The Mississippi Brawl Stars do not smash chairs over each other’s heads. There are rules and ladies involved.
The Brawl Stars roller derby team will host its last home bout “Malice in Wonderland” Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Columbus Fairground’s Lavender Coliseum. The North Shore Lethal Ladies from the Mandeville-Covington areas of Louisiana will be the Brawl Stars’ opponents. Admission to the fair is $2.
The Brawl Stars enter the final stretch of the season with a record of 2-2.
Andi Hannigan or “Kandi Pain,” certified veterinary technician at the College of Veterinary Medicine and MSU alumna, said the derby team has grown and got better.
“We’re not horrible,” Hannigan said. “We are beating other people.”
The derby ladies come together as a team from across the Golden Triangle area. Among the team members are MSU students, alumni and Starkville residents.
One of the Starkville residents is Shannon Voges-Haught or “Shananconda.” Voges-Haught is the team’s president and captain. She discovered the team through an article in the “Starkville Daily News” and has been on the team for four years.
“I thought it was really awesome,” Voges-Haught said. “I just showed up to a practice, and they haven’t been able to get rid of me since.”
Founded in April 2010, the Brawl Stars have built a fierce family unit as well as an improving derby team.
Amanda Ready or “Snarly Quinn,” junior animal and dairy science major and the Brawl Stars’ head of recruitment and treasurer, said she is close with all of her teammates.
“It’s like we are one big, happy family,” Ready said. “It’s really amazing that we are all so different, and we have this one huge thing in common. That’s what makes us so close to one another. We’re like siblings.”
Even though no two members are alike, the team is a cohesive unit.
“It’s really a sport for all women of all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities,” Voges-Haught said. “Our youngest player is 18, and our oldest player is 47. We have women who are 5’2” and 100 pounds, and we have women who are 6’2” and weigh 200 pounds. There’s a place for everyone in the sport.”
The members’ uniqueness and unity can be seen in their names. No roller derby name is the same. Each is unique to the individual.
“I’m a big comic book nerd, so I just started listing characters and substituting words. That’s how I came up with ‘Snarly Quinn,’” Ready said. “I like it. It fits my personality.”
Others have used their roller derby names to harness their alter egos.
“I have a phobia of snakes. I can’t look at a picture of a snake,” Voges-Haught, “Shananconda,” said. “I thought it was a cute pun on my name, and I thought it was a fun idea to take the thing I fear the most and turn it into something I can use to give me strength.”
After “Malice in Wonderland,” the team will travel to Milton, Fla., on Oct. 12 to face the Emerald City Roller Derby for its last bout of the season.
“We have a saying in roller derby that there is no off season,” Voges-Haught said. “We practice all year.”
Potential members can contact the Brawls Stars at [email protected]. New recruits for skaters and volunteers are welcomed.
For more information about the Mississippi Brawl Stars and “Malice in Wonderland,” visit mississippibrawlstars.com.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Courtesy Photo | Allen Greshman

The Brawl Stars duel together as sisters.