When the Terminal City Rollergirls launch their eighth season Saturday night at the Kerrisdale Arena, roller derby rookie Jaydeen Williams will watch from the bench with a set of bruised ribs.
鈥淚 got hit too hard last weekend,鈥� said the former University of B.C. rugby player. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough sport.鈥�
Williams, whose derby name Squid Pro Quo is a wholesome pun in a sea of raunchiness and brutality, was selected by the defending champion Riot Girls in another massive draft since the league created a fourth house team in 2011.
When Public Frenemy formed three years ago, the draft reached 31 players, 11 more than a single team鈥檚 roster. The highest draft in 2012 was 32.
About five to seven rookies are picked up by each team although in some years, some teams take as few as two or as many as nine, depending on the number of players who don鈥檛 return.
Williams is one of 27 rookies this season and most will debut in tonight鈥檚 double-header.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been working hard together for two months now,鈥� said Williams. 鈥淭his is what we鈥檝e all waiting for. We have a championship to defend.鈥�
Public Frenemy will clash with the Faster Pussycats in a match-up that includes 17 rookies before the Riot Girls face the Bad Reputation in a rematch of last year鈥檚 title fight.
The international Women鈥檚 Flat Track Derby Association mandates skills development, and Williams remembers the day she took a great personal leap forward.
鈥淚 went months where I was awkward on my skates,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ne day I didn鈥檛 have that feeling. It was one day and I didn鈥檛 feel weird. We鈥檙e getting better all the time.鈥�
Her father flew in from Calgary to see her skate in a pre-season match. He was proud of her and said he hadn鈥檛 seen his daughter so happy since she was playing varsity rugby a decade earlier.
Sophomore skater Alisha Hackinen 鈥� derby name Smackin鈥檈m 鈥� said the hardest part about her first competitive season last year with the Riot Girls was learning and then perfecting the rules of roller derby.
鈥淚 was like a duckling, trying to follow around our captain,鈥� said Hackinen. 鈥淚 never knew where I was suppose do be. I had an idea of the rules, but I got penalties anyway.鈥�
Hackinen was captivated by roller derby鈥檚 pin-up sex appeal and sure-footed athleticism, essentially the confident feminism of a sport that embraces excessive mascara and fishnets while it revels in being much more.
鈥淎 huge part of the appeal was the lure of becoming a derby girl,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 watched a lot of bouts the summer before I started training and the women on the track were this amazing combination of tough, sassy and cool. I wanted to be part of that community where being a woman wasn't mutually exclusive with being strong, and where short shorts could be enjoyed without harassment.鈥�
In the Terminal City Rollergirls, a league owned and operated by the athletes, Hackinen found role models.
鈥淚t felt good to have people to look up to.鈥�
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SATURDAY DOUBLE-HEADER
The Terminal City Rollergirls season begins April 5 at Kerrisdale Arena (5670 East Boulevard).
Doors open at 5 p.m. and the first bout begins at 6 p.m.
Adult tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door. $10 for kids ages 6 to 12.
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