Roller Derby Divas

How exactly does a roller derby work?
Roller Derby is an aggressive point scoring sport played on roller skates. We play flat track roller derby. Five players from each team are on the track at one time. These players are made up of four blockers (who make a pack) and one jammer. The jammer is the only player who can score points - which she does by passing players in the opposition. This is where all the fun happens - the blockers are trying to help their jammer through the pack and also stop the opposition jammer at the same time. Blockers use shoulder barges, hip checks and booty blocks to do this. A jammer will get 1 point for every opposition player she passes.

How did you first get into it?
A friend asked me to play and to get all my tough girl skateboarder friends to play too. I just wanted to see her on roller skates so I went along.

Why did it appeal to you?
I was surprised I could still skate relatively easily. I was looking for something to do during the winter months that didn’t include running and could help burn off all the beer and cheeseburgers I consume. I’m really competitive and it was physical. It’s quite a nice stress release and we get to pioneer a new sport. It felt like something I really wanted to belong to.

What’s the nastiest injury you’ve ever received?
I dislocated my shoulder playing a game at practice; I tore my armpit nerves and my tricep muscle. I’m sweet as now. I get a lot of fishnet burn too.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever seen?
I played for Team World against Team America last August in Las Vegas. During that game a girl from Team America broke her leg in 3 places. It didn’t look like much at the time as she sort of just fell over awkwardly. But she really buggered her leg. Our league has had some serious injuries, from a broken collar bone, dislocated shoulders, torn PCL’s (Posterior Cruciate Ligament) and meniscus,
to stitches.

Does it get bitchy and/or personal between the teams?
There is plenty of drama, we are all very competitive and no one likes losing. Unlike most sports, we as a league train together. It’s not the most fun experience to come to practice after losing to a team on the weekend.  The most important thing is we always make sure the league comes first. It’s ours - it’s owned by the skaters for the skaters. We’re the players, the refs, the owners and the operators of the entire thing.

How good do you have to be to get involved?
It takes about a year to be good enough to play roller derby. We can train beginners up and we encourage the complete beginner to go to one of the many learn to skate classes.  We have fresh meat practice and we teach everyone the skills they need to play this game safely - lots of falling drills, blocking and overall skating techniques.

How do girls get involved?
Come to our recruitment nights on the first Thursday of every month at the Thirsty Dog, corner of K Road and Howe St, or contact us through our website, www.piratecityrollers.com. We constantly update the events page too, so keep checking back for when we start in the new year.

Anything you’d like to add?
I love roller derby. I have found an amazing group of empowered women to hang out with and become friends with. It’s not very often in life that you get a chance to create and pioneer an entirely new sport and make up its culture, but that’s exactly what we’re doing. Roller Derby has changed my life.