‘Holly Hatchet’ reviving roller derby in Sault and area

The Sault’s Holly Marshall-Ryan is dedicated to reviving roller derby in Sault Ste. Marie.

With a desire to build a team to travel and compete in league play, Marshall-Ryan recently launched Sault Roller Derby Resurrected.

She was a member of the former Sault Roller Derby league. 

“I skated with the league for a few years. It was up and running and everything fizzled out during COVID so it’s been about four years absent from the Sault,” Marshall-Ryan told SooToday.

“I was having memories of skating and I would bring it up with people, about roller skating on the derby team and it seemed a lot of people got excited when I mentioned roller skates. I was expressing to my husband how I missed having skates, so he bought me a pair of roller skates and I just got the drive back in me.”

In November 2023 she began her effort to revive the sport locally, hanging posters and getting the word out on social media.

“I said ‘hey, I’m starting a league. If you want to join, contact me.’”

Marshall-Ryan received an enthusiastic response.

“It was like fireworks,” she said.

“I had people reaching out from other cities in northern Ontario like Sudbury, from southern Ontario as well as Michigan reaching out and saying the same thing. COVID kind of destroyed everybody’s teams. Nobody was skating so they were saying ‘thank you for starting this’ and it’s just been a whirlwind ever since then.”

Marshall-Ryan now has 13 skaters registered with Sault Roller Derby Resurrected, the group meeting twice a week for practice at Garden River First Nation Recreation Centre.

“It was heartwarming for me because I had no idea of the response I would get but some of my old friends who skated with me thought it was so fantastic and they offered help to me to get it started. We’re starting right from the bottom and registering people. There’s insurance. There's a lot of work to it.”

Some skaters participating in Sault Roller Derby Resurrected are experienced skaters, others are new to the sport. 

The team Marshall-Ryan and her group want to build is open to women 18 and older.

“We’ve got lots of willing and eager participants coming out regularly. We’ve had special guests coming from Montreal that used to skate in town with these women before.”

“It’s a lot of just getting our muscles going, learning different types of footwork, learning the rules of the sport, so right now it’s a lot of practice and learning what’s allowed and what’s not allowed.”

Roller derby is a contact sport, and its games - called bouts - last 60 minutes.

A team has 15 members, five of them skating in two-minute shifts.

Each team's jammer scores points against the opposing team’s jammer while four blockers on each team defend their jammer.

“Back in the day there was definitely a lot more smashing and hitting but over the years they’ve tightened up the rules where you’re going to get a penalty if you’re getting too rough. It’s very strategic. It’s very fun and it’s great teamwork.”

Marshall-Ryan said she would like to get 20 members to form a team, adding she needs referees and other officials.

She said Sault Ste. Marie Sinkers is the name she has chosen for the team.

The team’s logo portrays a woman on roller skates sitting on a torpedo wanting to sink her opponents. 

“With 40 or 50 people coming regularly I could have two teams. That would be fantastic and it’s not out of the realm of possibility. From November to January, from the very bottom, out of thin air, we’re doing pretty well,” Marshall-Ryan said.

“We want to host other teams and travel to other places for tournaments. You can take it pretty far. It’s international. The players have to be skilled to the level that the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) requires and know the rules before you can even step onto an official track to bout.”

Most Sault Roller Derby Resurrected members are from the Sault, Garden River First Nation and St. Joseph Island.

“More often than not these girls will get on these skates for the first time and after a few practices you would never guess they'd never been on skates before,” Marshall-Ryan said.

“We have skilled skaters that can take the time to teach stance, how to keep strong in your stance. It’s like putting on magic shoes and you’re like ‘whew, I can’t wait to keep doing this!’ That's the energy we get at every practice. Everyone’s just so excited and full of adrenaline.”

Apart from the thrill of competition, Marshall-Ryan said she has another reason for her desire to revive roller derby in the Sault and area.

“I want to get it going for female empowerment.”

“Some women have been through abusive relationships and I want to have women gain confidence, gain strength, to know that they can take control of their lives. I tell them there’s nothing like putting on your skates and start rolling around and being with like-minded women,” Marshall-Ryan said.

She said roller derby helps some women break out of their shells and overcome shyness.

“You get to almost create your own personality, like an alter ego. You get to have clever roller derby names.” 

Marshall-Ryan’s derby name?

“Holly Hatchet,” she said.

Fundraisers for Sault Roller Derby Resurrected are in the works, Marshall-Ryan said, adding that roller derby gear - including roller skates, helmets, mouth guards, knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards and team jerseys can cost hundreds of dollars.

She said that equipment can be purchased through websites of shops such as Vancouver’s RollerGirl and delivered quickly.

Players must be insured as well.

Meanwhile, Marshall-Ryan said her group has loaner skates and other gear available at Garden River First Nation Recreation Centre practices for those wanting to try out the sport.

Sault Roller Derby Resurrected will also be on hand to answer any questions about roller derby and holding a Family Day Fun Skate for all ages at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Family Day (Monday, Feb. 19).

Skating comes with the purchase of a Family Day pass at the Bushplane Museum.

Skates and gear will be provided upon completion of a waiver.

Children 18 and under are required to bring and wear a helmet.  

Marshall-Ryan said more information about roller derby and Sault Roller Derby Resurrected can be obtained through social media or email.