Santa Cruz Rollergirls Founder Rolls On
Apr 2, 2009, by | Read more: News
New name, logo and tax status accompany the change in leadership
Fans flocking to the Santa Cruz Rollergirls inter-league bout between the Beach Flat Betties and the Lost Girls on Saturday night will notice that a couple of fixture rollergirls are missing. The first is league founder Robin “YoLife” Hoff—who will likely be watching from the crowd rather than down on the floor–and the second is the pinup roller dolly that graces the team’s logo, as well as all the SCRG merchandise. “We’re not selling merch at the game. I think some people might be freaked out by that,” says rollergirl spokesperson Evie Smith, a.k.a. blocker Raven Von Kaos.
That’s because as of March 30, the Santa Cruz Rollergirls are, for all intents and purposes, no more. Say hello to the Santa Cruz Derby Girls. “Our league is transitioning into a non-profit. In early May, we’re unveiling the new name and a new logo,” says Smith. “All the members are still here, all the same games are lined up.”
Well, not all the members. While the league has, from an outside perspective, enjoyed raucous success in its first year of operation—an amazing first season record and sold-out bouts from start to finish—the everyday grind of running a 30-girl team, from both a business and sports team perspective, has taken its toll. And hence, Hoff, who brought the sport to Santa Cruz from Seattle, where she played for the Rat City Rollergirls for three years, has resigned her position on the board of directors, effectively passing the torch and dissolving the Santa Cruz Rollergirls LLC. “This to me was just a project, a very worthwhile one and an obviously successful one, but sooner or later there was going to be a time when I needed to just back out and let them take the helm,” Hoff says.
Though both Hoff and the rest of the team say there is no animosity between them, neither party will comment explicitly on the reasons that Hoff’s departure coincides with the non-profit filing and the change in name—or why her resignation was accompanied by her exit from the team. “It was an opportune time for all of us,” says Smith.
Until this point, Hoff’s was the sole name on the business’ LLC, and the fact that she took on the roll of coach, team captain and business head meant that many final decisions fell to her, a system that over time became untenable to both parties. “The way things were being done wasn’t working for the league,” says Smith. “[Last season,] we didn’t really know what we were doing. We definitely relied on her, she was definitely the momma bird.”
Hoff agrees that she took on too much, but makes some allusion to the fact that her departure may not have been perfectly smooth. “It’s not easy to let go even though you know that you need to,” she says. “No matter what has happened in the transition, I don’t think it matters as much as knowing that these are motivated and smart women wanting to carry things on. It makes me so proud.”
Regardless, the team is positioned to begin operating in its new non-profit skin, and has already commissioned help from Jimbo Phillips, creator of the Santa Cruz “screaming hand” logo, to help them put a face (and a body) on their new identity. “Make her curvy,” says Smith. “The old logo for me was cute, but it never felt like it represented us and how powerful we are.” As for the old uniforms, shirts, hats and stickers with the rail-thin roller vixen? “They’ll become collectors’ items,” says Smith. - Jessica Lussenhop
