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With fading sharpie-printed numbers on their arms, bruises taking form and bodies still tender from a full-contact, full-on weekend bout, players from the Yukon Roller Girls started their new fitness program Monday night.

They did pushups, squats, jumps, agility tests, running the gamut of fitness indicators. The goal: to have a baseline fitness to compare to when they finish their 12-week training program.

The training begins hot on the heels of the Roller Girls鈥� first official bout in a couple years.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 really ever have a typical season because we鈥檙e always going through ebbs and flows,鈥� said Lindsay 鈥淏onanza Babe鈥� Agar, who has been skating with the team since it started in 2010.

A couple years ago, the Roller Girls lost a lot of the team and haven鈥檛 been able to field a competitive team.

鈥淚njuries and pregnancies,鈥� are what Agar credits for the team鈥檚 sometimes low numbers. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just on a rejuvenation of our league.鈥�

They just got back from their first official bout in Sitka, Alaska. For some players it was a return to the adrenaline of the full-contact sport they love and for others it was an introduction to competition.

鈥淚t was so much faster than I thought it would be,鈥� said rookie Heidi 鈥淩aging Radish鈥� J Loos. 鈥淚t was so much fun, I loved it.鈥�

Her favourite part was having her derby name announced at the beginning of the bout.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the coolest sport ever,鈥� said Loos, who also plays soccer. 鈥淣othing compares to derby.鈥�

The Roller Girls lost their weekend bout, but their spirits are still high.

For Kyla 鈥淩oberta Bondage鈥� Wirth, it was an encouraging experience.

鈥淚 was so proud of everyone and it was so exciting to see how far we鈥檝e come,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o be in a place again where we鈥檙e ready to play games, it鈥檚 so encouraging and I鈥檓 so excited for the future.鈥�

The Roller Girls skated against Sitka鈥檚 Shee Devils and the bout鈥檚 unofficial score was 211-129. The Shee Devils racked up an unofficial 36 penalties, while the Roller Girls had only 22.

鈥淲e learned some new strategies from the other team.鈥圖efensively, we put up some pretty strong walls to stop their jammer (point scorer) from going through and so we learned a lot on our way through the game,鈥� said Agar.

Loos, a rookie, even jammed in her first bout.

鈥淚 was thinking I was just going to block the whole time, but by the second half I was just like let me jam, let me try,鈥� said Loos. 鈥淚 was so proud of myself. I got lead jammer and I got some points.

鈥淲hen you get into it, it鈥檚 so fast and all the hits. It鈥檚 just intense. I was just exhausted and sore after.鈥�

To get to Sitka the team chartered a plane and it was a new experience for a lot of the players.

鈥淭he only way we can get there is chartering a plane because they鈥檙e an island,鈥� said Agar. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very economical when you take 15 people down because it鈥檚 $500 return per person, so it鈥檚 like going down to Vancouver.鈥�

Loos said she felt like 鈥渞oyalty鈥� and Jenna 鈥淛ennacide鈥� Blanchette enjoyed the change from driving to bouts.

鈥淚t was awesome. I鈥檓 used to either driving or taking the bigger flights,鈥� said Blanchette. 鈥淏ut this one was just perfect and saved a lot of money too, which is always a good thing.鈥�

The Roller Girls are looking towards their fresh meat session June 20 at the Canada Games Centre, where anyone can go out and try the sport for free.

They鈥檙e also getting ready for their first home bout in a few years, which is scheduled for September 10 at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.

鈥淚 think it鈥檒l be a good chance to show Whitehorse derby again,鈥� said Blanchette. 鈥淚 think everyone has kind of forgotten a little bit about it in the last couple years, so it鈥檒l be nice to put on a show.鈥�