter and Stormborn from the nickname of the popular character from “Game of Thrones,” Daenerys Targaryen (who is also a Khaleesi). Two fictional characters combined to form a very real force to be reckoned with on the derby track: Luna Stormborn.

As for her derby number, that came a lot easier. Her child’s birthday is January 12, so her number is 112 in honor of that important date.

What becomes most obvious when talking with Luna Stormborn is her abundant love of both the sport itself and the teammates she has.

After moving to the area in 2009 with her husband, who is from Ontonagon, Luna didn’t have many friends outside of her work and family. Fortunately, the people of KRD quickly became Luna’s friends, particularly Dawnamite B00M who started at the same time as Luna.

They even developed their own nickname, BoomStorm. She fondly recalled Dawnamite B00M’s first bout when BoomStorm were the only two blockers on track as their teammates were in the penalty box. Despite only being two, they managed to hold the opposing jammer behind them for half the track.

Sadness was evident when Luna said B00M was no longer with the team. It was quickly replaced with another memory of a time when Luna was actually the only blocker left because all three teammates were in the penalty box. She laughed with the other team’s blockers since there was little else to do in that difficult situation, though she was able to keep the jammer blocked for a few seconds at least.

The sense of belonging and the intense friendships she’s made at KRD are very important to Luna and she hopes to continue sharing that with more people as they tryout and join up with the team. She encourages anyone thinking about it to take the leap and try.

If you’re expecting the next line to be, “the others will catch you when you fall,” that’s not exactly how it works… there is a lot of falling, especially when you start. Learning how to fall safely is an important skill.

Still, even if they aren’t there to catch you when you fall, the other members of KRD, according to Luna, will absolutely be there to offer you a hand back up again. And, for what it’s worth, they’ll be falling along with you!

She also wants people to know training starts with getting people comfortable on skates and working on the basics well before the contact starts. Once light contact is incorporated, if you decide you’re not really liking that, she says to remember that there are referee positions that are non-contact skaters.

Also, the team has a gear library skaters can borrow to try on or even rent or buy the gear. There are funds in place to assist with monthly dues if needed. In short, they try to remove the barriers that might prevent people from participating.

If anyone didn’t get to see KRD at a bout this season, Luna encourages them to come out and give it a try next season. While the sport can be confusing for a first-time spectator, she offers this bit of advice:

“I know a lot of people get hung up on there not being a ball, but if you think of the jammer, the ones with the star on their helmets, as the ‘person with the ball,’ then you know who to cheer for.”

While the trackside support of Luna Stormborn and the rest of the KRD squad is done for this season, there are still plenty of ways to help out. If you want to know more about supporting the team in any way, you can visit the KRD website at https://keweenawrollerderby.com/. Also make sure to keep an eye out for their 2025 schedule so you can mark your calendars.