Family
The Amazing Thing I Can Still Do at Age 67
Being a star in this sport makes me feel fit and joyful.
The big question today: Which multi-colored fishnet tights of the dozens of pairs I own will I wear with my spandex shorts, knee and elbow pads, wrist guards and shocking pink helmet?
I am meeting my amateur roller derby friends for an evening of skating on an oval indoor track, for the first time in seven years. And I am thrilled to still be in good shape and fairly confident I can perform basic moves without falling — even if I am a bit shaky.
It started when a group of girlfriends carpooled after work to the rink. We skated in sequined hot pants, bright bandanas under our helmets, learning passing tactics and derby lingo — like calling bruises rink rash and derby kisses.
Free skating at the end of the night feels like flying, and if the right disco song is blasting, all my earthly concerns evaporate. Our closest skating partners are called our derby wives — regardless of marital status. We skated in the local Fourth of July parade and people cheered!
It started years ago when a half dozen of us skated together weekly in non-competing roller derby sessions with relays, races, skill drills and mini-bouts until the founder left and the group disbanded. Then the indoor roller rink closed and life got in the way of our energizing weekly retreat.
Our membership skating group in the Chicago suburbs was different than any of the 1,250 official roller derby teams because we did not travel or compete in games. Those teams are part of the official Women’s Flat Track Derby Association with 400 member leagues on six continents.
We followed general designation rules as we skated doing the basics in exercises with bumping and blocking, but not hitting each other hard.
Quad roller skating (not on rollerblades but on skates with four wheels) is a sport that women have embraced in this country and abroad since the late 19th century. In 1885, a Wyoming newspaper reported: “The most popular amusement of today in America is the roller skating exercise where all the graceful curves and glides incident to ice skating, can be enjoyed without the discomfort of cold feet and frostbite.”
Get the Must-Read Newsletter for Older Women
Sign up for the free, weekly newsletter with the latest stories, expert advice, community updates, and more.
Today, an estimated 10 million people in this country roller skate, with the global roller skating market size projected at $5.41 billion in 2026. The market is predicted to surpass $9.31 billion by 2035, according to Business Research Insights.
The reason for the market expansion is interest in health and fitness, and that you can roller skate all year inside and out on smooth, flat ground. I love this sport because within the derby community — amateur and pro — there is no judgment on size, appearance, ability, age or identity. Everyone is welcome; there is blanket inclusion, acceptance and respect.
How many fitness spaces can claim that?
Unlike running or cardio training, roller skating is an alternative form of individual, solo workout. Yes, you can skate in a group, but you can also skate alone, which is why so many took to roller skating during and after COVID. Adult skate nights are popping up all over the country, according to the Roller Skating Association, founded in 1937. Minus potential falls and accidents, roller skating is good for body, mind and soul.
According to Health magazine, non-competitive roller skating is low-impact so it reduces the stress you put on your joints, improves your balance and “suits people with chronic muscle and joint pain, like arthritis or fibromyalgia.”
And unlike tennis, golf or pickleball, this is not an expensive activity as it does not require you to join a private club. Skates can cost $40 to $150, with protective gear adding up to another $60 or so.
The camaraderie is priceless.
In their 2025 research article, University of Illinois Professor Latashia Keys and co-authors write, “Social connections and support developed through roller derby created a sense of belonging; and roller derby participation improved skaters’ perceived physical, mental and social health.”
With my derby sisters and “wives,” I feel an intriguing sense of belonging, completely separate from my work as an author and a journalist, and separate from my role as a single mom to three sons. Skating is not about advancing my writing career, or helping my boys, it is about joy.
For just a few hours, my most serious concern is improving my time, stopping quickly, skating backwards and performing elegant crossovers. And yes, seeing what the other skaters are wearing and using our derby names exclusively.
Not a nefarious alter-ego, derby names are about creating a funny codename to share with other skaters in on the joke.
I am Mich The Masher and I skate with LaLa Land, Schmidtylicious, Hell Vetica (she owns a printing company), Hot & Swati, Mother Dunker, Smashious Clay (a professional ceramic artist) and one of my faves, Pepper Spray Patty.
In their 2014 book, Sport, Gender & Power: The Rise of Roller Derby, authors Adele Pavlidis and Simone Fullagar write of the unique “derby ethos” that is a “cultural landscape saturated with personal narratives, popular images and discourses of women’s empowerment that celebrate what women’s sporting bodies can do.”
No, it is not too late to return to something you love. For me, roller skating never gets old.
More From The Ethel
Relationships
7 C Words For Love That Lasts With Mr Right
Relationships
Widow Dating Again My Late Life Love Story
More for you, from AARP
We are a community from AARP. Discover more ways AARP can help you live well, navigate life, save money — and protect older Americans on issues that matter.