women, lessons that can be internalized and trans-
ferred to any aspect of our lives.

When | talked about roller derby to my friends and
acquaintances, | could tell that most of them either did
not have a clue what roller derby was or had the same
misconceptions as | did. They thought that derby is
where girls hit girls and it’s kind of sexy because play-
ers wear fishnets and hot pants, and there are a lot of
booty actions to be seen. The images people have in
their minds don't equate the seriousness of the sport to
other professional sports. The sexy outfits and flamboy-
ant make-up surely are part of the derby culture, much
like a segment of a gene in your DNA. But just as human
beings are not defined according to a couple segments
of genes, derby deserves to be looked at with a more
holistic lens.

In fact, roller derby is very much like any other
professional sport, with leagues around the world
that jockey for a spot in the Roller Derby World Cup,
which was inaugurated in 2011 in Toronto, Canada,
and is held every four years with the next one being in
England in 2018. Modern roller derby is widely played
by all-female teams. As of 2017, the Women’s Flat Track
Derby Association (WFTDA) has 392 full member
leagues and 63 apprentice leagues worldwide. There
is also a growing trend in men’s and youths’ participa-
tion in the sports, with separate leagues, Men’s Roller
Derby Association (MRDA) and Junior Roller Derby
Association (JRDA), collaborating closely with WFTDA.
In fact, when roller derby first started in the 1930's, the
sport was played with co-ed teams.

For the sport to be recognized for its seriousness
and integrity in the modern time, it is necessary that
players get support from the public. In other words, the
public needs to see the metamorphosis of the sport
from the days of the stunted and theatrical roller derby
shows popularized with the onset of TV broadcasting
in the 70's. As the revival of the athletic roller derby
only started in the early 2000's, the industry is still in its
early stage at winning the hearts of the public. Here in
Castlegar, | have noticed that almost half of the town
shows up at hockey games, whereas at roller derby
games, the audience is comparatively smaller, some-
times not even enough to fill up the school gym. As a
person who's had eye-opening experiences with the
modern roller derby sport, | would encourage every-
one who likes to see something new to check out the
local games and cheer for Castlegar’s Dam City Rollers,

Rossland and Trail’s Roller Girls (RTRG), and Nelsons Kill
Joys whenever possible. Learn about the game and be
amazed by the power of girls on wheels. Who knows?
Perhaps you will decide to lace up yourself like | did!

One of my teammates once said to me, Ariel, you
will not walk out from derby the same person again.
Five months since | re-learned how to roll around in
quad-skates, | am not a wimpy terrified Bambi anymore.
| have passed the first skills test with some really cool
footwork that | had never imagined myself to be able
to do— plough-stop, t-stop, weaving in between 10
cones in 6 seconds, transitioning 180 or 360 degrees,
and even jumping! | still need to complete the neces-
sary 27 laps in 5 minutes and learn about the combat
techniques and strategies to be allowed on the track
with the big kids. The process was not all rainbows
and butterflies—more like rainbow bruises and cater-
pillar-to-butterfly. But as long as | am going to the
practices, | am not just reaping the physical improve-
ment but also building

a tenacious mind that
refuses to give up and

learning how to give and
receive support. Quite
frankly, | like myself more
now because of derby. My short-term
goal is to be able to play in either a scrim-

mage or an actual bout for the current

season (which ends in summer), and in the
long run, | hope to wear my roller derby
identity as "Scariel Chaos”, and inspire
more girls and women to challenge
their own limits and make the impos-
sible possible.

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