Tucked away in a secret location downtown is a space of about 8,000 square feet, housing two practice tracks for the San Diego Derby Dolls, a high-ranking professional women’s roller derby team. Under low lights and an unfinished ceiling in an open warehouse lined with blue and red lockers, and gym equipment are two oval derby tracks. One is flat and the other banked — one track for each of the leagues in which the Derby Dolls compete. The location is kept under wraps for security reasons — the all-female team intends to avoid unwanted visitors. The Derby Dolls are the number one team in the country for teams that play on a banked track. Worldwide, it ranks at number 20. “This [roller derby] is one of the fastest-growing women’s sports in the country and the world,” said Lynsey Richardson, whose derby name is “Hebrew Hammer.” Who are they? The Derby Dolls are comprised of mothers, legal secretaries, financiers, lawyers, small business owners and teachers. Derby Dolls are all shapes and sizes, said Richardson. The Derby Dolls are comprised of four teams. The women hail from locations across San Diego County. They commit approximately 12 hours a week, plus entire weekends spent traveling to away bouts. Each player chooses a derby name, something unique to each woman. They are 18 years old and older. Here are some details about a few of the team mates: Angela Thompson, “PT Bruiser,” did not know how to skate when she attended tryouts five years ago. Now, she attributes her newfound leadership abilities — as one of the team captains — to the confidence she gained from simply playing the sport. Thompson, 41, is a mother, a legal secretary and a girlfriend, who is constantly attempting to find balance between the derby and her life. Trish Ethier, “Trish the Dish,” moved to San Diego in November 2008. She previously played roller derby in both Arizona and Nevada. The Derby Dolls drew her to San Diego. “It [roller derby] is more and more complex as people get better at it,” said Ethier, owner of Sin City Skates in Point Loma. She said there is no thrill like skating in the derby. Kelly Cameron, “Lemon Drop,” 44, started playing five years ago. She loves leaving her “normal” world behind and playing with some of the best women skaters in San Diego. The intensity is what continuously draws her into the sport. She is an MRI technician and a wife. “Screwy Lewis,” Steve McCargar, 34, is one of the few men allowed in the secret practice building. The reason: he is a referee for the practice session. What is the game all a-bout? A bout, as a game is called, takes 60 minutes and is either comprised of four 15-minute quarters or two 30-minute halves, McCargar said. Each round within a bout is one minute of play followed by 30 seconds of inaction during which the players get reorganized for the next minute’s action. The clock does not stop, except for time- outs. The banked track is more fast-paced and the hits are harder than on the flat surface, McCargar said. However, this does not make bouts on the flat track any less physical or intriguing to watch, he said. During a bout, four women from each team skate around the track and attempt to block, or hip check, opponents in an effort to clear a path for the jammer — the fifth woman from the team — to advance through the crowd. The jammer gains a point for each person she passes. “The object of the game is to slow and speed the track,” Richardson said. The women are simultaneously on both offense and defense, trying to thwart their opponents while supporting their own jammer. It is not uncommon to have scores in the high 100s. “It’s rough and tumble,” Richardson said. Regardless of the skill level, everyone starts in boot camp. “We love our boot campers because they are the little flames that keep us going,” said Jacquie Bazinet Tolson, “Shiva Mi Timbers.” Sometimes women drop out of boot camp because they do not realize the extent of the physical demands of the sport. To graduate from boot camp, a skater must pass a series of skill tests. One test is for the more commonly-seen “whips.” This is a skating maneuver involving one woman skating from behind and being “whipped” forward — thrust with momentum — by grasping the front skater’s arm and being propelled ahead. The attire for the bout is sporty and a bit sassy at the same time. “I think we want to keep a little bit of our feminine side while we’re hip checking and blocking our opponents,” Tolson said. The uniform needs to be functional, but still stand out as eye-grabbing team apparel. “You don’t want baggy fabric flapping about when you’re skating,” Tolson said. The women wear tight fitting outfits, which sometimes include fishnet tights and racier items. Each of the four teams within the Derby Dolls has its own uniform. Home games are played at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The away games can take them as far as Baltimore or as near as Los Angeles. The woman who started the San Diego Derby Dolls a little more than five years ago, Bonnie D’Stroir, was originally a coach for the Los Angeles team. However, she lived in Oceanside at the time and desired to start a San Diego team. The new season begins in January. However, the Derby Dolls season championship is Dec. 4 vs. the Tough Cookies in Los Angeles.