Its a cold and rainy night on the UBC campus and the air outside the indoor/outdoor rink on Thunderbird Boulevard is ripe with hockey stank.
About a half-dozen dudes, most decked out in the coveted garb of their beloved Canucks, are packing up after a ball hockey game thats left them, and the arena, covered in sweat.
Its no big deal for the next team to take to the unheated concrete slab thats more glorified parkade than bona fide practise space for an elite, full-contact sports team.
We always come after hockey, so were used to the smell, says Andrea Fraser-Winsby, strolling past the hockey players and rounding the corner to reveal a line of 17 booty-short-rocking rollergirls snaking their way around the space for a warm-up skate.
Its still a far cry from enjoying the ubiquity of hockey, but derby is rapidly growing in popularity in the Lower Mainland, with Vancouvers own Terminal City Rollergirls reaping the fruits of a surge in interest thats been building for the past couple years, thanks in no small part to a little movie about the sport released in 2009.
We had a big boost when Whip It came out a couple years ago, says Fraser-Winsby, better known round here as her alter-ego Andi Struction, a member of one of the leagues four house teams and its volunteer spokesperson. So people still dont really know that Terminal City Rollergirls exists, but they know that roller derby exists.
Though still operating at the fringes of the sporting world, derby has been steadily gaining traction in Vancouver since the league formed in 2006.
For the last two years, TCRG has consistently sold out its weekend bouts, often attracting crowds 2,000 strong. And this year, the league hit several new milestones. First, it drew enough interest to add an expansion team Public Frenemy to its roster of house teams: Faster Pussycats, Riot Girls and Bad Reputations. Then in March, the league got word that its All-Star team had been accepted into the Womens Flat Track Derby Association: The foremost governing body of roller derby in the world, Fraser-Winsby explains. Its basically the NBA of derby.
As a member of the WFTDA, the All-Stars will be eligible to compete in regional and North American tournaments and, for the first time, get ranked.
Sage Martin, aka Bustylicious, the All-Stars WFTDA representative says joining the national league will also bring a whole new experience for local derby fans, who will now get to cheer for the home team against visitors from WFTDAs western region, which includes teams from Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and Denver.
Weve never really had that, says Martin, a tall, muscular woman whos been with TCRG since the league began. People have always shown up and cheered for the house teams. Theyll cheer for the Riot Girls, or the Bad Reps because they like Joan Jett, but in this case its something that the whole town can really get behind.
The All-Stars have also won access to a venue theyve had their eye on for quite some time, the historic PNE Forum. Its the first time the league will play at a large-scale venue thats also central. Up until now, TCRG has mostly been relegated to rinks in Surrey, Richmond and Kerrisdale, as Fraser-Winsby explains, in this town, derby will always play second fiddle to hockey when it comes to finding space.
This season, theyll still be bouncing between venues, but theyve secured the PNE for three bouts, the first on May 7 when the All-Stars play their first WFTDA home game against the Heartless Heathers, a house team from Portlands Rose City Rollers league. The exhibition game will be a gentle introduction well, as gentle as bone-crushing derby gets to WFTDA, explains Martin. Were not quite ready to take on the Portland All-Stars yet... but the plan is to get as good as we can as fast as we can.
Making it to the PNE is an achievement in itself, adds Fraser-Winsby, petite, brunette and a Faster Pussycat since 2006. Weve been in talks with the PNE and all their great spaces since day 1, but A) we couldnt always afford them and B) they didnt really know what we did and werent sure what we were all about. So just the city really getting to know us has really played a big part in us getting new venues.
While Whip It may have kick-started the attention derby is now receiving, the TCRGs success hasnt come at the hands of Hollywood, but through the considerable amount of blood, sweat and dedication the leagues 100 members have poured into the sport that is, quite literally, a second full-time job.
If were not playing, were working, says Fraser-Winsby. Were organizing volunteers, selling tickets, selling the beer. And thats on top of the three-hour practises the girls attend once or twice a week during the winter, and three or four nights a week once the league kicks off its season in the spring.
The time commitment can take its toll on relationships and family, she adds, so a lot of the leagues refs, coaches and volunteers are spouses of players. We call them derby widowers, or widows, depending on the gender, she laughs, pointing to the All-Stars coach, Laurence of a Labia, as a prime example.
In fact, derbys blend of full-contact athleticism, performance and unbridled basdassery seems to cast a spell that has extended far beyond the players to ensnare a rather motley crew of dedicated fans that have wormed their way into the organization.
Amateur photographer Bob Ayers, who generously supplied photos for this story, has been shooting derby for years, starting with Victorias Eves of Destruction before the league even had a name. A policy wonk with BC Hydro by day, Ayers is one of a throng of photographers and videographers that religiously volunteer to document TCRGs games and practises. Ayers even travels with the team to shoot away games. The thing that really fascinates me is their personas, he says, listing off some of the All-Stars: Risquee Biznatch, Flower Plowher and 8-Mean Wheeler. Over time, Ive come to realize their personas are their true personalities their personas allow them to be their authentic selves.
Perhaps thats why the cult of derby seems to grab hold and never let go. The camaraderie and authenticity seem to be contagious. For Ayers, the roller rink has become a place he can let loose behind the lens, experimenting with photography for his own personal fulfillment. Im not trying to impress anybody. Theres a lot of freedom here and these women have been a real inspiration for me, he says. Plus, its exciting to watch and full of surprises he adds, nodding towards the rink where the practise is heating up.
Coach a Labia has split the team into groups of four to run some defensive drills with each quartet comprised of three blockers and a jammer. As the name would suggest, the blockers try to prevent the jammer from getting through the crowd, (in a derby match the jammer gets a point for each blocker she passes from the opposing team). As the girls skate things get rough, and its clear that its more than personas that draw people to the sport. I cringe when one girl somersaults onto the concrete with a thud and gets right back up without missing a beat. One of the jammers, a sprite-like ginger called Luludemon, weaves in and out of the crowd like Muhammad Ali, literally jumping over the blockers to score and the whole arena erupts into applause.
Its the support of these powerful women that Lulu (real name Lucy Croysdill) likes most about derby a sentiment echoed by nearly everyone here. Ive always been an active person and Ive always liked alternative sports, just going fast and being aggressive. But more than anything its just a really awesome bunch of women, really confident and athletic, she says. Its very rare that you get a group of people that are so varied from different walks of life.
Co-captain of the All-Stars, the 30-year-old has literally made derby her livelihood with her clothing line Pivotstar (PivotStar.com). She also coaches some of the house teams and travels to smaller towns to run clinics for other leagues. The beauty of derby is that its the only full-contact sport developed by women for women, she says, noting hockey, football and rugby were all developed for men and modified for the girls. And in contrast to derbys heyday in the 60s and 70s when it bore a striking resemblance to pro wrestling on wheels, Croysdill says this incarnation, which emerged in 2001, is about serious competition.
The thing that makes it so popular this time round is because its real, its not staged. As spectators, you appreciate the fact that youre seeing women giving 100 per cent, not 50 per cent and doing what theyre told to do, theyre giving 100 per cent because they want to win. This is a sport and anything can happen.
With her team now recognized by WFTDA, Croysdill issues a challenge to anyone whos still not sure what these rollergirls are made of. Weve basically been training for the last five years for this, she says. So come see what we got.
The Terminal City Rollegirls All-Stars make their PNE debut against Portlands Heartless Heathers May 7 at the PNE Forum (100 Renfrew) doors at 6pm, game at 7pm. Tickets: $17-23.50 from Ticketmaster.ca or at the door.
