The South East Saskatchewan Roller Derby Association and the Hillbilly Hurt held their first-ever roller derby event in Estevan on Saturday.
By all accounts, the evening was a positive step forward for the organization.
"I would have to say it was really successful. We had a lot more people show up than what we actually expected," said coach Renee Buskow.
She added that the crowd, which filled the Lignite Miners Centre, got a good taste of what the sport of roller derby is all about.
"I think so. People were actually starting to get into it and cheering for players, picking favourites and cheering them on."
It didn't hurt that the event attracted more experienced players from out of town, with people coming from Rocanville, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Regina, Weyburn, Humboldt and Whitewood.
"We had some people come that were quite experienced, a lot more experienced than we are in Estevan," Buskow said.
There were also four new players from Estevan who had never tried roller derby before.
Two games were held. The rookie game was very close, while the intermediate game featured a bigger margin of victory.
Players were randomly divided into teams in an attempt to make the teams as even as possible.
The roller derby group is already considering holding another event in September, although it may not be in the LMC.
"It was big enough, but on the sides, it's rather narrow," said Buskow.
"We need to play where we can see people all around the track and we couldn't do that. We may have to look at Spectra or the curling rink."
