CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT: Nicole Bouchier

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Posted: 5/1/08

Senior psychology major Nicole Bouchier, AKA "Claudia Van Damage," has been a member of the Houston Roller Derby team for a year. Roller Derby is a sport that incorporates entertainment with high-contact athleticism. For information on upcoming bouts, visit www.houstonrollerderby.com.

Q: How did you get involved with Roller Derby?
A: I had just moved back [to Houston], and I wanted to do something. I needed a hobby. I heard about it and saw a video and thought it was the coolest thing ever. What attracted me was that it was a sport and it wasn't traditional, but it's also a sisterhood. I have 60 immediate friends and they all know who I am.

Q: What is your team called and what is the attitude of the team?
A: The Burlesque Brawlers. We have a really good spirit. We were all kind of rookies last year, so we had a rough season. We're really fun girls and known as the nicest girls in the league. We're so new that we don't have that totally mean attitude yet. We're really outgoing and fun. At the after-parties, we're the ones still there at 2 in the morning, dancing, but we have a good work ethic. We're supposed to be burlesque dancers gone bad, but we don't really push that.

Q: What is your role on the team?
A: I'm a blocker. I don't score points, but I assist the jammer [the scorer] for my team and hit the other blockers or the jammer from the other
team. Last season, I had three jammer take-outs in a bout, which means I knocked her out of bounds. We're mostly defensive players.

Q: What are common misperceptions about roller derby?
A: That it's fake. It's not fake. Nothing is fixed. There aren't really too many catfights. It's not like that anymore. We [the women in the league] own the league. We wouldn't fix anything. We do it because we love the sport. Also, that it's not a sport. It is. We train really hard, and it's tough.

Q: Why are pseudonyms used?
A: It's like being able to have a second personality. On the league there are lawyers, elementary school teachers, office managers, students like myself… We all have regular lives except for we get to have this second personality. We can't usually act this way. This is an outlet and the name is a representation of that.

Q: Why do you think the combination of a high-impact sport and burlesque is so appealing?
A: We're really pushing this as a sport, but it used to be considered more a form of entertainment. The costumes and the names keep that entertainment value. They also bring people in and draw the crowd.