It’s about building a team and community for the Bow Valley Roller Derby Lady Macs as their skills are sharpened while they simultaneously welcome “Fresh Meat” to the fold.
Returning to the track for the first time since the summer break, the black and red rollerblade rebels have been preparing for a date with the Gas City Rollers of Medicine Hat on Oct. 18; their final bout scheduled for 2014.
Two days before the rumble though, the team will hold a Fresh Meat night at the Elizabeth Rummel School gym in Canmore at 6:30 p.m. It is an open call for Bow Valley women interested in roller derby.
Joanne “JoJo” Bokitch, an offensive blocker specialist for the Lady Macs, said no background in athletics or skating are required to join and she has seen a positive growth in the contact sport despite the transient nature of the Bow Valley.
“We seem to be growing as a team, so we’re adding bouts (each year),” Bokitch said about the team’s four-year existence. “Last year our team competed in four bouts, and we also have skaters who go to other teams, so we had some skaters compete in as many as 15 bouts last year.
“The team can’t expect to be the exact same from one year to the next, so we start fresh after every summer break.”
In mid-September the team held a Fresh Meat night in Banff at the Fenlands Rec Centre, but are now officially at Elizabeth Rummel. During fall and winter, there is no space available to put on a bout in the Bow Valley and roller derby here is at the “mercy” of the hockey rink crowd.
“Through the winter it’s a bit of an epidemic in the roller derby world, especially in Canada, as ice for hockey takes precedence over polished concrete for roller derby,” said Bokitch, adding they have to compete away during fall and winter.
For the game against the Gas City Rollers, only senior members of the Bow Valley sisterhood will compete on Oct. 18, said Bokitch, as a strictly precautionary measure.
“It’s a matter of safety. There is too much of a risk for injury and that’s not how this sport goes,” she said.
The physical sport sees athletes score points by lapping imposing opposition on the track. Teams have a 14-athlete roster that competes with five members of each team on the track.
For more information please visit www.bowvalleyrollerderby.com.
