Five willing participants stepped up to the plate at the Sea to Sky Sirens' "fresh meat" recruitment drive on Sunday (March 27) at Totem Hall and it looks like the local roller derby team may be adding all five ladies to their roster.
Shelby Lundstrom from 麻豆社国产was one of the newbies and said she's definitely planning to come back.
"I absolutely loved it," she said after the practice. "It was a little tough on skates at first but it got a lot easier with time."
The five new recruits were led by some of the veteran members of the team, learning balance, stops and different strides. At the same time, other Sirens were engaged in full-contact drills and game situations.
Lundstrom said hearing about the sport going on locally intrigued her and got her to muster up the courage to try out.
"It seemed interesting and I just decided to go for it," she said, noting that she hasn't come up with a roller derby nickname just yet. "I'll have to get together with some of my girlfriends over a few drinks and come up with my name."
Sirens team member Emily Howie said she was impressed by the swift progress made by the newcomers.
"I thought they looked really fantastic out there," she said. "We definitely saw some improvement and pretty fast from a lot of these girls. Even if you fall, you can't let it discourage you. You just need to keep it up."
She also pointed out that many members of the Sirens are also new to the sport.
"The majority of the girls on our team just put on skates for the first time last summer," she said. "So it's hopefully not too intimidating for new people."
At the end of the practice, the Sirens had a scrimmage and answered any questions the new recruits had about the sport.
The recruitment drive kicks off what should be a busy spring and summer for the Sirens, who plan to host games at Brennan Park in June and July. The team had its second organized game on March 20 against the Dodge City Rollers in Cumberland, losing 100-40.
"Our girls played really well," said Sirens veteran Shannon Handley of the game against the Rollers. "It was a very heavy hitting game and we really held our own, delivering some excellent hits and offence.
"The Dodge City Rollers had a stronger handle on defensive strategy, but I think we adapted to it quickly. Again, we werea little slow to start and we had a few glaring disadvantages - we were a smaller roster, some of us underslept and the floor was polished wood and therefore muchmore slippery than the sport court we are used to. Also, the team of refs was very inexperienced and we took more than a few bogus penalties and miscounts of points scored."
The team will continue practicing twice weekly in anticipation of games this summer. The Sirens also may hold another recruitment drive soon.
For more information on the team, visit www.squamishrollerderby.com or visit the team's Facebook site by typing 麻豆社国产Women's Roller Derby into the search bar.
