Name: Daemon Star

Number: 88

What’s the story behind your derby name? My real name means ‘of the stars’ and my internet name is *littlestar. So, as you can see, I have a bit of a star theme going on and for my derby name I sort of felt I had to keep with that. I chose to spell Daemon old timey for no other reason then I just like the way it looks, but it’s also fun that it speaks to programmers as well.

What’s the story behind your derby number? I really enjoy the infinity symbol and was going to choose the number 8, alone but couldn’t at the time as one of my league mates (my derby wife in fact) had an 8 in her number (with letters) and at that time the letters were not considered part of her number so I couldn’t be just number 8 (as she was considered to already just be 8), so I chose 88.

When did you join Renegade Derby Dames? Fall 2012. I started with ToRD as I didn’t know that there was a league closer to me at that time (as RDD had just started up). I went through Fresh Meat with ToRD and then transferred over to RDD when I realized that it existed.

Why did you join? I started out watching the 70s incarnation of roller derby on TV reruns, while I skated around in my basement on my own roller skates. I always thought it looked SO cool and totally wanted to do it. When I found out in the 2000s that it had been resurrected in Texas I was very excited that I would be able to join one day. Eventually I heard of derby in Toronto, but wasn’t able to join as I was pregnant, but the first opportunity I had (after I finished having babies) I was looking for the closest league to join.

What’s the best thing about roller derby? Playing derby. I love the sport. I love the physicality of it; the strength, the speed and toughness. These are all things that speak to me and my personality.

What is your most memorable derby moment? This is very hard. I have had so many great derby moments, and continue to have them. I remember when I got 25 in 5 minutes for the first time. I had plateaued at 24 for months, it was SO frustrating. I remember driving home from that practice, where I got 25, and I felt like a million bucks. Literally. I was beaming. It lasted a whole week. Like I was floating on a cloud. I had worked so hard and FINALLY it had paid off. I make sure to remember this always (and impart the story on new skaters). Now my goals are so different, as I’ve improved over time, (and new skaters may find this story hard to believe to see me now) but I never want to forget how amazing it is when you achieve the goals you’ve worked so hard for, it keeps me going through the hard times of working for many months to achieve a skill and not having it work. I always remind myself to just keep going, eventually, it will pay off.

What is your derby goal/dream? I am competitive within the sport so would really love to achieve the highest level possible for me. I’m not that young and I had far to come (as I was not remotely fit when I started) so I recognize that I will never be the best player there is, but I would really love to get to Team Ontario if I could, that would be a neat thing to achieve.