CINCINNATI, Ohio— You might not know that Cincinnati has a roller derby team. And this year the team has moved to a bigger, better home. Roller derby has grown in Cincinnati so much so that the Cincinnati Rollergirls will be playing in the Cintas Center this season.

• The Cincinnati Rollergirls have been in the city since 2005
• The team had played in several arenas including the Cincinnati Gardens before it was demolished
• Some teammates even live in Lexington and commute several times a week for practice

Roller derby is no easy sport. And for the teammates of the Cincinnati Rollergirls- they don’t mind getting a couple of bruises on the hardwood.

“If you’re a person who likes contact sports like football or hockey or something like that it sort of scratches that same itch and it’s a very physically aggressive sport,” Callie Wright, a jammer for the Rollergirls said.

The Rollergirls have been a part of the Cincinnati sports world since 2005 and have slowly grown along with the sport. Whitney Thompson has been on the team for 11 years. She actually lives in Lexington and commutes to practice three days a week.

“You just kind of build a family and all these friendships, and you make all these memories with all these amazing people, and it’s really hard to let go of that,” Thompson said.

For Wright, roller derby was the perfect way to get in shape and meet more people that are accepting of all walks of life.

“It is a place that is very queer and trans-inclusive, and as a trans person, sometimes I find it difficult to find social spaces where I feel like I belong and where I feel like I fit,” Wright said.

But once this team hits the floor- the focus is turned back to the sport that brings them all together. It may look like a bunch of people hitting one another on roller skates, but there’s actually a lot of strategy in the game.

“The basic idea is the person with the star on their helmet is trying to get past the opposing teams’ blockers as many times as possible to score as many points as possible,” Wright said.

And now more people than ever before can learn about the game by watching the Rollergirls at Xavier University’s Cintas Center- a change this team says is huge for the growth of the sport, especially after the Cincinnati Gardens, their former home was demolished.

“It just makes everything feel bigger and more important,” Wright said. “It’s the same game; it just feels bigger.”

“Going to Cintas is amazing,” Thompson said. “It’s like we have our Gardens back, but only better.”

The first game at the Cintas Center is March 21. If you want to buy tickets, you can go to their website.