Roller Derby! Yes, girls skating around and crushing each other. And yes, it is taking hold in Canada and around Whistler.
I hear you are supposed to learn something new every day, and on Tuesday I learned just how a roller derby team operates and that there is an excited team here in Whistler called the Black Diamond Betties trying to raise money for their own portable track. I learned two things then, so I took yesterday off from learning. Anyway, the Whistler roller derby team held a fundraiser at CreekBread on Nov. 29th during which money and prizes were raffled off and pizza was consumed. Unofficial Whistler performed our philanthropic duties and bought raffle tickets, but went home with no loot. The atmosphere, crowd, and food were all good enough to take the place of a prize though. So now that we know Roller Girls and their supporters are all around Whistler we can all lend a hand to get them a place to practice and play here in Whistler(instead of current Pemberton).
All in all this event was a success in many ways, but mostly it got across that roller derby is a real sport with a following today, and especially in Whistler a psyched group of ladies are trying to gain a foothold to do something that they have a great time doing. Oh, and the sport is neither overly violent nor outdated; instead it is very tactful and an extremely fun time according to everyone who I talked to at this fundraiser. There are even strict skill tests that must be passed by each athlete in order to compete. I want to watch a roller derby match now, and I hope it will be in Whistler rather than Pemberton.
