The Quad City Rollers are back in action this Saturday in a match against Cedar Rapids Derby in Eldridge, Iowa at its Community Center at 6 pm. The team is not only ramping up for the second half of their season, but holding a boot camp for beginners.
Quad City Rollers Recruitment Coordinator Roxanne Schlue has been with the team for a decade after seeing someone wearing a roller derby t-shirt and diving into roller derby videos.
"I like hockey and football and other contact sports. It has a lot of similarities and once I joined it was even more exciting than I thought it would be," Schlue said in a phone interview with WVIK.
In roller derby, two teams with five players on each go in laps with one person, called the jammer, on each team wearing a star on their helmet. The goal is for the jammer to lap the opposing team's blockers and score points while their blockers try to hold back the opposing team's jammer.
The Quad City Rollers have around 40 league members. Their season starts in January and continues until the summer when the league takes a short break before starting the second half of the season in August until November.
In the first half of their season, the Quad City Rollers played seven matches, winning four.
Schlue says the team is a non-profit and they combine each of their matches with a charitable cause.
"We always have a charity for our games, so this Saturday our charity is Habitat for Humanity, so a portion of our sales will go towards that," Schule.
The team holds a boot camp every January and August, and according to Schlue, the previous camp had a turnout of 30 people. The next boot camp is Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Eldridge Community Center.
"This is intended for people with little to no skating experience," Schlue said. "We will get you geared up with loaner gear, if you don't have any skates at home. You just need to bring a mouthguard."
Schule says anyone can join, regardless of body type or physical abilities.
"There is a place for everybody and every body type. What I really love about the sport is seeing people transform and build confidence and become their own superhero on the track," Schule said.
The boot camp will last seven weeks and cost $30. If the boot camp works out for the individual, they can join the team and pay $30 a month to cover the group's dues and an annual cost of $75 for league insurance.
The Eldridge Community Center is at 400 S 16th Ave, Eldridge, IA 52748.
