Steward hoping to blitz Sheffield when they roll into Birmingham

Steward, 43, took up the sport after reading about Dames’ Roisin Roulette in a Guardian article in 2011.

“I have been skating since 1976 and I thought I was pretty good,” said Steward a blocker/jammer who goes by the derby name of Queen of Heartless.

“But derby challenges me constantly, I’m always learning and working on something new.

“I hated sports at school, and this is the first team sport I have ever enjoyed.

“When I started, I thought Birmingham was a long way to go for practice, and decided that if I got bored, I would just stop going - that was over two years ago.”

Roller derby is a fast, full-contact sport, with two teams of five skaters battling in an explosive jam.

One skater in each team is the jammer and has a star on her helmet.

She gets points for each member of the opposition that she passes.

The rest of their team are blockers who help their jammer by shoving the other team and clearing a path.

After an explosive two minutes, the line-up of skaters changes and it all starts again.

Birmingham Blitz Dames are one of the UK’s original roller derby teams and have been rolling for nearly ten years and currently have two teams competing at the highest level of the sport.

Rex Tangle, one of the coaches and also a roller derby player for Team England, said: “Roller derby is an adrenaline-fuelled sport which is fast paced and exciting.

“Birmingham Blitz Dames is a brilliant club to be in and the home match in March is set to be amazing with excellent skating and a brilliant after-party.”

Tickets for the jam on March 22 cost £6.50 in advance or £8 on the door.