Dragon City skaters ready to roll

LOCAL roller derby devotees are getting ready for action as round three of the Statewide Stampede takes to the track at the Bendigo Showgrounds on Saturday, 6 May.

Rebecca ‘Razorbec’ Fisher is media coordinator and captain for Bendigo’s Dragon City Roller Derby’s top team, the Chiko Rollers.

Fisher said although winning is a big goal, the club also wants to show the community what the sport is all about.

“It’s been four years since we’ve been able to host an event this big here, and it’s the first one we’re holding at the showgrounds for a really long time,” she said.

“We’re really excited about the opportunity of having so much space to have lots of people come in.”

One of the squads competing is Team Regional Victoria, which Fisher said is made up of skaters from smaller clubs that don’t have enough players to field their own line-ups.

“It’s one of the best aspects of this competition, that a place has been made for those really small clubs to exist,” she said.

“Without something like this, they probably would have folded years ago.”

Kimberley ‘Sugar’ Sprake has skated with Dragon City for almost 13 years and said there’s been a change in the sport over that time.

“When I first started, roller derby was more that theatrical aspect of the tutus and the fishnets and just basically hitting people as hard as you can to send them flying,” she said.

“It was awesome if you were watching a game of derby and you get a skater land in your lap.

“We used to have a part of the track called the suicide line because if you sat there, you would probably cop a skate to the face. It was pretty full on.

“And then it started to change, because you want to be taken seriously as a sport.”

Annika Ritchie is a newer recruit and said her derby life emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic roller skating boom.

“During COVID there was a bit of a spike in people going out, getting roller skates as something to do outside while locked indoors. I was one of those people,” she said.

“They didn’t get much use during that time, but afterwards I realised I wouldn’t mind looking for something else to do to get me a bit more active.

“Having an active outlet, that wasn’t as competitive as some other sports may seem, really drew me to that.”

Ritchie won’t be competing this weekend, but encourages the curious to come and see what it’s like.

“The way I like to see it, is I’m at the touch football level, so nothing too aggressive just yet, because this weekend they’ll definitely be getting a bit more hard out, a bit more in there,” she said.

“The main thing is to try give it a go.

“It seems a bit daunting, especially because you’ve got eight wheels on your feet and you can’t just stand and step, but it does get easier, and you’ll surprisingly just love it.”

The Chiko Rollers will compete against seven other teams in the tournament.

Dragon City will also have several skaters battle it out in the low-contact category.

Doors will open at 8.30am with games starting at 9am. The Chiko Rollers will skate at 1pm.