The Estevan Junior Coaler Rollers got back in action this week with a goal of making their fourth roller derby season a smashing success.
“We are definitely stronger and stronger every year,” said Coaler Rollers coach Lorelei Lachambre. “We're still one of the younger teams, (compared to clubs) that we play against, and physically smaller, so we have to grow as skaters and we also need to really physically grow a bit more so we have some more intimidation on the track. But I was very excited to see a couple of girls come back and I swear they're a foot taller.”
The Coaler Rollers started the February to June season on Sunday with the first of two free-to-try recruitment sessions at the Trinity Lutheran Church gymnasium. The team will be practising out of the church gymnasium for the next two months with a focus on building skating skills in anticipation of their April to June game schedule that includes an opening tournament in Rocanville, their annual home tournament at Bienfait Memorial Arena in May and a number of away contests in June.
Lachambre said they're already drawing up plans for their home tournament and the hope is they'll have both a Level 1/2, introductory roller derby, and Level 3, full contact women's roller derby rules, competition. She noted they aim to have their own Coaler Rollers Level 3 team by season's end.
“Right now we have nine Level 3 skaters and we need at least 12 to make a team,” she said. “My goal that would make me so happy is if we could benchmark more of our twos up to threes so we could have a full Level 3 team and we wouldn't have to borrow skaters to play games. I don't know if that will happen, but that will be my dream for this season.”
The Coaler Rollers will hold a second free-to-try session for girls in grades four to 12 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Trinity Lutheran Church gymnasium. Interested athletes are asked to bring water, a helmet if they have one and to dress comfortably, but skates and pads are available to borrow. A parent or guardian must also sign a waiver prior to skating. Anyone with questions can contact Lachambre at 306-421-3289, [email protected] or visit Estevan Junior Roller Derby on Facebook.
