Evolution on a roll after funding boost

Evolution Roller Derby meets weekly at Sundorne Youth Centre in Shrewsbury, and is hoping to recruit enough new members to enter league competition.

The club has secured a grant of more than £2,100 from Sport England to buy new equipment including skates, helmets, pads and wrist guards, having been guided through the process by county sports partnership, Energize.

Sarah Evans, who chairs the club and is also one of the coaches, said: “Evolution Roller Derby has been going for about seven years now, and we meet up every Thursday night from 7pm to 9pm.

“It’s an incredibly inclusive sport, which accepts players from every walk of life, no matter what your size, shape or current fitness level.

“We have a diverse range of members at present, from early 20s up to early 50s, including students, parents, carers, teachers, and many more.

“As well as our regular Shrewsbury meetings, we’ve also been taking sessions out and about around other parts of Shropshire in recent months, including Oswestry, Wem and Baschurch.

“We’re currently looking for men and women aged 18 or over to get involved in our expanding club. It’s a chance for people to learn how to rollerskate, and have lots of fun at the same time. We have new skaters coming along regularly – so there’s no need to worry about being out of your depth.”

So what exactly is roller derby? It’s a contact sport played by two teams of 10-15 players, with five team members on track at any one time, skating in the same direction around an indoor track.

Both teams have a designated ‘jammer’ who scores points by lapping members of the opposition. The job of the other members is to hinder the opposing jammer, while creating a safe passage for their own.

Although the ‘flat track’ version of the sport has been around in since the early 2000s, interest grew rapidly in the UK after the release of Hollywood movie Whip It.

Joe Lockley, club development manager at county sports partnership Energize, said: “We have worked closely with Evolution Roller Derby over the past few months to add structure to their club.

“This has resulted in them developing a committee and gaining funding for new kit. We are now helping them grow their visibility to make sure this is a sport that every adult gets the chance to try.

“Roller derby is a unique opportunity to improve fitness and fall in love with a new sport – once people can make the scary first step of putting on a pair of skates, they keep returning.

“Now that Evolution Roller Derby has its own kits to lend, there is nothing stopping others from coming to try it out.”