Terri Baker AKA TERRILIZER, originally a farm girl from north of Oak Lake, is thrilled to be part of the roller derby action that is coming to Virden’s arena. She’s an employee of Virden Recreation & Watersports at the parts counter, and in her spare time, she referees hockey.
Baker’s Wheat City Roller Derby League will race around the track at Tundra Oil & Gas Place with four blockers and one jammer who tries to get through and score points. Blockers do what they can to stop the jammer. It’s physical and that’s what Baker likes.
“I mostly am a blocker but I also am a jammer too. I do all the jobs.”
Game play consists of two 30-minute periods. Each team has a designated jammer (with a star on the helmet) who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team. The game is both offensive and defensive as each team hinders the opposing jammer and makes way for their own jammer.
Baker has been into roller derby for four years and loves the competition; she also loves the travel and the people she meets, having competed in cities across the US and Western Canada.
She has travelled with Team Saskatchewan - BOTAS (Battle of the all-stars), to Hatfield, Pennsylvania, (the top teams of USA are like the NHL players of roller derby) Billings, Montanaand Calgary, Alberta.
The Wheat City Roller Derby League, started in 2010, is Brandon's first women's flat track roller derby league. Their travel team is known as “Scarlet Fever”.
With the Brandon team, she has competed in Minot, North Dakota and against teams in Swift Current, Regina, Prince Albert, Saskatoon as well as Kenora, Ont.
Aside from some of the bigger training events, Baker puts in the time twice a week, training and conditioning with her team in Shilo. It’s an important part of this very physical sport.
Baker is the only Virden player on the team at this point, which she hopes will change with others from the area seeing the exciting sport and deciding to join her on roller skates.
TOGP is the Virden venue for the May 25 bout against Regina Sugar Skulls.
