Do I have to be able to roller skate to Play Roller Derby?

Roller Derby. It’s a sport, right? I played a lot of sports when I was a child, but I don’t recall and prerequisite to already own a skill before I played. When we first start something, anything, we have to learn the fundamentals. Roller Derby is no different. Pro athletes don’t come out of the womb able to throw a ball, they must work at it. The amazing thing about Roller Derby is that anyone can have a try. There must be an amazing statistic out there that has a tally on the roller skaters that could roller skate before they started roller derby, but in my career, I’ve met many more that haven’t. I, myself started Roller Derby having never been on roller skates before. The first little while was a bit crazy. They don’t often tell you about the shin splints, the lower back pain and the blisters… they don’t tell you about the bruises, but the bruises are the best fun you can have as a fresh meat skater! (Fresh Meat skater = newbie) But back to the question… Do you need to be able to roller skate… the quick answer is NO! Most leagues around you will have an induction, known as fresh meat program. Due to the amount of skaters and leagues around most teams won’t run a try out to join Fresh Meat. In FM you will learn all the fundamentals of Roller Derby, how to roll, how to stop, the blocking skills and the jamming skills. It can be a very long program, but it is regulated by certain safety standards so as to not let people play the game if they aren’t safe. These safety standards can be found here - https://wftda.com/news/wftda-updates-minimum-skills-requirements It can absolutely helpful to you if you do give roller skating a go before you join a Roller Derby league, whilst the brilliant trainers at your new league can help teach you the roller skating skills, it’s always great to get a feel of having some wheels on your feet before you go ahead to start learning to stop! After you have a little roll at a skate rink a few times, hit up your local team and give it whirl! This sport was founded on women who wanted to play a team sport, we all had to start somewhere… why don’t you start playing today today? For any information on skate gear or equipment required to play Roller Derby please head over to our website or pop in store and visit us at 14 Parkview St, Milton, QLD, 4064. To contact email :sales@extremes.com.au. Phone 07 336827865 Written by Jambi, Sun State Roller Girls.