Lucas Punkari
The last time that the Fort Freakshow laced up their skates and took to the track in front of local fans was nearly a year ago.
So it’s easy to see why members of the team are looking forward to competing in front of their friends and family once again this coming Saturday night, as the team will be taking on the Babes of Thunder from Thunder Bay at the ’52 Canadians Arena in the “Rainy River Riot.”
“If we can get a good crowd in here cheering us on, that will just get all of us going,” Karen Mitchell enthused.
“That just gets the adrenaline pumping for all of us, especially when there are people that we know that are watching us,” Mitchell added.
A total of 12 skaters have been practicing for the last few months in preparation for the bout, though one of the team members will be unable to take part in the event.
“There are eight skaters who are still going strong from when we originally started last May,” head coach Aurora Doerksen explained.
“We have also picked up four new girls in the last year, with two members joining us in January and another two coming onboard in May,” Doerksen added.
There are many reasons why girls decide to take part in roller derby Doerksen believes, but she feels one of the biggest reasons that many keep coming back is the friendships that are made between the other teams following the competition.
“It’s not like any other sport when it comes to that,” Doerksen reasoned.
“If you are playing hockey against another team and you have all that aggression out on the ice, you could be at a party with the opponents afterwards and there would be fist fights.
“In derby, you go to the game and even if there’s things being said on the track, you go to a party afterwards and you are friends with your opponents.
“You’re patting each other on the back and the next thing you know, you become Facebook friends and you begin networking with people all over Canada,” Doerksen added.
After becoming increasingly similar to professional wrestling in how it was presented to an audience during the 1960s and 1970s, roller derby has become more of a grass-roots sports in the last decade with teams popping up all over North America.
“I think the biggest misconception is that some of the older people think it’s still like it was back in the 1970s,” Mitchell said.
“They still think we go around on a banked track with railings around it, and that we are still elbowing people in the face like it’s hardcore wrestling or something.
“But now it’s nothing like that. We’re racing on flat tracks and the sport is more geared towards athleticism and strategy.
“There is still hitting and all of that sort of thing, but it’s nothing at all like it was back in the day,” Mitchell added.
Back in July, the Fort Freakshow had a bout in Thunder Bay versus the Babes of Thunder, and though they lost by a substantial margin, the team came away with some valuable lessons.
“One of the things that hurt us in Thunder Bay was that our opponents would build a wall in front of us, and we would fall trying to get by them,” Doerksen recalled.
“You are trying so hard to get by them and in trying to get back up, then you just keep falling down and falling down as you are trying to get up on your feet and skating again.
“So we’ve been working on endurance after falling over the last few practices, as when you fall and get back up it’s hard on the knees and your body, and we have also been working on our mental game because derby is also about thinking ahead and judging what everyone else is going to do,” Doerksen noted.
“I think we have come a long way since that game in Thunder Bay,” team captain Terra Hyatt added.
“It was the second game ever for most of us there, and for some of the others it was our first game, so at times we felt like we didn’t quite know what we were doing out there,” Hyatt reasoned.
Besides the practices, a few members of the Freakshow got the chance to travel to Sault Ste. Marie on Aug. 6 to participate in a bout there, and gain some more experience.
“Those of us who were able to go down learned a lot from the players we played with and we were able to bring that back to our teammates here for our practices,” Mitchell, who was one of the players who made the trek to the Sault, said.
And while the team is hoping to have a much better result against the Babes of Thunder in their meeting here Saturday night, which will get underway at 7 p.m., Doerksen’s main goal is to make sure that everyone has a good time.
“As along as everyone comes off happy and smiling, I’ll be pleased not matter what happens,” Doerksen explained.
“No matter how many times you play you are going to learn something out there, and as long the girls come out to the next practice, I’ll be ecstatic,” Doerksen smiled.
Tickets for the bout, which will see a portion of the proceeds go to Rachel’s Challenge, can be purchased at the door or in advance at Bombshell, the Safeway Pharmacy or off of a derby team member.
