The Eves of Destruction is a women’s flat-track roller derby league based out of Victoria, which features high-energy, high-impact play. Roller derby is a full-contact roller-skating sport where designated “jammers” attempt to bulldoze through the other team’s “blockers” in order to score points. Eves player Elliott Denslow (who goes by Soda Pressed on the rink) says that it’s really easy for anyone to get involved with The Eves as a player, through gradated training programs.
“There’s lots of levels of play, so there’s a place for everyone,” says Denslow. “If someone has never roller skated before, we have a program called Raw Meat, and so we’ll teach you how to skate, and we also have a program called Fresh Meat, which is where you learn how to play derby, and then we have levels going up from there once you’ve entered the league.”
According to Denslow, the Eves of Destruction is a non-profit, self-run organization with a co-operative, community-oriented structure, which allows anybody who wants to be involved to join in. For those who have no desire to skate, or are facing prohibitive limitations, there are other roles, such as refereeing, keeping track of points, announcing, or being a non-skate official.
“We have a pretty diverse league with a range of different accessibility standards,” says Denslow. “Obviously being able to play in a game, there’s certain physical elements that maybe aren’t as accessible, unfortunately, but we’ve got different positions and placements in the league so that if someone wants to be a part of our community, we’re more than happy to make that accessible for them.”
Denslow also says that there are tickets reserved especially for people to be involved who may not have much disposable income, or those who identify as Indigenous.
“[Financial] accessibility is a really important thing for us, too,” says Denslow. “We always set aside tickets for folks if they want to come but can’t afford to, and we try to make space for our Indigenous folks whose land we’re playing on.”
The roller derby community is full of unique, interesting individuals, and in addition to physical exercise, it’s a way to make new friends and lasting relationships.
“The biggest thing for me is probably the community,” says Denslow. “I like being active, and I like learning, and derby is this really cool community of people where you get to learn a really weird random sport, and hang out with really weird cool people. It’s a really great way to meet like-minded people and to share a space with people who have similar values.”
Denslow likes that derby is an environment where people can share an athletic experience without the atmosphere typical of most sports, and have a rousing, energetic experience doing so.
“It’s a very unique sport,” says Denslow. “It’s nice because it’s a more queer-femme space than a lot of other sports, so it doesn’t have that same kind of masculine bravado that a lot of other sports have, but if you like sports, and you like action, and you want to come and scream and cheer, then this is a space you can do that.”
Being a part of the Eves of Destruction has been a rewarding experience for Denslow, who is able to take part in a purely recreational activity for nothing other than the sake of enjoyment. Denslow thinks that getting involved in the league, if only just to watch a game, is something that would benefit everyone.
“I think it’s a rare space where you can go and you can engage in something that has nothing to do with making money, or being productive in that sense, and I think that gives a lot to me,” says Denslow. “Whether you’re a participant or a spectator, it’s a really special thing that I think everybody should come see at least once in their life.”
See evesofdestructionrollerderby.com for info on upcoming games.