Winnipeg's Junior Roller Derby recruiting kids to lace up their roller skates

It's that time of year when parents are registering their kids for sports and activities but an information session in Winnipeg on Sunday is encouraging them to consider roller derby.

The Junior Roller Derby information day at Fort Garry Curling Club will give kids an opportunity to get their first try at the rapidly growing sport.

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The game involves two teams skating on an oval-shaped track. Each team has four players doing both defense and offense — they are called the blockers, said Kaylon Mullen, the co-ordinator of Winnipeg Junior Derby.

Each team also has a player called the jammer.

"The point of the game is for the jammer to get through the pack and lap as many times as you can and the jammers earn a point for every blocker of the opposing team that they pass," she said.

In Winnipeg there are three levels of the sport for youth ages nine to 17: the first is no contact, the second is moderate and the third is full contact.

Trinity Meilleur, 14, said she is excited to make it to the full-contact level of the sport.

"I can be myself and I can let out my aggression and I won't get in trouble," she said.

Meilleur started participating in roller derby about five years ago after encouragement from her mom.

"My mom was the one that wanted me to go in and then I started loving it," she said. 

"She watches every practice and every game."

When people start playing they want to keep going, Mullen said.

"I actually started in the junior program and came back to help them," she said.

The information day goes from 4 to 7 p.m.