Part sport, part entertainment, roller derby is a pursuit like few others. With all due respect to its popular past, a group of local women have resurrected roller derby in Manheim Township and have firmly placed their own updated stamp on it.

They call themselves the Dutchland Derby Rollers. And they play their home bouts at the Overlook Activities Center's roller skating rink, 301 Golf Drive, Lancaster.

For spectators and participants alike, it's about as much fun as anyone can have on roller skates.

"It is a sport, but just like any other sport, there's a level of entertainment to it," said Miranda Boyd, a Roller who also serves as the marketing director for the team. "It's physically demanding and wildly entertaining."

"People will say, 'I saw this in the '60s and '70s when it was on TV,'" Boyd continued. "They have a concept of what it is, but they don't know it exists, that it's still happening, that it's still a lively sport."

An organization of about 30 mainly Lancaster County residents, the Dutchland Derby Rollers compete in eight bouts a year against similar teams from the Northeast region of the country. Games are played by five players from each team on the rink or track at one time - a jammer and four blockers.

Points are scored for each time a jammer laps an opposing blocker. Roller derby allows for a certain degree of physical contact, but rule-breakers are relegated to a penalty box, providing opponents with a strategic advantage on the track.

"It's huge, and the sport is definitely in a revival period in Lancaster," said Boyd. "We're seeing a lot of new players joining roller derby. A lot of us are newer to the sport. I think in general this sport continues to evolve."

The members of the Dutchland Derby Rollers weren't around during the sport's heyday in the 1970s, when it was aired on television. Back then, part of roller derby's entertainment value was linked to the drama and story lines surrounding the actual playing of bouts, as well as some of the players' colorful pseudonyms.

Through their contrived names like Reaper Cussions, Bangarang Banshee, Terror Swift and Dash Katchum, the Dutchland Derby Rollers are paying tribute to the sport's past.

"(Pseudonyms are) something that's always kind of been part of the sport," said Boyd. "It's kind of like a normal person by day and a roller derby personality at night. I think people would be shocked to learn who plays roller derby. It's a little bit of an alternative lifestyle, but it can be anybody. It's all kinds of people from all walks of life."

Typically, about 200 spectators attend Dutchland Derby Roller home bouts at Overlook Activities Center.

Boyd said there are 10 similar Roller Derby organizations within two hours of Lancaster.

"I think there's this motivation of finding something new to do," said Boyd. "Women have kind of gotten to this point. For a lot of us, it's finding what makes you happy in adulthood. It's like another hobby. We love what we do. It gives a lot of us a feeling of confidence and it gives us a sense of community. We care about what we do, and we care about one another."

For additional information about the Dutchland Derby Rollers, go to http://www.dutchlandrollers.com.