It's A Hard Knock Life—On Wheels

They're beautiful women, no arguments there, but when push comes to shove, Toronto's Roller Derby girls get ugly. And we love every minute of it.

If you've never been to a Roller Derby match, then you are missing out. Think of the game Red Rover, and put it on wheels. Bouts, as they are called, are made up of three 20-minute periods. Essentially, teams are made up of five members: a jammer, three blockers, and the pivot. The pivots from each team skate up front to act as pacesetters, followed by the three blockers from each team. This is called the pack. Once the pack is 20 feet ahead, the jammers take off and try and break through the pack. Anything goes to bring the jammer down, and injuries are common: black eyes, broken bones, and bruised tailbones, for example.

There are six teams that make up the Toronto Roller Derby scene, and two of them meet wheel to wheel in the season opener this weekend. On June 2nd, the Gore Gore Rollergirls and the Death Track Dolls will be at the George Bell Arena. Tickets are available at Rotate This and Soundscapes.

If you don't make it to the match, check out the afterparty at the Annex Wreckroom at 10 p.m.

Photo thanks to Carrie Musgrave from her Flickr page.