IT’S ready, steady, roll in Greenock — as people are invited to try out an exhilarating new sport dubbed as ‘rugby on skates’.

Inverclyde Roller Derby are encouraging people of all abilities to get their skates on and give the fun contact sport a whizz.

Sarah Marner, who set up the team at Lady Octavia Sports Centre with her sibling Mac Murray, says the sport is about having fun while keeping fit and socialising.

The 23-year-old, who lives in Mount Pleasant Street, told the Tele: “I have fallen in love with roller derby since my first taste of the sport in Lockerbie.

“Mac used to live there so we used to go along whenever I was visiting.

“I loved it so much that I wanted to join a league closer to home but I soon realised that the closest team were the Glasgow Roller Derby.

“So when Mac moved back to Greenock we decided to set up our own team, which has been a big success.”

Popular in the US in the 1950s and 60s, roller derby has experienced a renaissance in recent years.

The fast and furious sport is now catching on in Inverclyde with the team growing from five to 23 members in the past seven months.
Mac, of Antigua Street, hopes to inspire others to get involved.

The 29-year-old said: “I would describe it as being a bit like rugby on skates but a lot more fun and a lot less intimidating.

“It’s a contact sport however our league is more about the fitness and social side of it.”

The sport is made up of two teams of five who roller skate in the same direction around a track. 

Both teams designate a scoring player, known as the jammer, who scores points by lapping members of the other team.

The local team currently hold training sessions every Friday and want to set up teams for competitions.

Mum Fiona Marshall, 25, from Port Glasgow, said: “I went to the first training session back in March and now the team are like my family.

“It’s a brilliant sport because it’s something different.”
Dawn Hair, 43, added: “It has been fantastic and Mac and Sarah are brilliant coaches.”

Anyone aged 18 and over who would like to try out the sport is invited to Lady Octavia on Saturday November 12 from 1 to 3pm.