Melissa Chamberlain (left) sets up for the "whip"
Rocky Roller
Her 7th birthday party was at Mission Viejo’s Skateway. She unwrapped her first skates and ventured anxiously onto the “wobbly” blue plastic floor. Between rink visits she begged her parents for trips to the Carl Hankey School parking lot.
Skateway Mural
Melissa Chamberlain recalls at age 10 the rink’s DJ playing Madonna and Michael Jackson music during summer vacation sessions. Shortly thereafter she and her friends graced the blue floor on the day Skateway closed forever. They hoped their mass presence might reverse Skateway’s fate.
After the closing, the kids were relegated to skating the neighborhood.
“We’d cruise around the parking lot of the school and skate up to the corner store at Marguerite and Crown Valley for candy and ice cream sandwiches,” she says. ”The Cordovas [her family's housing tract] was a great place to be a kid.”
After graduating from Capo High, and following stints at Saddleback College and the Pasadena Art Center College of Design, Melissa headed for San Francisco where she later heard about a Bay Area Derby (B.A.D.) league. She was introduced to Thora Zeen, founder of the Los Angeles Derby Dolls, who inspired her to travel to LA to watch this unfamiliar game.
“From the minute Thora’s team, the Sirens, skated onto the track, I was hooked for life. Tough girls, fast music and roller skates! A total dream!” recalls Melissa. “I couldn’t even open my mouth, afraid I’d ruin the glorious moment unfolding in front of me. I knew then I had to be a derby girl!”
Miss Moxxxie
She could count on one hand the times she’d skated since younger days, but she began practicing and succeeded becoming a B.A.D. girl, known as ”Miss Moxxxie.” B.A.D. boasts the #1 ranked team in California and the #7 team in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Assn, Western Division.
“My parents come to see me in a few games,” says Moxxxie. “Although my mom might hide behind her hands and cringe a bit when I hit the floor really hard, I know they are both really proud to see where my roller skating roots have taken me.”
Thousands of Mission Viejoans trace their skating roots to Skateway where they were also transported into another world. It’s hard now to imagine the enchanted place once existed inside the building where business is now conducted by Trader Joes and the Party Place.
Although closed for over 20 years, Skateway has its own Facebook page with 1,700 members.
[Moxxxi photos courtesy of JoeRollerfan.com]
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats to Melissa for following her dream! I was hooked on watching Roller Derby on TV when I was a little girl (it was probably on black and white television at that time). I would sit transfixed and cover my eyes if one of the ladies fell. Glad to see it is making a comeback into the public’s awareness. Although I would not be brave enough to be a Derby girl, I still love the action (not the injuries!)
I miss Skateway!!
I miss Skateway too. I remember flashing lights and ’80s music when I was in elementary school. A little bit like a club from today, but much more innocent and music that I prefer. I remember their slurpees and popcorn as well. Memories of Skateway are linked to childhood friends and family friends who lived in the Laguna Niguel neighborhood where I lived during part of childhood. And of course, birthday parties at Skateway!
Very good memories of Skateway. I remember finally getting my first skates, being able to skate backwards, enjoying the speed skating segment.
Great memories thank you for bringing it up.