Crater Hangouts: Nickel City Roller Derby

Did you know Sudbury has a Roller Derby league? We got to hang out with some of the members of Nickel City Roller Derby a few weeks ago and we found out a little bit more about the awesome sport of roller derby!

Can you give us some background information? How did Nickel City Roller Derby start?

Elle Hoar, the founder of NCRD, had just passed Fresh Meat when she moved back to Sudbury and started up the first Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby league. Being new to the sport herself, she recruited, trained and organized the league with those who were interested in trying something new and edgy. On Skates. From the ground up, the organizers and founding members of NCRD have built the league into what it is today; A non-profit sports organization that promotes activity, exercise and community involvement among women, men and children within the greater city of Sudbury.

What exactly is Roller Derby and how does someone get started?

Roller Derby is not a new sport. Most people already have an idea in mind of what roller derby is; However the game has changed significantly from what it originally was. The first difference you may notice is the track. The original game was played on a wooden banked track, where curves and slopes would help you gain speed and momentum as you raced passed opposing blockers. As banked tracks are expensive to build and house, most teams nowadays play on a flat track, held in an open gym or arena floor.
The second difference you’ll see is the contact. Although we continue to be a full contact sport, we have modified the legal targeting zones to make it safer for the players. Hitting a player straight shot in the face, like most of us imagine roller derby to be, is not legal and not welcome on the flat track. We do encourage full body contact, but within a legal target area and with lots of derby love.
The premice of the game, from the very beginning, is for one skater (Jammer) from each team to pass the opposing blockers on the track as many times as possible within the two minute allotted jams. This is where the excitement happens. As the skater (Jammer) tries to pass the blockers, the blockers have full range to try and hit the skater (Jammer) out of play, and prevent them from scoring points. Have I lost you yet? Don’t worry, we have what’s called the “Fresh Meat” program, where we teach you everything you need to know about how to play roller derby.

We are always seeing Fresh Meat events and we really need to know, what the heck is Fre sh Meat?

“Fresh Meat” is a widely used term in the derby world that refers to the 12-week training course we offer for new recruits. There is no experience necessary to join our Fresh Meat program, as we know most people have likely never played roller derby before, or even know how to play. We teach confidence on roller skates for men, women and young girls between the ages of 9-18, as well as the rules and techniques to properly and safely play the game.

Skaters need to be insured – definitely not for the faint of heart – have any of the NCRD team members had any serious injuries?

Roller derby is a full-contact sport, and with that comes injuries, however the ratio of injuries to players is quite small compared to some sports, and we spend a lot of time strengthening and practicing safety techniques to keep that number low. Injuries are not fun, and should not be taken lightly; However, The weirdest injury I’ve seen within NCRD is when one of our skaters, Alexa Skarshard, dislocated her finger. It was bent… BACKWARDS! She was not in pain, and the doctor fixed her right up, but it sure looked painful!

What’s the story behind derby names? Does everyone have one and who comes up with them ?

A derby name is a type of alter-ego. When you go out onto the flat track, you are no longer Jane Smith that works 9-5 in the city office. You are Jane of the JUNGLE, conquerer of all, and defender of points on the track! A new persona comes out of you, and there’s no other way to explain it but to give it a name. Most skaters will come up with their own name, that best describes themselves and who they become on the track, but it is not a requirement. Some skaters have used their legal name.

How many teams are there in NCRD and is there a big group of roller derby teams in Ontario?

Over the years, NCRD has grown quite a bit. We have two home teams, the Sudbetties and Smelter Skelter, a traveling team, Sister Slag, a men’s chapter team, The Nord Poles, and a junior team, The Minor Miner’s.
We play against teams all over the province, including teams from the north from Thunderbay, Timmins, Cochrane, Temiskaming, and Kirkland lake, as well as southern teams from Sault St. Marie, Alliston, Barrie, and Toronto. Derby is all around us, but if you’re not looking for it, you may miss it. I encourage you to keep your eyes peeled this season, to check out all the underground action you didn’t even know was there.

If I have tapped your interest, even just a little bit, go and check out our website, www.ncrd.ca or our Facebook page, NCRD Nickel City Roller Derby. We are always looking for new friends, and welcome you any time to come and see what we are all about! We hope to meet you soon!

NCRD is “softly” opening their season this Saturday, May 14th at the Carmicheal Arena with BM (Black Mambas) vs FU (Friendly Unicorns).

You can check out the rest of our Nickel City Roller Derby videos on our YouTube channel!