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The Wall Street Journal:

The first thing Amy Dinn learned about roller derby was that competitors slam into people. "I was sold. I thought, this sounds so fun."

Ms. Dinn, a 36-year-old civil trial attorney with the law firm Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Houston, had been working out one to two times a week when she could find the time. But roller derby demanded more. "Suddenly I was working out five times a week and really pushing myself. I had no idea how hard it was going to be physically," Ms. Dinn says. To accommodate her evening workouts, she comes into the office earlier and works weekends.

Ms. Dinn says roller derby suits the nature of her job. "Litigation is a high-stress profession," she says. "Sometimes you have to be aggressive and stand your ground on your position."

Many people's most recent memory of roller derby was the 2009 film "Whip It" starring Drew Barrymore. "Derby is a sport and that sometimes seems forgotten in the snippets seen in the movies and TV shows," says Ms. Dinn. "The roller derby of today is not the same as it was in the '70s. It is an empowering sport for female athletes. It's also a sisterhood."

Game play consists of a series of short matchups (called jams) in which both five-member teams designate a scoring player (the jammer). The team scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. The teams attempt to assist their own jammer in staying ahead while hindering the opposing jammer—in effect playing offense and defense simultaneously.

Ms. Dinn competes in three to four games a month at the local and national level. Team members have skater names. Ms. Dinn is the Prosecutor.

Gardere Attorney Amy Dinn in The Wall Street Journal article

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Ms. Dinn says being part of a team also helped her strike a better work-life balance. "I found myself working more efficiently so I could get out the door and get to practice."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203479104577124573567538192.html

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