Down to the Derby

the absence of Canadian content in the NHL playoffs this year opens the door to discovering alternative skate-based contact sports in the city. We’re talking, of course, about roller derby, specifically the Calgary Roller Derby Association, which kicks off its 10th season on Saturday with a double-header at the Triwood Community Arena, the unassuming hub of derby action in the city.

From the spectator’s standpoint, the admission of $15 ($10 for kids 12 and under) is a small price to pay for an evening’s worth of high-octane action, which kicks off at 5 p.m. with the hometown B52 Bellas taking on Rated PG from Prince George. Following that, there’s another home-and-away matchup between our Cut Throat Car Hops and Edmonton’s Slice Girls.

Team names aside, if you go expecting some kind of prowrestling-style spectacle you will undoubtedly be disappointed. Modern derby has distanced itself from its rather lurid past and reinvented itself as a serious sport. Derby players train hard, play by the rules (they’re penalized if they don’t) and fly around the track on technologically advanced super-light carbon-fibre skates that cost as much as a monthly mortgage payment. This ain’t no roller disco. That said, there’s still a colourful element to the derby world, which prides itself on its sense of community spiced up with the tiniest bit of anarchy. Players still go by badass derby names (though the surge in popularity has made it increasingly difficult to lay claim to a name via the official registry) and you’re bound to see a fair amount of leather and leopard print coming out of the dressing room post-match. Derby is a sport, no doubt, but it’s still fun and games.