Roller derby team offers a new sport for young skaters

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — For anyone who has competed in or watched a match, it is apparent that roller derby is not a sport for the faint of heart, and a recent junior league scrimmage at Kingsway Skateland proved no different.

Armed with knee and elbow pads, helmets and mouth guards and touting names like "Berry Bomb," ”Lady Macdeath" and "E=MC Scared," players whizzed around the arena egged on by the supportive cheers of parents and onlookers.

The Rockin’ Rollers’ junior league team got its start in 2012, when a handful of adult players decided they wanted to start up a youth club.

The junior club started with about five players and has grown consistently over the last three years. This year, there are about 25 players ranging in age from 5 to 17.