Roller derby empowering for women

If you're ever in Regina taking in a bout in the Pile O'Bones Derby Club you might think all-star skater the RockNess Monster might look a little familiar.

That is because the derby star is the alter ego of Katie Dingle, a former Yorkton resident. Dingle was born in Portage La Prairie, MB and moved to Yorkton when she was 10-years old, eventually attending and graduating from Sacred Heart High School in 2005.

From Yorkton she went on to attend Lethbridge College, obtaining a diploma in Criminal Justice in 2010, then moving to Regina to begin work at the Correctional Centre there.

Once settled in Regina Dingle was introduced to Derby, which would quickly grow to become a passion.

"I moved in with my brother's girlfriend at the time - who is now my sister-in-law," said Dingle.

"She had been playing for about a year and suggested I join. She thought I would enjoy it as I've played hockey for most of my life.

Dingle said until that moment she had no clue what Derby was.

"I had absolutely no idea it even existed," she said. "When Lisa said, 'you should join derby' I looked at her and said, 'what is that?'"

As fate would have, Dingle said she got her first look at Derby immediately.

"The first night I was in Regina, there just happened to be an information night/fresh meat intake which Lisa was helping out with," she said. "I hopped in the car with her, saw what it was all about and I was hooked!

"What makes the game packed with adrenaline and excitement is that it is a full contact sport so it gets pretty rough. It is not uncommon to walk away from a game feeling extremely sore and with a lot of bruises!"

For those equally unfamiliar with Derby, Dingle explained the rules are actually rather straight forward.

"How the sport works, is there is a pack of skaters which consist of four blockers from each team. Behind the pack of blockers are another two skaters called the jammers. So there are a total of 10 girls on the track at once.

"When the first whistle blows, the pack of blockers start to skate, once the pack starts skating, the ref will blow two short blasts of the whistle which is a signal for the jammers to start skating.

"The jammer's goal is to skate through the pack. The blockers' job is to prevent the other team's jammer from getting through the pack and to also help your team's jammer successfully make it through the pack.

"The first jammer to make it through the pack without any penalties is called 'Lead Jammer'. They are the only skater who can call off the jam. A jam generally lasts two-minutes. It can be called off sooner by the lead jammer.

The first time the jammers make it through the pack, they do not receive any points. For the remaining laps made by the jammer, they score a point for each player on the opposite team they pass."

The sport is actually one steeped in history.

"I've had people tell me it was a big thing in the '70s and '80s, but since I was born in the '80's I don't really know much about what it was like back then except there was a lot more theatrics than we have now," Dingle said.

"We still have theatrics to a certain extent; however, derby, in our league at least, is more about the athletics now. None of the hits, falls or injuries are staged or rehearsed when we play. It's all real stuff! We still wear makeup and tights though!"

The game has evolved in other ways too.

"Derby teams today consist only of women skaters," said Dingle. "We also don't play on a banked track as we are a non profit organization and do not have the resources so we just tape off a track and play on the cement floor," said Dingle. "We currently host our practices and bouts (games) at the Callie Curling Club in Regina."

Once Dingle saw Derby, she knew she wanted to participate.

"There were no tryouts but in order to be qualified to play in a bout (game), each skater has to pass what are called benchmarks on an annual basis," explained Dingle. "Each skater must be able to demonstrate certain skills."

A few of them are as follows: three different types of controlled stops, different types of controlled falling, giving/receiving hits, and jumping and landing without falling.

Every player must also skate 25-laps of the track in five-minutes to pass their benchmarks.

The Pile O' Bones Derby Club season is from March to November. From the months of April to September teams generally have one bout a month.

There are two house teams - The LockDown Lolitas and The Bone City Beaver Dames, an all star team, the Sugar Skulls, and a 'B' team, the GraveDiggers.

Dingle is on the Bone City Beaver Dames and has been selected for the All Star Team.

Dingle said the game's traditions are reflected in the participants chosen names.

"The Derby names are a way of going back to 'Derby Roots'. Women in society were/are expected to act, look, dress and talk a certain, proper way," said Dingle. "The creation of a different persona in derby allowed women who participated back in the 80's to be someone different, to act in a way that they normally wouldn't act, off the track.

"Even though Derby has changed over the years, we have kept derby names. It keeps the tradition of derby alive. Roller Derby is a very empowering and confidence building sport for women. It allows us to be rough and tough, but still wear makeup and tights while playing! We have women of all ages and professions in our league. We're like a big family.

"My derby name is RockNess Monzter. I chose it because as a kid, I was always fascinated by the Loch Ness Monster. I changed the Loch to Rock as derby is a tough, body contact sport and hitting is my favorite part of derby!

"A lot of the derby names are a play on words or have hidden meanings. For example, my sister-in-law's derby name is Hannah Ballistic."

Dingle said the sport is experiencing a major resurgence at the local level.

"The sport of Roller Derby is growing fast across Canada," she said. "In Saskatchewan, there's already numerous leagues. Rocanville, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Regina, Weyburn, Estevan, Prince Albert and Swift Current -- they all have teams.

"I'm waiting for someone in Yorkton to start up a league! It would be nice to come home and play!"