Roller derby is back. Women on wheels.

Fearless women with alter egos and dynamic superhero costumes. Talk about empowerment. The trend is rolling across the nation, and our slice of Florida is no exception.

The name of the home team? The Bradentucky Bombers. We caught up with them recently. It wasn’t easy. Fortunately, they had their skates off.

Let’s start with Amanda Jesse. By day, she’s the CEO of Bradenton’s Porcupine Marketing Solutions. On the track, she’s the unstoppable Prosehack-skating avenger.

Being a professional media guru, she’s also the Bombers’ publicity chairperson.

Jesse quickly sets me straight. “Roller derby is back, but it’s a totally different animal.

This time, it’s for real. It’s not the spectacle of the 1970s with staged moves and . Xed outcomes. Today’s roller derby is a legitimate, full-contact, amateur sport, and I’ve got the bruises and badass shoulder scar to prove it.” She tells me a brief history of the team.

“It’s one of the few ideas to come out of Las Vegas that was actually good,” she says with a laugh.

Back in 2006, the team’s founder, Gigi RaMoan (a public school teacher who guards her identity) spotted some graf. Ti for the Sin City Rollers in the Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas. “We need a team like that in Bradenton,” she decided. Her husband agreed, and came up with the team’s name on the spot. Back home, she found a pair of vintage skates, which, legend has it, . T her like Cinderella’s slippers. She painted . Ames on the sides, wheeled into action And passed out . Yers. Soon, the team was born.

From a core of 30 skaters in its . Rst year, the Bombers grew to today’s happy band of 54, ranging in age from 18 to 50-plus. The original team is now a league. It’s divided into an A team and a B team: the All-Stars and the Nuclear Bombshells. Judging by their skater names, these are women you wouldn’t want to mess with: Viki Van Go, Bruisy Lawless, Ann Thrax, Mission Mary Position, Poison Apple, Suicidoll Hotline and Yakuza Girl, to name a few. Their costumes range from punk to funk, to no-nonsense sports gear and full-out sexy. They’ll show you some fancy moves on the track. And lots of . Shnet stockings.

Who are these women?

“You name it,” says Jesse. “We’re moms, artists, medical professionals, small business owners, waitresses, Web designers, motorcycle mechanics and baristas. It’s a very diverse group. Roller derby breaks down barriers, and that’s one thing I love about this sport. You make friends with people you’d never meet otherwise.” Of course, it’s not all that friendly on the track. Hugs and kisses, it isn’t.

Jesse laughs. “Yeah. You always hurt the ones you love. Roller derby is a full-out, fullcontact sport, and, sure, it’s aggressive.

Everybody is friends after the game. At the after-parties, we’re all hugging each other and sharing photographs and stories. In the game, we don’t play nice.” Are there . Ghts?

“We never start . Ghts.” She says this seriously — then smiles.

“We end them.” No kidding. Their bout with the Jacksonville RollerGirls is the stuff of legend.

“It’s a sport,” says Jesse. “We’re there to play the game. It’s not a hockey mentality.

Nobody’s thinking, ‘We want to start a . Ght. We want to create a spectacle, throw some red meat to the audience.’ We’re out there to play, period.” Jesse gets that wicked smile again.

“If you want to start a . Ght, bring it on.

We’re used to explaining the black eyes in the morning.” There are rules, of course. Not too many.

As a sport, Roller derby has the beauty of simplicity. Each team has . Ve women. Only one — the jammer — scores all the points.

It’s a totally non-violent job. All the jammer has to do is pass a member of the opposing team. Each time she does, she gets a point. Her four teammates guard her and try to keep her rolling. Her opponents try to bring her down. That occasionally does get rough.

And that’s all there is to it. Of course, it’s not that simple, as Andrea Norris (a.k.a. Vixen DaCrushHer) quickly points out. She’s the league’s vice president and one of its co-founders.

“It’s a very competitive sport,” Norris says. “But it’s not all smash, bash, crash.

There’s more to it than knocking each other down. There’s teamwork. There’s strategy.

There’s physics. You’re dealing with constantly moving targets. Everything moves so fast, you’re constantly changing your strategy on the . Y. It’s a surprisingly mental game.” Not surprisingly, it’s also very physical.

And, yeah, there are injuries. During one game, Norris hurt her back — badly. She’s been out of the game for three years now.

“I took myself out,” Norris says. “You can’t hold back in this game. If you’re in pain and not giving 110 percent, it’s unfair to your teammates.” She adds that, “Injuries come with the territory. If you put on the skates and get out there, sooner or later you’re going to get hurt. Sometimes it’s minor, sometimes serious. It’s not a question of if, but when.” With physical therapy, Norris may get back in.

But only when she’s ready. That’s the game.

Bruises, scars, broken bones, black eyes.

That’s roller derby. The players know it full well.

For the members of the Bradentucky Bombers, the bene. Ts far outweigh the risks.

There are bene. Ts for the rest of the community.

Like all costumed superheroes, the Bradentucky Bombers are do-gooders.

When they’re not cracking heads, they’re raising money for Raise HIV and AIDS Awareness, and other causes.

There are physical bene. Ts. “It’s phenomenal exercise,” says Jesse. “I came to the sport as a fairly athletic person, and I’d never encountered a workout this intense and complete. You train very hard and the results are great.” There are social bene. Ts. “There’s a great sisterhood,” adds Jesse. “You make friends for life. You cut to the chase and get real with people. Sometimes you get really real with them!” There are personal bene. Ts. “Derby has de. Nitely made me more assertive,” says Julie Wambaugh (a.k.a. Julie Seize-her).

“You get out of the habit of being pushed around — and it spills over into your home life, work and relationships.” She adds, “In a funny way, it has also made me more peaceful. Derby is a safe way to release my aggressions. I do my . Ghting on the track now, not with my friends and family.” On top of that?

Jesse smiles.

“It’s the most fun you’ll ever have without breaking the law.”