For the past four years, Dan Watt has been on the other side of roller derby.
Married to long-time Rated PG RollerGirl SaraBellum, Watt was an active derby fan and booster before deciding to strap on skates himself.
"I'd bring the kids to the games and finally I decided I wanted to become a part of it, because while it's pretty exciting to watch, it's even more exciting to be in the middle," said Watt, who refereed his first bout in January 2012.
In his black and white stripes as Captain Dantastic, Watt knows the rules of flat-track derby better than some of the women who take to the Roll-A-Dome oval on bout nights and can rollerskate with the best of them.
Prince George's first co-ed team, the Pulp City Woodpeckers, was created to give Watt and other male roller derby enthusiasts their chance to get in on the game known as the fastest-growing sport in North America.
The Woodpeckers join other co-ed and men's teams springing up in Red Deer, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Tacoma.
The team wouldn't be possible without the involvement and support of the RollerGirls, said Watt, adding that the men aren't trying to hone in on the women's game.
For anyone who is familiar with flat-track roller derby, the games with men follow the same rulebook.
"Some of the men's games that I've watched... it's a lot more strategic, it's a lot faster and the footwork is incredible," said Watt, as opposed to brute force and vicious hits that some may be expecting.
When men and women are playing together, there's also an understanding.
"A great big six-foot-two guy isn't going to lay a huge hit on a four-foot woman. You're going to take that size and weight differential into account," he explained.
The team is hosting a free try-it night Sunday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Roll-A-Dome where men and women can lace up and find out more about the game and the new team.
"I don't think a lot of people even know about women's derby let alone men's derby and then when they do hear about it they probably have preconceived notions from watching it on TV in the 70s," said Watt, who still gets questioned about whether the matches are fixed. "I think just getting people to come out and watch a game or to talk to somebody that's involved is really important. And what we found is people get hooked by the derby bug."
It's impossible to typecast the type of person who falls into the derby hole. A school principal, Watt has found himself in company with a medical doctor, a university professor, a veterinarian and a paramedic, to name a few.
"We have people from all these different walks of life that probably wouldn't normally hang out or associate and oftentimes they're people who've never been involved in a team sport or let alone a sport," he said.
Following the introductory night there will be a seven-week bootcamp leading up to a co-ed exhibition game - the very first in Prince George - with players from other established teams coming to mix it up.
Ladies first
For the uninitiated, the Rated PG RollerGirls will be showing everyone how it's done when they take on the Tournament City Derby Dolls on Saturday night. The visiting Kamloops team is expected to put up quite a fight on the track. The first whistle sounds at the Roll-A-Dome at 7 p.m.
