Third time’s the charm for West Yellowhead Roller Derby, who won its first bout Saturday night.
The team that formed in 2011 has hosted a bout in Hinton each summer for the past three years and this year, for the first time, West Yellowhead won. The rough and tumble ladies took down the Grimshaw Grim Reapers with a score of 257 to 174.
Roller derby is an intense contact sport that sees ladies on four-wheeled roller skates bashing each other around the track and often to their knees—proving their knee and elbow pads endlessly useful.
The sport, most recently made famous by the movie Whip It, is played in a pack formation, with one player from each team, called the jammer, lined up at the starting line and four players from each team, called the blockers, a short distance ahead.
When the whistle blows, the jammer’s job is to pass the pack and do a lap around the track. If the jammer laps the blockers, her team gets a point.
In writing, that sounds rather painless, but in reality, as the jammers push their way through, they’re on the receiving end of shoulder and hip checks powerful enough to send them flying right off the track.
West Yellowhead Roller Derby is always looking for new players and hopes to attract women from Jasper. If you’re interested in joining the team, contact them at [email protected] or search West Yellowhead Roller Derby on Facebook.
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
