PHOTO: Courtesy of Ark Valley High Rollers
The Ark Valley High Rollers have been practicing since March of this year and are looking for a few more women to join them. The roller derby league hopes to have new skaters attend a practice to see how it works and ask questions and then they can begin skating with them by the end of August.
“We have been working very hard over the past couple of months and we now have a number of girls who are about to take their skills test which will allow them to get their derby names,” said Lisa Malde, coach of the Ark Valley High Rollers. “Now that we have made some serious progress we are ready to bring on some new girls and begin training them”.
The Ark Valley High Rollers practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds at 6pm. Skaters are required to attend two practices a week and serve on a committee. They are also required to provide all of their gear which includes skates, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards, a helmet and mouthguard.
“We hope to have enough girls to bout in late fall or early winter”, Malde said, “I know there are a lot of people waiting for us to put on an event, but it takes a lot of work to get there.”
The league is also in need of people willing to learn the rules and attend practices to begin training as referees. “There is a lot happening on the track and we need a solid referee crew who is willing to get to know the sport”, Malde added. “We are only as good as our ref staff and we hope there is some interest in helping us establish this roller derby league here in Chaffee County.”
All referees are required to be on skates, but if the thought of strapping on a pair of quad roller skates is intimidating, there are a number of non-skating officials that are also needed.
Anyone interested in skating or refereeing are asked to contact either Lisa or Michelle at arkvalleyhighrollers@gmail.com.
I LOVE this! What league are you in? How much travel is anticipated?
Our league is the Ark Valley High Rollers and we are a part of USARS (USA Roller Sports) but hope to become a WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) apprentice league by the end of the year. We are free to play any league that is under either association (they sanction the bouts) as part of a reciprocity agreement between the associations.
We hope to establish a solid group of girls and refs to hold bouts locally with two teams before we venture out into inter-league bouts. Likely opponents would be Pueblo, Durango, Greeley, Castle Rock, etc. but that will be in at least a year or two depending on how much interest we have, how many skaters we have and how much progress we make as a league. Travel would likely be limited to a couple times a years at that point and would be within CO, but we could potentially play other small leagues in other states at a later time. The options are limitless and are solely dependent upon how much competitive the girls want to be!