With a new intake of ‘fresh meat’ for its second season, Perth Roller Derby restarts this month after a successful and well-received debut.
The Bloody Sundaes take on the Mistresses of Mayhem for the first round of the season at the Midvale Speed dome on October 16.
The West Coast Evils, WA’s state side, made it to the quarter finals recently when it travelled to Adelaide for the Great Southern Slam.
The WA league is the most established in the country and this season now has two development teams in the works, the Sundae Skool and the Mini Mayhems.
Each derby is themed with the first one having a carnival theme: aptly titled Carnival Carnage.
PRD spokesperson Morgan Wildchild said the league was still riding on the popularity of blockbuster film Whip It.
‘At the moment, it’s still really huge since Whip It came out, there is so much interest,’ she said.
‘It’s a contact sport… It’s just really high quality skating.
‘There’s girls on skates smashing into each other and the atmosphere is really good.’
The derbies are spaced out between six to eight weeks at a time so the players can nurse their injuries and return to fighting form.
‘People take on some injuries when they fall and get hit, there are also pulled muscles so we need the recovery time,’ Wildchild said.
Unlike Whip It, Wildchild said derbies were strictly refereed and players weren’t allowed to just knock each other out.
‘You can’t just punch someone in the face. It’s not a contact sport where you can make someone bleed on purpose.’
‘The worst injuries are during training sessions and the worst injuries people get are broken bones,’ she said.
The LGBT community has so far taken a particular interest in the league here in Perth, so much so that the league has entered this year’s Pride Parade.
‘We like to support it. We have members who are from the LGBT community and a lot of our fan base are lesbians,’ Wildchild said.
The PRD will be looking for new talent or ‘fresh meat’ in early 2011, so anyone interested should visit www.perthrollerderby.com.au.
Wildchild said anyone interested should be ‘pretty tough, take a hit and not be scared to fall over.’
The season will run from October through till May next year and for season updates, email media@perthrollerderby.com.au.
Tickets are available now from Exotic Body Piercing in Northbridge, Fremantle’s Vicious Delicious and the Morley Rollerdrome.
Recommended Roller Derby Films
Whip it (2009)
Hell on Wheels (2007)
Jam (2006)
Benn Dorrington
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