Carlisle’s roller derby team is on the hunt for new skaters.
Border City Roller Derby is hosting a four week new skater intake programme starting at the end of March in a bid to find new team members to join its ranks.
The intake is open to adults aged 18 plus of all genders, fitness levels and skating abilities – whether you’re a whiz on wheels or a total newbie.
Roller derby is a fast-paced, full-contact sport played on roller skates. Two teams compete on an oval track, with one designated jammer per team scoring points by lapping members of the opposing team.
Over the years, Border City Roller Derby has trained hundreds of skaters and just last year celebrated its 10th team anniversary.
Adam Lowes, 30, of Carlisle, coach and co-lead of the team, said: “It’s a four week course and in that time we teach safety and how to skate well and at the end people have the chance to join the club.
“At the end of those four weeks we also won’t throw people into games, we have a rotation of coaches with a lot of experience to support people to become game ready, if they want to.
“But with the four week intake, we’ve changed it from a 10 week intake, so it is a new experiment for us to see if it works better for people.
“We used to do a new intake twice a year a few years ago, but after some members leaving and intakes being low on people joining, we’re low on numbers, so we’re trying to change the way we play and recruit.”
Skaters who complete the four week intake period will be able to join the team and train with them twice a week on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
In summer, sessions last four hours while in winter they last three and a half hours.
All equipment including skates, helmets and knee pads are provided for new starters.
There’s also no hard age limit on who can join and in the past the team have had members up to the age of 50 join their ranks.
Adam said roller derby is an inclusive and supportive sport, where team members look after each other and help one another grow.
He added: “There are so many benefits to roller derby. One reason is getting fit, it’s an active sport and you will get fit at your pace.
“To me, places like the gym are boring and this is not boring. You’re learning, having fun and there’s a lot of good banter, even when you’re just standing around.
“It also helps you build confidence, we’ve seen people go from being quite meek and mild to being fearless and able to knock people out of the way.
“But the main thing is you’re learning a new exciting sport that not many people know much about, it is quite a new idea to people when you tell them about it.”
Skaters who go on to join the team will have the option to be part of games and competitions once they are ready and coaches deem them as game eligible.
Over the years the BCRD has competed at a national level in the British Roller Derby Championships, and has had members selected to represent their countries at the Roller Derby World Cup.
Adam said: “We are that nice entry level space for people to give the sport a go and anyone who comes to us doesn’t have to go to the games and that is completely fine.
“We also have non-skating officials who volunteer and help out and we always welcome people interested in that too.
“But we take safety very seriously, we teach people to fall the first time we get people on skates, it’s the first thing we drill before we introduce how the contact side of the sport works later on.
“It’s also very strict when it comes to this, we have referees and if people break the rules, they get sent off the track. We also have rules on ‘hit’ zones where contact can be made on other players, but we teach it all step by step.”
Adam first joined Border City Roller Derby himself as a total newbie eight years ago.
He said he has since made lifelong friendships and found a real sense of belonging in the roller derby community.
Adam added: “I came in eight years ago and I’d never had a pair of skates before. I remember I fell on my first day and I just got straight up and now I’m here and I’ve done quite a lot in the roller derby world.
“The friendships you build stick and stay strong, I was actually the best man at the original team owner’s wedding and even when people come and go, those friendships really do stick.”
The team will host the four week new skater intake starting at the end of March, with the official start date to be confirmed.
It will take place in weekly evening sessions at Harraby Campus Sports, on Edgehill Road in the city.
The first session is free and sessions after are £5. Team members then pay £25 per month for two sessions per week once they have fully joined.
You can join BCRD’s latest new skater intake by getting in touch with the team on Facebook here.
