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Roller derby returns to Fuller Lake Arena

Brass Knuckle Derby Dames in action Saturday
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Roller derby returns to Fuller Lake Arena this Saturday. (Citizen file) Roller derby returns to Fuller Lake Arena this Saturday. (Citizen file)

Roller derby fans will have a rare opportunity to see the sport live in the Cowichan Valley this Saturday evening when the hometown Brass Knuckle Derby Dames host a bout at Fuller Lake Arena.

The team usually hosts just one game every year, but they are will have two home matches this spring. The first one goes this weekend, and the next one will take place at the Island Savings Centre on May 26.

The Derby Dames are hoping to increase exposure for their sport, and they want to show off what they feel is a particularly strong team.

“We have a pretty good roster this year,” said Stephanie Farrow, AKA She Wrecks, the team’s assistant captain, who will serve as captain this weekend.

The team has six newcomers this season, continuing a trend of turnover in recent years.

“It’s pretty much a whole new team the last couple of years,” Farrow said. “This is our resurgence year. We have lots of excellent younger players.”

Fans who haven’t checked out roller derby before can expect something unusual and exciting.

“It’s a fun game to watch,” Farrow said. “It’s different from other sports.”

In the main event, the Brass Knuckle Derby Dames will take on the Hard Cores, a team from Victoria’s Eves of Destruction organization. That will be preceded by a junior bout between the Saltspring Tempest and the Rotten Apples, also from the Eves of Destruction.

The juniors, ages 12-17, are entertaining in their own right.

“They’re hilarious,” Farrow said. “They’re bendy. It’s like they’re unbreakable.”

The Derby Dames used to have their own junior program, which went by the wayside, but a new one is in the works.

“It fizzled out,” Farrow said. “We’re just getting one going again this year.”

Saturday’s event will include a beer garden by Chemainus’s Riot Brewing.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the junior bout will go at 6 p.m., followed by the main event at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the door. Kids ages six and under get in free.