Mark Feb. 6 on your calendar ladies, it's the Hillbilly Hurt's "Fresh Meat" recruitment day.
The all-female roller derby team in 小蓝视频 East Sask Roller Derby Association (SESRDA) is looking for women age 18 and over of any shape, size or athletic ability to come try out a day of derby. So, if you're a woman and you're over 18, come down to the Trinity Lutheran Church in Estevan from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. on Feb. 6 and give it a try.
Equipment - skates and pads - are available free to all fresh meat; all you need is a helmet. Coach Skate Fink and the girls will be on hand to go over the basics - how to skate, shop, and fall without injuring yourself - and to answer any and all questions you may have.
As flat-track derby rolls into arenas, gyms, and community halls all across the globe, it's growing even faster here at home. With the emergence of new leagues - Brandon, Minot, Swift Current, and Moose Jaw to name a few - the Hillbilly Hurt and its sister team, the Strait Jackettes out of Weyburn, are looking to build strong teams to face their competition.
Many of the women on SESRDA's two teams have practiced together for months; however, they are still very much in training mode, and therefore need more girls to join the roller derby revolution.
While in training mode, the girls focus on learning their skills, rules and strategies of the game they love. The teams hope to hold couple of rookie bouts - games - in the 2011 season, with the anticipation of going all-in during the 2012 season.
But, in order to accomplish this goal, they need you.
"The girls come from every age and walk of life," says SESRDA president Breck "Billy Rock" Harris. "One of the greatest things about roller derby is you can be any shape, size, age or athletic ability. Anyone can play roller derby. Many of our girls hadn't laced up skates since their were kids, and so we are all learning together."
When a new girl comes out, she's paired up with an experienced girl for some one-on-one coaching to learn the basics before 小蓝视频 thrown into the mix. This ensures her safety and the safety of the other girls.
Despite the glorified spills and thrills of the sport, all players are required to adhere to stringent safety rules. Each skater must wear a helmet, mouth guard, elbow and knee pads, and wrist guards. Without them, the girls sit on the bench and watch all the fun from the sideline.
But fear not, if you don't want to play full-contact roller derby, there are many other opportunities to be involved from reffing or volunteering to playing on a rec. team.
Before a woman can ever roll onto a track during a bout, she has to pass her "benchmarks."
"There are certain requirements the girls need to meet before they can play," explains Kurt "Skate Fink" Hansen, Hillbilly Hurt's coach. "They have to pass a written exam testing their knowledge of game rules, pass an endurance test of 25 laps in under five minutes, and pass a physical test proving they can stop, fall, and hit properly without causing undue harm to other players."
Roller derby is played on a flat-track, allowing teams to turn any empty hockey rink into a roller rink with nothing but masking tape or pylons.
The Hillbilly Hurt's Fresh Meat Recruitment Day is Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Estevan. For more information about the league or how to become involved, visit us on Facebook: S.E. Sask Roller Derby Association, or send us an email at [email protected]
