OSHAWA

Dedicated followers of women’s roller derby see big things for the sport’s future.

“It has spread like wildfire,” said Amanada “Psycho Magnet” Smith, 41, who has been involved in roller derby since 2009.

She sees it as a form of female empowerment.

“These are all fearless women,” Smith said. “You have everybody from teachers to doctors to nurses to stay-at-home moms doing this sport.”

Fans filled Ajax Community Arena on Saturday to watch the Atom Smashers face off against the Motor City Madames in Durham Region Roller Derby’s fifth annual Gibson’s Cup — named after Gibson, a young boy who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2010.

“We’re not looking for the Olympics right now, but the Pan Am Games ... is definitely something to look at. We’re definitely an extreme sport,” Smith said.

Toronto Roller Derby recently performed a demonstration for Pan Am spectators in an attempt to bring the sport to a more mainstream audience.

The hockey arena provided an casual and intimate setting where spectators could sit in the stands or bring lawn chairs to watch from around the track. A licensed makeshift concession stand was set up on the arena floor behind the audience.

To the untrained eye, roller derby can look like a jumbled mess.

“You’re playing offence and defence at the same time,” explained Melissa “MoZilla” Legree, 34, a behavioural analyst who is also a Madames team captain.

Both teams have a jammer, which is like a combination of a quarterback and running back. Their job is to rush through the other team’s defence, or “blockers.” Each blocker represents a point in the game. The team whose jammer rushes through the most blockers wins.

It’s a high-scoring and full-contact sport.

The final score of Saturday’s match was 312-75 for the Smashers.

“For a lot of girls, it’s really a chance to get out there and get really intensive exercise in a sport that isn’t like your typical (game),” Legree said. “It’s a little edgy.”

Like hockey, there’s a penalty box for those who play a bit too aggressively. But 30 seconds in the box isn’t always a deterrent in an aggressive game.

“It’s a job-and-a-half in itself, just being a ref,” said George White, one of the head referees in the Durham league.

Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between a penalty and aggressive playing. White said it all depends on whether the game’s flow was interrupted.

A volunteer EMS unit was there on Saturday night in case of injury. They were needed more than once.

Legree said the most common injuries are bruises, sprains and concussions — nothing too major. But on the odd occasion injuries can be career threatening.

“I know of some players (who) have (become) officials because they’ve broken an ankle or broken a collarbone ... They don’t want to be physical anymore,” said White.

Still, the game has come a long way from its early days in the ’70s, which Smith referred to as “wrestling on skates.”

Roller derby’s following is not limited to Ontario, or even Canada. White’s friend who is also a ref went as far as Helsinki, Finland, to oversee a derby — a sign of its growing popularity.