Skater Spotlight

Skater Spotlight: Leihan “Bloody Fairy” Pittman

Better late than never, introducing our February skater of the month, Bloody Fairy!

fairyName: Bloody Fairy
Number: 131
Team: Dirty Harriets & Space Oddities
Member of OCRD since: 2013

Give us a quick ‘n dirty rundown of who you are.

Who am I?  That’s a good question.  I wear many hats. I work at the University of Alberta in Newborn Screening and Biochemical Genetics as a lab assistant. I’m also a mom of two amazing kids. I’m an eternal optimist and your biggest cheerleader.


Is there a story behind your name/number?

13 is my favorite number.  Friday the 13ths are my favorite days but 13 was taken. I chose 131 because my birthday is Jan 31 and it had 13 in it.  Seemed to make sense.

When I chose my name I had a hard time thinking of something that represented me accurately.  I’m not exactly intimidating.  I chose Bloody Fairy because I worked in a lab taking blood for 12 years. Then moved over to the blood bank for a few more years. It was fitting and I still get to sparkle.

How, when, and why did you get started in roller derby?

I wanted to try derby for years but was too scared to. I finally decided to take the plunge because people laughed and told me I couldn’t do it. I’d get killed. I wasn’t tough or mean enough.   I’ve never played any sports. I’m not athletic but they’re not laughing anymore.

Why did you pick OCRD for your league?

I didn’t even check out other leagues. OCRD Was an immediate fit. I felt immediately encouraged and supported. I felt at home.

What position do you like to play the most and why?

I’m built like a blocker but I prefer to jam.  I’d love to be an amazing jammer one day.

What is your best derby memory?

My best derby memory…yikes there’s so many. I’d say my very first bout in Ft. St. John. I actually played like I knew what was going on. Haha.
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Bloody Fairy at the Battle of the Names, where Space Oddities took the win. Photo (c) Ruby Rocket

The best part was when pile driver came to me after celebrating heavily and said…loosely quoted..”Bloody when I heard you were on my line I was like. …oh f**k. Great. But you really showed up and you were there.” I laughed because when I found out I was on her line. I had the same reaction.  Oh f**k. Great. Only because I had a history of constantly getting under her feet in practice. I knew I was a source of irritation a lot for her. It all worked out.

Number 2 best memory was when Trip decided to bully me on my first scrimmage when I was jamming. I didn’t know jammers could block and hit each other. It was a great learning experience even if I was clueless to what the hell was going on. So thanks for that!

Any plans or goals for your future in roller derby?

Just to keep improving.

Have any advice for future skaters (fresh meat)?

If it’s uncomfortable then it’s likely something that needs to be worked on the most. Power through. Don’t worry about how you look. You don’t get better by standing around looking pretty. Attitude is everything. You can turn anything around with the right attitude. You can’t control a lot of things but how you react you can.

Anything else you’d like to say?

I love my derby family.

And we love you, Fairy!