Issue 10, Volume 123
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Track club hosts race Night runners take to the streets in annual 5K around campus Gabrielle O’Neal Contributor
Melodi Erdogan • The Daily Beacon
The Hard Knox Roller Girls have been competing since 2006 and are currently ranked 108th in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.
Roller derby attracts fans, gives back Cortney Roark
Staff Writer Knoxville is home to the Hard Knox Roller Girls, who come together to compete in the full contact sport of roller derby. When not slamming opponents into the ground, the Girls find ways to give back to the community. Roller derby is a sport in which teams play offense and defense at the same time. Five girls from each team are on the track. One player from each team, called the jammer, scores the points while the other four players, called blockers, block the opposing team’s jammer. “It’s so fast-paced and full contact and hard-hitting,” Lee “Space Riot” Yarnell said, blocker for the Hard Knox Roller Girls. “All of these women are doing it. It’s so physically
demanding, and they’re doing it with wheels on their feet. You have people turning around and skating on one foot while avoiding a hit or trying to get a hit.” The Hard Knox Roller Girls are ranked 108 in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. The Hard Knox Roller Girls Brawlers, made up of newer team members, suffered a 331-81 loss to the Richland County Regulators of South Carolina Saturday. The Hard Knox Allstars, made up of more experienced team members, suffered a 207-104 loss to Florida’s Gainesville Roller Rebels, ranked 54, Saturday. “Playing against such a hard team, I feel like we did really well,” Space Riot, team member for three years, said. “We didn’t get distracted by what they were doing. We communicated and I think it worked to our advantage.”
Roller derby is unlike any other sport, according to Kristin “Wrecking Ball” Johnson, blocker for the Hard Knox Derby Girls. It appeals to a diverse group of players, from college students to women with full time jobs and children, and is a challenging and aggresive sport to play. “It takes determination to do this. If you’re determined to do it, you’re going to get where you need to be physically and mentally,” Wrecking Ball, who joined the derby girls in 2010, said. “This is the hardest sport mentally and physically I’ve ever played. You have to want it really bad.” Hard Knox Roller Derby is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. A different charity is supported in each bout. Saturday’s bouts supported the YWCA of Knoxville, which helps See DERBY on Page 2
On Wednesday July 3 at 9 p.m., the Knoxville Track Club will host their 15th annual Fireball Classic 5K. The race is sponsored by Pilot, Shoe Carnival, Dicks Sporting Goods and others. The race will begin in front of the University of Tennessee Veterinary School on Neyland Drive with the turnaround adjacent to Neyland Stadium. The course wraps around the UT campus near the Tennessee River. The Fireball Classic is a unique run that will appeal to casual runners as well as competitive runners. The course will be flat, fast and well-lit. Knoxville Track Club is a good way to get on your feet for those who like to run. “My friend Becca runs with them and does stuff like half marathons with them,” said Taylor West, a junior who has run several half marathons. Knoxville Track Club holds a number of runs and marathons throughout the year. “I was looking up some shorter races to run before I ran my half marathon in May, and I stumbled upon their website,” said Lindsey McGirl, a senior in psychology who ran a half marathon last year. “They have a whole page devoted to upcoming races in the surrounding areas with their distance and contact information to sign up.” The Fireball Classic 5K, unlike most marathons, is at night.
“I think night races are more fun,” said McGirl, who unfortunately will not be able to make the race this year. “Especially when it is so hot during the day.” If past races are any indication of what this year’s race will be like, the night will be steamy because of late afternoon thunderstorms with a high of 87 degrees and a low of 66 degrees, according to Knoxville Track Club’s website. Knoxville Track Club began in1962 when eight track enthusiasts met at the home of B.E Sharp, who was the track coach at Fulton High School at the time. KTC celebrated its 50th anniversary during the spring of last year. The club is responsible for a number of marathons in the area, such as the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon held every spring. The mission of KTC is to encourage lifelong physical well-being through walking and running. With more than 2,100 members, the club is one of the largest clubs of its kind in the country. KTC is a part of Road Runners Club of America, Knoxville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Knox Area Greenway Coalition. KTC raises money at their own races and assists a number of local causes, such Knoxville Greenway Coalition, Tennessee School for the Deaf and a yearround Youth Athletics program for East Tennessee children. The club also trains athletes for regional and national completions.
Professor discovers rare birds in Kodak Anthony Elias
Staff Writer Weather did very little to stop Arik Kershenbaum and his research team from finding Prairie Warblers this week. Thunderstorms at Seven Islands Wild Life Refuge Center in Kodak, Tenn. postponed Thursday morning’s bird-calling research to Friday morning at the Forks of the River Wild Life Management Area in South Knoxville. A group of undergraduate students at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis attended the workshop and helped assemble advanced recording equipment in order to track bird calls. On the closing weekday, Kershenbaum and his research group recorded a Prairie Warbler, a tail-wagging yellow warbler with black streaks down its sides which is normally found in scrubby fields and forests throughout the Eastern and South-Central United States. Despite its name, this species of birds can be found, not found on prairies, but in Florida. They fly north to Tennessee during the summer breeding season. “It’s sort of an ascending buzzing call,” Kelly Sturner, an education and outreach coordinator for NIMBioS, said. “That’s probably the best way to describe it.” NIMBioS formed from a new collaboration between the National Science Foundation and the other agency sponsors, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nineteen undergraduates are participating in the 2013 NIMBioS Research Experiences for Undergraduates, REU, for eight weeks. During the program, participants have been living on campus and working in teams with NIMBioS postdocs and UT faculty to conduct research at the interface of mathematics and biology. The award includes a stipend, housing and some funding to support travel. NIMBioS’s REU program is in its fifth year. Kershenbaum, an expert on analyzing animal vocal communications, was accompanied by Sturner, wildlife scientist David Buehler, UT graduate student Mathey Menachery and Marist College student Nicole Bender, Southeastern Louisiana University student See BIRDS on Page 2
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Hannah Cather • The Daily Beacon
While it is illegal to shoot or sell fireworks in Knoxville, sparklers are permissible.
Festival brightens up World’s Fair Cortney Roark
Staff Writer On Independence Day weekend, Knoxville is full of people looking for the closest spot to swim, cook out and watch fireworks. With The City of Knoxville’s Festival on the Fourth, taking place at the World’s Fair Park in the heart of Knoxville and various lakes on the outskirts of the city, Knoxville lives up to the expectations of Independence Day.
Turn to page 3 for an interview with Wu Tang Clan’s U-God
Festival on the Fourth, presented by OneMain Financial, will take place Thursday. This festival is free and begins at 4 p.m. with various events leading up to the fireworks show at 9:35 p.m. Located within walking distance of Market Square, Festival on the Fourth is an all-day event. Market Square is home to multiple restaurants and ice cream shops to enjoy while at the festival. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra will perform a special Independence Day medley, conducted by Lucas Richman, KSO musical director and a Grammy Award-winning art-
ist. This performance will begin at 8 p.m. on the World’s Fair Park performance lawn and will lead into the fireworks show. Multiple events will lead up to the KSO performance. Free rides and activities for kids will take place on the festival lawn throughout the evening and a tugof-war competition will be held between the Knoxville Police Department and the Knoxville Fire Department. Accompanying these events on the festival lawn will be music sponsored by WDVX, See INDEPENDENCE DAY on Page 2
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