A NEW roller derby team have been formed in Worcester and members are being put through their paces twice a week at Perdiswell Leisure Centre.

Imogen Howstan and Amy Holden have set up the Worcester Wyldlings with more than a dozen women supporting the new venture.

The club has a new coach Kirsten Wilson, who is working alongside Adrian Head.

“I have been interested in roller derby for many years and had been thinking about starting a new team in Worcester for almost a year,” said Howstan.

“Other teams in the area include Hereford, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Birmingham but work commitments have stopped me attending their sessions due to the travelling.

“Amy and I decided to go for it and we set up a page on social networking sites with the hope of getting some support. The response has been incredible.

“There’s been a lot of interest, more than I was expecting when I started putting the feelers out.

“On the first session, we had seven skaters turn up and a dedicated coach.”

Roller derby is played as a full-contact sport on skates and involves a race between two teams to score the most points.

The sport is fast-paced on an oval track and the new Worcester club are open to women over the age of 18 years.

The game involves two periods of 30 minutes and each period is broken down into jams, which last for up to two minutes.

For every jam, each team sends five skaters on to the track — four blockers and a jammer, whose job it is to score points.

The blockers try to help their jammer get past the opposition team’s blockers.

At the same time, they hold back the opposing jammer by getting in her way or knocking her off track.

Jammers are awarded points for passing members of the opposing team and their aim is to score as many points they can.

Worcester Wyldlings are training twice a week at Perdiswell Leisure Centre, Bilford Road, on Wednesdays from 7pm until 8pm and on Fridays between 9pm until 10pm.

They also meet before a Friday practise session to warm up between 7pm and 8pm.

Howstan continued: “We’re open to everyone and, while derby is primarily a female sport, we do have some men who come along to practise. Hopefully, we could get a men’s team going one day. We are new skaters so minimum skills need to be passed and signed off by a coach and skating official.

“We welcome anyone to our sessions and there is a mix of skills, from complete beginners to intermediate, and our coach is amazing with lots of contacts in the roller derby world.

“We skate on any surface we can find and we also join in with nearby sessions in Cheltenham and Birming - ham because the roller derby community is very inclusive and welcoming to new teams.

“The best way to learn about roller derby is to come along and watch a match and talk to the roller girls, referees and officials who live and breathe the sport.”

For more details about Worcester Wyldlings, e-mail worcestercityrollerderby@ gmail.com.