E-Ville Roller Derby is a flat track

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

league based in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 2006, E-Ville was a member of the

Women's Flat Track Derby Association The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women's flat track roller derby. It sets the international standards for rankings, rules, and competition in the sport, and provides guidance and ...

(WFTDA). E-Ville welcomes women, trans, and gender-expansive athletes regardless of pronouns or gender presentation who feel most comfortable playing WFTDA roller derby.

History and organization

E-Ville Roller Derby was founded in 2006 by Laura "Chasey Maim" Holochuk along with six other women. By January 2010, the league had more than fifty skaters, and claimed to be the largest roller derby league in northern Alberta. In 2010, E-Ville launched the first

junior roller derby Junior roller derby is the sport of roller derby, modified for children and adolescents up to 18 years of age. The sport is played in both modified-contact, known as "positional blocking," and full-contact approaches, to facilitate safety across m ...

league in Canada. In 2013, E-Ville hosted what was billed as "Canada's first roller derby championships" at the

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a large shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Met ...

, in which they finished in third place. During 2014, E-Ville Roller Derby moved to Edmonton Sportsdome due to the demolition of Mayfield Trade Center. The league celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2016. League skater Hell'on Keller was selected to play for

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

at the 2011

Roller Derby World Cup The Roller Derby World Cup is an international women's roller derby tournament formerly organized by ''Blood & Thunder magazine'', and currently organized by the Roller Derby World Cup Committee. Teams of amateur skaters from around the world c ...

, the first time Canada was represented at the event. Shania Pain played with Team Canada in the 2017-18 season and Emsky Hammer played with Team Canada in the 2024-25 season. During the COVID-19 pandemic, E-Ville Roller Derby suspended practices. In early 2021, the Edmonton Sportsdome, then the league's main practice space, was abandoned and deflated. E-Ville has practiced, scrimmaged, and held games and tournaments at different arenas around the Edmonton area, including Millennium Place in Sherwood Park and Heritage Plaza in Stony Plain. E-Ville returned to practicing in January 2023.

Teams

Like in many roller derby leagues, many E-Ville skaters left the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the league no longer had the numbers to support multiple teams. As of 2025, E-Ville has one team composed of all the adult skaters in the league. In 2023, E-Ville created a juniors program for skaters starting at age 8. The juniors team is called Blocking Dead. Prior to 2020, the league had three house teams; two travel teams which competed against teams from other leagues; the E-Ville Dead WFTDA-charter team; and the Living Dead B team. The former house teams included the Black Gold Diggers and Las Pistolitas, which folded in 2012 and 2018 respectively. However, the Black Gold Diggers returned and played for a one-off game in 2016. The house league teams used to compete for an annual championship called the Gage Cup, named for the late son of a former league member. The Berzerkhers won the title in 2013, Las Pistolitas in 2016, the Slice Girls in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015, and former home team the Black Gold Diggers won the title in 2009 and 2012.

WFTDA competition

E-Ville joined the

WFTDA Apprentice Program The Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice was the program affiliate of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). In operation from 2009 until early 2019, the Apprentice Program served to onboard new member leagues into the WFTDA ...

in January 2015, and became a full member in March 2016. E-Ville made their WFTDA Playoffs debut in 2017 at the Division 2 Playoffs and Championships as the 15th seed, and finished in eighth place after a 295–238 loss to Oklahoma Victory Dolls.

WFTDA rankings

References

{{WFTDA Division 2 Roller derby leagues established in 2006 Roller derby leagues in Canada Sports clubs and teams in Edmonton Women's Flat Track Derby Association Division 2 2006 establishments in Alberta