Ferry cancellations on the first weekend of May have forced a local roller derby club to change its schedule.
POW! Town Roller team was originally planning to take on the Comox Rinx Minx on Saturday, May 4.
“We’ve had to play with our dates and switch teams,” said team coach Jennifer Dodd. “It’s a good thing we reserved a second day [at the arena].”
Instead of the Rinx Minx, the POW! Town women will be taking on Alberni Valley Roller Girls on Sunday, May 5, at Hap Parker Arena. Doors open at 1 pm and the first whistle will be blown at 2 pm.
Last year the team had over 500 spectators come out to watch its bout and organizers are hoping for the same again this time.
The team was started two years ago and currently has 28 members. Of those, between 10 to 14 members are actually ready to bout and play. Players are aged 19 to mid-40s. The team also has been developing a junior squad for anyone under 19.
Players must be benchmarked before they can lace up and skate in bouts. Due to safety concerns, players must be able to complete basic manoeuvres with their skates before they are allowed to play.
In an effort to make derbies easy for spectators to watch, minor penalties have been dropped, said Dodd, who’s been coaching the team since last year.
Each team has a player with a star on her helmet called a jammer. The object for the jammer is to try to get through the players on the other team. The other team is, at the same time, trying to stop the other team’s jammer and trying to help its jammer get through. The more people the jammer passes on each jam, the more points the team gets.
At least 14 officials are needed to keep track of points and penalties.
Common penalties include “cutting the track” when the jammer leaves the track and goes out of bounds. Players are not allowed hit overs in a way that’s illegal, “so you can’t back block or cross-check,” said Dodd. “No elbows or punching people either.”
Dodd said the leagues have been fighting a battle trying to transform public perception of the game as “entertainment” into being regarded as a sport.
“We’re trying to get people to realize that you have to be athletic and train for it,” she said. The season runs from about March to July. “In the off-season, teams host mixed scrimmages for practices,” she said.
POW! Town practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from September through July in the gymnasium at Oceanview Education Centre.
Organizers are planning to run a beginners’ learn-how-to-skate program from May 14 through to the end of June at Oceanview on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm. “We wanted to give people a chance to come out and learn to roller skate and see if it’s something they’re into,” said Dodd.
POW! Town is part of the Salish Sea Rollers, a league of four teams from Vancouver Island and Powell River. A doubleheader Salish Sea bout is planned for June and then in July POW! Town will take on Sechelt.
Spectators can expect to witness a fun and fast-paced sporting event. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for youth aged 12 to 18 and children under 11 are free. Tickets can be purchased at A&W Restaurant, Ecossentials, First Credit Union and Split Endz.
