Afro Disiac, right, watches the Chippewa Valley Roller Derby jammer maneuver through the KRD pack in the Saturday, May 24, bout. (Kent Kraft/For the Gazette)

The reasons people are willing to give a new activity a try are nearly countless, but one of the everlasting reasons why someone commits to an activity they try is a sense of belonging. A feeling of community.

Maybe even so far as a newfound family.

This cycle has been the story for a number of members in Keweenaw Roller Derby (KRD) including current skating official Afro Disiac. While she didn’t know much about the sport or the team in this area, a member of the league at that time (Thimbleberry Slam, a skater who many current KRD skaters credit for getting them started) told Afro this might be a group that fit her vibe.

After a couple of times volunteering at bouts with KRD, Afro reflectively decided, “these are my people.” If she had any lingering doubt about joining up with the KRD squad, it was quickly erased when her new teammates already knew her well enough to give her a roller derby name.

Normally, choosing a derby name is a right of passage for a skater, but Afro Disiac was born not out of her own mind, but through the minds of a good friend who skates with Mid-State Roller Derby. For the record, she touts this distinction proudly and loves the name, finding it very fitting. As for her number, No. 88, she mentioned, “Well… it’s sexual,” and left it at that.

Afro officially joined up with KRD in 2016 and skated competitively for some time before becoming a skating official instead. This transition forced her to focus on the rules to a much finer detail than when she was a skater. Knowing what she knows now, she said, “how I got away with half the things I did while I was skating, I’ll never know.”

Even now, she admits she doesn’t feel she has a handle an all of the rules and nuances to the sport. There are “so many little, weird circumstances that could happen,” which she’s never even seen as a referee, she just hopes that everything she’s read is filed away in her brain to access it at the appropriate time. If not, she’s confident in her peers who are refereeing with her.

“After all,” Afro said, “that’s why there are seven of us; somebody hopefully knows something!”

For spectators who haven’t seen the sport in action before, Afro admits the rules can be daunting and the action fast-paced enough that she “doesn’t think anybody would ever catch onto derby their first time watching.” However, she recommends breaking it down into basics and watching for visual cues in the game to get a handle on things.

“The person with the star, you’re watching them go around, you watch the ref hold up their hand, and then you see the points go up,” she said. “It’s clear that’s the person that’s scoring, right?”

Anything beyond some of those basics are things spectators might need to ask questions about in order to understand more of the game play, something Afro highly recommends.

Other spectators, volunteers who are helping with the bout, and even the skaters themselves are all fonts of information new viewers should tap into. While you can’t exactly stop the bout to ask a skater a question, Afro says they’re more than happy to chat before and after the bout.

In fact, this is her recommendation to anyone out there contemplating joining up with KRD but maybe hesitant to do so: talk to members of the league. Join them at a social event, such as the after parties that take place at Shute’s after the bouts, or chat with them when you find KRD at one of the community events they support. She’s convinced you’ll be attracted to their magnetic personalities, and find that this team is one that is welcoming, supporting, and just waiting for you to join.

“We’re a big community, we’re a family, and we hope to spread that to the [Keweenaw] community as well,” she said. “We want to get more people active and involved, regardless of what that looks like. You don’t have to be on skates to be involved with derby; you can volunteer, or you can be a nonskating official. There’s always a space for everyone here, no matter where you come from. We’re an all-inclusive group.”

Beyond the general sense of belonging Afro obviously feels among the KRD team, she also points out the memories there are to be made. One of her favorite memories so far in her career was the team trip up to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, the one and only time since she’s been with the squad that they’ve traveled outside the United States. Whether the bouts have a team traveling here or if the KRD squad travels abroad, Afro finds the sense of connection creates a great atmosphere for the bout, and they all involve playing with great people.

For anyone who hasn’t been to a bout before, Afro encourages them to go, suggesting that same atmosphere she loves as a team member exudes throughout the Calumet Colosseum during the competition. The events are family friendly and, quite simply, a lot of fun.

If you want to know more about supporting the team in any way, you can visit the KRD website at https://keweenawrollerderby.com/. The next home bout for KRD comes up on June 28 at the Calumet Colosseum as they take on the Traverse City Toxic Cherries. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the first whistle blows at 6 p.m., and tickets can be purchased online in advance or the day of at the colosseum.