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As we continue to celebrate Pride Month we take a look at how communities are coming together from the huddle to the flat track.

“In 2010, I had no idea what roller derby was," said Rachel Dunbar of Ladies Death and Derby based in Madison County. “My cousin took me to my first bout and I thought it was the coolest greatest thing I'd ever seen.”

It’s a sport for those who are built and think just a bit different. In rinks, gymnasiums and anywhere skateable, Dunbar says derby brings people together.

“This is the space that we used to practice at, we were able to set up our track right here in the middle. And we were able to do both on skates and off skates workout,” said Jessica Keller.

Also known as ‘Dis-Figure Skate,’ Keller spent years on the ice. For the last five years she’s been proudly rolling with Ladies’ Death and Derby as part of their "Knockouts" team.

“Whether we were on the track or doing some off skates things just very busy, very involved very family-like," said Keller.

It helps with keeping in shape, keeping social and most importantly, keeping connected, says Keller.

“Our derby team is amazing. Everybody's always there. For each other whether it's you know, personal issues or things you know on the track,” said Keller. “We're always working together and looking to build each other up.”

Keller says the pandemic threw a wrench into the mix. Many teams are still looking for new homes to skate and new faces to join in. More than a decade ago, that was the case for Dunbar, who also goes by "Raggedy Annguish."

“I just discovered that I didn't have a lot of close friends as an adult and I am a very people person,” she said. “And so Derby brought me a new family that I never knew that I needed and I never knew existed in life.”

For "Raggedy" it was getting out and meeting people, but the big draw for her was camaraderie and acceptance.

“When you come to Derby, they're not like, ‘Oh, you're not very. You're not sporty, you're not in shape. You can't skate,’ — nobody cares,” she added. “We're going to take you under our wing, give you gear to us and just show you the ropes and hope you fall in love with it just like we did.”

Whatever you identify as and whoever you want to be with, it’s all about the time on eight wheels between the whistles, she says.

“It's built of people from all different walks of life and all different preferences in the LGBTQ community and outside and I think we just focus on bringing humans together. It's all about Derby and making you feel like you have a safe space to be who you are,” said Dunbar.  “We just want to bring you into our family and share the love of roller derby and everything that it's brought to each of our lives with anyone who's willing to take a chance,” she said.

Ladies Death and Derby, like a growing number of teams in the region, are looking to rebrand to promote even more inclusion for people of all gender identities.