MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Marquette is known for its talented hockey teams, but another sport on blades is skating into the spotlight.
Roller derby is a team sport that allows women of all ages to compete in a fast-paced, and physical game.
“Pepper” who plays roller derby, says “it’s fun because it’s full contact, but it’s safe from the standpoint that we have a lot of safety gear.”
Dead River Derby, a team based in Marquette, is opening up the invitation for anyone to join. They will be hosting a boot camp for the next 10 weeks where everyone, no matter their experience level, is encouraged to come out to try the sport. you don’t need to have any equipment, knowledge of the rules, or even know how to skate.
Veterans on the team say that boot camp provides helpful learning experiences for them. Pepper says “you could never stop getting better at roller derby; you can never stop getting better at roller skating.”
The team has placed in multiple state-wide tournaments, making a name for themselves, earning a reputation as a small, but fierce team.
The bootcamp is 2 hours long on Thursday nights in Marquette.
More information on the team and bootcamp can be found here.