Ivanna S. Pankin

Who is Ivanna S. Pankin?

Denise Grimes, known as Ivanna S. Pankin, is a roller derby skater and organizer.

Grimes grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She spent a large amount of her youth roller skating at a local rink, and watched RollerGames. She spent her twenties around the punk rock scene, playing in bands, and writing fanzines. Although she never played any sports, she did retain fond memories of roller derby, and signed up for the mailing list for the Bay City Bombers, a surviving banked track league, albeit one with no scheduled games.

While Grimes spent some time working as an artist in San Francisco, California, she moved back to Arizona around the turn of the millennium. While there, she adopted the name "Ivanna S. Pankin", for her musical performances. Inspired by an old poster for the Unholy Rollers movie, she founded Arizona Roller Derby in mid-2003. She recruited skaters through local advertisements, and did not initially have a clear plan as to how the league would train or play, instead expecting that the team would work out these things together, an approach inspired by her background in the punk movement.

Although Grimes was not initially aware of the existence of other roller derby leagues, a neighbor introduced her to a friend who was involved in the Texas Rollergirls, and she persuaded a friend to start Tucson Roller Derby, these leagues forming much of the early impetus for the revival of the sport. In November 2003, she organised the first interleague bout in flat track roller derby, against the LA Derby Dolls, and she captained Arizona for its first bout against Texas. She was increasingly contacted by fledgling leagues elsewhere, providing ideas and guidance.