The Estevan Coaler Rollers junior roller derby spring season is set to get underway with registration nights scheduled for the end of this month and beginning of next.
Lorelei Lachambre, coach of the Coaler Rollers, said girls should think about joining roller derby because it helps them gain a sense of oneself through its practice of self expression. She said girls are allowed to wear what they want on the track in an effort to give the players an opportunity to be themselves, but at the same time it also helps in tension relief as other full-contact sports do.
“It’s a healthy way (for girls) to release their aggression and get involved and be on a team and support one another,” said Lachambre, noting junior roller derby is open to girls in Grades 4 to 12 and no experience is necessary to start. “I find it’s a sport where it really has a diverse population in it. There are girls from all different backgrounds and all different body shapes and sizes. There are different positions in roller derby where you can really excel if you’re larger (or) if you’re smaller, so it’s a sport that is really for everyone.”
The Estevan junior roller derby team plays competitively against clubs from Regina, Rocanville, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw. The Coaler Rollers also host an annual tournament where teams from these cities are invited to play in Estevan.
Lachambre said their season is fairly short because they only start playing games once the ice is removed from the hockey rinks enabling them to install their roller derby track, so the kids will spend February, March and the beginning of April practising their footwork and learning the plays, while also building up their endurance for the games. She said that starts on the night of registration.
“They’ll be put right on skates,” she said, noting registration is being held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 31 and Feb. 4 at Trinity Lutheran Church. “We won’t be teaching roller derby for a while, because, obviously, they have to learn all the skating skills first. They’re going to be learning things like forward skating, backward skating, stopping, correct falling, so that you know how to fall without getting hurt, and just the basic skating skills that everyone will need. Once people are comfortable on their skates, then we will introduce the game of roller derby.”
The cost to join is $200 and that also covers a player’s insurance for the season. Payment is requested to be made within two weeks of registration. Players can use the club’s equipment free-of-charge for the first month of the season before being required to rent it or purchase their own.
“We left off our last season with 29 skaters, so I was really happy with that,” said Lachambre. “It doesn’t cost anything to come and try it and we let them use our equipment for the whole month of February, so they have a month before they have to fully commit and buy their own gear and say ‘yes, I’m committing to this sport.’ There is not a lot of sports that let kids do that, so I find that it’s worth just coming out and trying it even if you’re not sure of it.”
