Tim Patten
Encyclopedia
Tim Patten is a former roller derby
athlete and a self-published author under the pen name D.M. Bordner.
In 1973, Patten moved from Wisconsin
to San Francisco. He studied computer science in college and has worked off and on in the computer industry ever since.
Patten skated for various professional roller derby leagues from 1973 to 1992. In 1988 he became owner of the San Francisco Bay Bombers team. He later formed his own league, the San Francisco-based American Roller Derby League (ARDL), which has gone through several incarnations but generally focuses on promoting a team named the Bay City Bombers. The award-winning documentary film Jam, screening at film festivals and special events in 2006, followed Patten's attempts, from 1998 to 2004, to find success with his league.
For four years, while seeking treatment for an HIV-related brain infection, Patten wrote the novel Roller Babes: the Story of the Roller Derby Queen, which he self-published under his sister's name in 2005. She receives his royalties. The novel was described in an independent, Michigan-based publication as "a fictional yet historically accurate and personalized account of the national women's roller derby leagues in the 1950s". Film rights to the novel were sold to Kaliber Films in July 2006.
Roller derby
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
athlete and a self-published author under the pen name D.M. Bordner.
In 1973, Patten moved from Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
to San Francisco. He studied computer science in college and has worked off and on in the computer industry ever since.
Patten skated for various professional roller derby leagues from 1973 to 1992. In 1988 he became owner of the San Francisco Bay Bombers team. He later formed his own league, the San Francisco-based American Roller Derby League (ARDL), which has gone through several incarnations but generally focuses on promoting a team named the Bay City Bombers. The award-winning documentary film Jam, screening at film festivals and special events in 2006, followed Patten's attempts, from 1998 to 2004, to find success with his league.
For four years, while seeking treatment for an HIV-related brain infection, Patten wrote the novel Roller Babes: the Story of the Roller Derby Queen, which he self-published under his sister's name in 2005. She receives his royalties. The novel was described in an independent, Michigan-based publication as "a fictional yet historically accurate and personalized account of the national women's roller derby leagues in the 1950s". Film rights to the novel were sold to Kaliber Films in July 2006.
External links and references
- baycitybombers.com - Web site through which Patten promotes his league and roller derby in general
- Sports Complex: Roll Bounce - An author's obsession with roller derby - pridesource.com (Pride Source Media Group) article by Jim Provenzano, about Patten and his Roller Babes book. Originally printed November 2, 2006 in Between The Lines News issue 1444.
- JAM the Movie - Web site for the documentary about Patten and his league