by Michele Murphy, photo – Facebook

Roller derby divas Eves of Destructions’ ninth season kicks off this month with their all-star A team facing heavy-hitter Abbotsford team the Anarchy Angels. The Eves promise an exciting bout showcasing the skill and the passion of this intense event. Four-year derby veteran Esther Beauregard, or by her derby name, C-3Ph0 (Ho for short), says that this season will be their best yet.

“We’re thinking that his will be a break-out year for the A Team,” says Ho. “We’ll be facing some really tough competition this season which will really showcase our talent. You’re going to see a level derby here on the Island that we haven’t seen before.”

The Eves of Destruction is a club of passionate amateur all-female derbyists from all over the Capital Region. They practice throughout the region, with their bouts taking place in Esquimalt and Langford.

All-female roller derby has been around since the 1930s, with it’s heyday in the 1940s when it was played on a banked track to large audiences in more than 50 cities across the US. The sport eventually evolved (devolved?) into a form of sports entertainment using colourful player names, costumes, developed characters, dramatized rivalries, and somewhat or completely scripted bouts. By the ‘60s it had settled into the sports and entertainment fringes, losing the mass appeal it once enjoyed.

Until 2001.

Derby was reborn just after the turn of this century in Austin, Texas (city motto, “Keep Austin Weird”). The sport of it was back with a new focus on athletics and strategy. Today, modern roller derby is played internationally on a flat track. The slightly slower track makes it possible to play in any community that has a solid gym floor, a hockey or curling rink, and spectator demand. The sport is still dominated by all-female adult amateur teams, but male, co-ed and youth teams are on the rise. Flat-track derby was even considered as a roller sport for the 2020 Olympics. While the colourful names and interesting uniforms remain, strategy and athletic ability have replaced the scripted theatrics.

With the Eves’ focus on skill and safety, hitting the track as a full-on player doesn’t happen overnight.

“There’s a lot to think about in modern derby,” explains Ho, “it’s not just a physical game, it’s a mental one too. Modern derby involves strategy. You need to understand the plays, and your role in the line, and you need to play by the rules. It takes a while to get the hang of it – whether you’re a player or a spectator.”

For the spectators there’s a run-down of how the game is played at the beginning of every game, complete with non-playing players in the audience to answer your questions throughout the bout.

For the players there’s a very structured graduated training process that starts at skating basics and goes right up to the all-star team, appropriately named the A Team. The focus is on safety and skill building and they say that no one is put on the track before they are both physically and mentally ready. Derby is open to all adult females. “We have women from 18 right through to their mid 50s joining,” says Ho. “Derby not a place that you come to get in shape though; you need to be in shape to play.”

But for the players, derby is more than just a sport, it’s personal. “My derby team is family,” said third-year, 46-year-old Saanich player Shannon Pfaffenberger, whose derby name is Pfury S Pfaff. “We’re together a lot – usually two and three times a week. No matter what’s happening in your outside life, it all goes away when you’re at derby. The girls know you, they really get you, you have a shared love and respect for the sport and your team,” she explains. “We rely on each other, on and off the track.

“These are strong, passionate women that I play with. The word inspiring comes to mind,”Pfaffenberger says,. “It’s the best sport that I have ever played.”

Eves’ season opener is at Archie Browning Centre on April 25th at 6 pm.

For more info visit: www.evesofdestruction.com