Although roller derby is still considered by many to be a fringe sport, organizers of the Saskatoon Roller Derby League (SRDL) say it continues to grow in Saskatchewan.

At a recent regional bout between the Saskatoon Killa’ Bees and the Regina Gravediggers at Prairieland Park, Sarah Mathiason or Mega BiteMe, president of the Saskatoon Roller Derby League said the change has been obvious.

“When I first joined, there were quite a few girls in it, but joining, you could just sign up any old time you wanted and training was not the best,” said Mathiason. “Since then, we’ve kind of grabbed the reigns, organized fresh meat nights and brought people in and got training.”

Even though uniforms are colorful and playful, she said athletes take the sport very seriously.

“Everything that goes on with roller derby is by the roller derby players,” said Mathiason. “There’s a derby motto, for the skater, by the skater—so, we’re only limited by our imagination.”