The Lethbridge Roller Derby Guild is a non-profit and open-gendered roller derby league with a junior program for ages eight to 17 and a program for adults. A new skater intake for spring and summer is being held this Sunday.
“We teach our members how to roller skate, we teach them the rules of the game, we teach them contact and all the other elements of the sport and we get them playing games,” says Martina Emard a.k.a. Cherri Blaster, league chair and a league coach.
According to Emard, the league got its start in 2010 and had significant growth last year. “Many of our junior members, as well as our head coach made the National Junior Roller Derby team. As a result of that, there was a lot of media coverage and a lot of information was all over Canada because of that. Last February, we had something like 70 members. That since has dropped off a little bit and we’re doing our recruitment to bring it in.”
“Right now, our membership is about 40 members ranging in age from juniors to adults,” adds Emard.
Recruitment days run twice a year in the spring and fall, notes Emard. “Roller derby is still an emerging sport, it’s kind of unknown in the community. It’s not something widely available everywhere. At our intakes, we allow potential members to try some gear on and try roller skating. They get to skate around in the space and see if the actual act of roller skating is for them. If they like it, they can register on the spot for our spring and summer session that goes from April 21 to July 7.”
As part of the Guild, and in partnership with Roller Skate Lethbridge, roller discos are also hosted monthly with the next one scheduled for next Friday.
“With that, we rent out the curling club space on the west side and it’s from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. and the cost is $10. We have a free gear loan and anyone can come skate,” says Emard. “We realize the community enjoys having that opportunity to skate for fun. We use it as a fundraiser.”
Caroline Reimer, one of the Guild’s coaches, recently received a Coaching Excellence High Performance Award from the Lethbridge Sports Council. Reimer was the head coach of two Team Canada Junior Roller Derby teams in 2023 and will be head coach for the next Junior Roller Derby World Cup in 2025.
“We’re proud of having a nationally recognized coach in our city, which is really cool,” says Emard.
The Spring Roller Derby Try-it and Registration is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lethbridge Curling Club in west Lethbridge.