A fierce competitor

Her teammates call her “D-Ball.” But off the skating rink, Despina Markidis is her real name.

An Oceanside High School alum, Markidis has grown to love skating. And her start in the sport came unexpectedly one night, when she was attending an event in Seaford.

“There was this fundraiser and one skater girl came up to me at a bar, playfully hit me in the back and told me to join the team,” she said. “It’s a weird story. I just jumped into it and didn’t know what I was getting myself into. ”

The team Markidis later joined — the Long Island Roller Rebels — would soon become her true calling. Markidis has been a team member since 2007.

Since that time she has forged multiple friendships and competed in numerous skating bouts, or competitions, against female teams from the Jersey Shore, upstate Hudson Valley and even out of state in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maine.

The Long Island Roller Rebels now consist of two teams: the All-Stars and the Rock-a-Betty-Bruisers. Markidis plays for the latter, though she played for the All-Stars last season. Playing for them became time exhausting, however, and joining the other team for this upcoming season was the best decision.

Markidis, who works in an accounting firm, will be in attendance for the team’s first match of the season, which kicks off March 12 at the home skating rink in Old Bethpage. It’ll be her fourth season.

“Competing builds up my confidence,” she said. “The girls in the league are great… Skating has gotten me back into shape, too.”

Markidis and her teammates aren’t merely fierce competitors. They also participate in fundraisers and charity events on Long Island. They, too, are involved in various league committees, such as those for Public Relations, Bouts and Graphic Designs.

The purpose of the skating league is to support an all-female flat track roller derby league as part of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. There are three practices a week during the season, and skaters are required to attend seven practices a month minimum, although they usually attend more. Regional and national championships are held annually at different locations after each season is completed.

Markidis, who lives near the Rockville Centre/Oceanside border, graduated from Oceanside High School in 1991. She later attended Nassau Community College, and attended Chubb Institute where she graduated with a degree in Web Design in 2001.

“I’m super pumped,” Markidis said about the upcoming skating season. “Being a Roller Rebel rocks.”