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See slide show below with this article.
On an early Sunday morning, roller derby hopefuls came in numbers to the Rollercade, 223 Recoleta, vying for a spot on the Alamo City Rollergirls team.
The fresh meat arrived by car - even taxis - hauling large bags containing roller skates, knee pads, arm pads and mouth pieces.
These are necessities for this aggressive and physically demanding sport, if one has ever witnessed the fast-paced game known as roller derby.
The San Antonio team is part of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association - consisting of 30 leagues from all over the country, including Austin, San Francisco and Atlanta.
The league has more than 100 flat track teams and has interleague matches and rules and regulations each team must abide by.
The Alamo City Rollergirls are on the prowl for new skaters in anticipation of their upcoming season.
"This is kind of like an open house for new skaters," said Megan "Megahurtz" Collum, who handles public relations and marketing for Alamo City Rollergirls, at an Oct. 22 practice.
Collum said participation in the roller derby is a huge commitment for the seasoned players and novices interested in joining.
The love and dedication for the sport is evident with players investing up to $280 in equipment with skates costing up to $180 and another $100 for elbow and knee pads, wrist and mouth guards and helmet.
The money doesn't stop there. Players also have monthly dues of $25 that cover practice time at the Rollercade.
To ease the sticker shock, Collum said her league has a skate distributor, skatemall.com, which offers league players a 10 percent discount on equipment.
With recruitment coinciding with the team's anticipation of its new season, Collum said there have been eight newbies attending Sunday practices. "There are no guarantees. We just want them to know the basics. Last year, we had to teach some girls how to skate."
The Alamo City Rollergirls consist of four teams: Dragon Divas, Missyfits, Prim Reapers and the Violations.
At the Oct. 22 practice, the focus was on building up speed and learning how to slide properly to ease the shock of falling on the knees.
Though the girls wear extensive body armor, the sport is still physically intensive and sometimes so demanding, players purge on the spot to continue with the game.
"A lot of us just go and vomit. That's how you build endurance," Kat "Kitty Glitter" Feuerbacher said to a new recruit too exhausted to continue with practice.
When practicing slides, Cate "Nita Spankin" Compton reiterated to derby hopefuls that the whole point of their speed was to achieve the slide.
"Remember, speed is your friend," Compton said.
As she slowly and carefully assembled and donned her skate gear, Collum said in a soft voice as she prepared for practice, "It's like getting ready for battle."
The battle continued with practice teams having to perfect their derby skills with 15 minutes of falling and learning how to successfully execute riding in a pack.
The swoosh sound and light breeze each time they cornered the roller rink at a fast pace told onlookers the high speeds players in roller derby can achieve.
Hopefuls and fanatics have a chance to participate when the team opens a derby boot camp, during which new recruits will be evaluated and selected for teams. The camp is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday through Nov. 10.
For more information, call 865-4110.
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