Roller derby gives players a community

Abbey Ferguson first found her interest in roller derby from her high school band teacher.

To know her idol was meeting friends on the Halifax Commons basketball court to build this venture filled her with excitement.

“I just counted down the days until I turned 19, so I could join up,” said Ferguson, a current player with the Anchor City Rollers.

She first put on skates in 2013, but started from scratch. Now, she's training the Learn To Skate and Low-Contact programs.

“There is training for someone who's never put on roller skates to full-on playing roller derby. This is from the ground up first, with the transition to low-contact,” she said.

“Low-Contact is all the fun of derby with less aggression, and you develop as a skater. Then they can move to intermediate and then to seasoned and play pro.”

Ferguson took her licks, and is now in her third season of regular play.

“When I got in here, I immediately saw a home with these people. The sport was so influential, and I knew it was something I had to do,” she said.

“If you've never been an athlete, it doesn't matter. We all grow together, and we build catching up into it.”

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, she couldn't feel happier.

“To be part of a beautiful queer community and have all these people involved is amazing. These are great Nova Scotia queer role models,” she said.

“Going from the rural area to the city, it was amazing to find something like this.”

Ferguson says the group are willing to raise the stakes in the near future.

“We want to get approved by the Women's Flat Track Derby Association and be able to compete with teams all over. We've been playing the same teams for years, and funding for travel would help,” she said.

“We want things to grow and progress. We just want to make it a further reach.”

Kaarina Mikalson, the PR Director for the Anchor City Rollers, says one thing the team is looking at is to get more practice space.

“We put our application in for the derby, and we'd need fundraising for travel time. But practice space is big right now, especially with the new junior league.”

The group started as the Halifax Roller Derby Association in 2010, and things progressed into the Anchor City Rollers over time.

“The only reason we don't keep growing is because we have no space. It's a practical constraint,” said Mikalson.

However, Mikalson says the community has been positive ever since she joined.

“I moved back and it was amazing to have people who immediately wanted to be my friend. I had so much support. This is a competitive game, but it's about everyone's success.”

Ferguson says she's never experienced the perseverance that comes with this beautiful sport.

“We all just come together, and we've worked to make these longstanding traditions. Halifax's team has been growing every year, and we really put the effort in,” she said.

“This is a game with training, skill and strategy and goes beyond hitting. It has its place, but this really is a game with a bit of everything.”

She hopes this team can give people idols to look up to.

“This is about a group who don't quite belong. But everyone in th queer community also has a home here,” she said.

“If I'm walking down the street, and I say 'hi' to the coolest queer or a total mom, I know them all from derby. This is my place, and my group.”

For more information, check out the Anchor City Rollers website.