Everything you need to know about Wiltshire Roller Derby

The notoriously competitive sport – described as British Bulldog played on roller skates – has so far seen the 29-year-old break her ribs, wrist and bruise her coccyx so badly she was temporarily blinded by the pain.

She was off for six weeks with a broken wrist that healed faster than was medically possible, according to her doctor.

It didn’t put her off. Six years after turning up for her first taster session, Jez is now captain of Wiltshire Roller Derby.

It’s one of the county’s most successful sports teams of recent years - but you’ve probably never heard of it. Over the past five years it has risen from the lowest league in the country to Tier 1.

Jez, a music therapist, said: “When I first started we were awful. So awful they created a whole new tier for us because we were so bad. They created Tier 5, which existed for a single year, just because we were so terrible.

“We did well at that and came up to Tier 4. We had a really good season and got promoted again to Tier 3. Had a really good season again and got to go to play-offs for the very first time. We won the play-offs and got to Tier 2.”

This year, the team beat North Wales in the play-offs to make it to the top table for the first time in its history. No one expected Wiltshire to claim victory – least of all them.

Jez said: “We want to keep putting Wiltshire on the map because we’re underestimated quite a lot.

“Last season was the only one we weren’t considered an underdog and I think we’ll be back to being an underdog once we reach Tier 1.

“I always say we don’t have to win - but let’s lose by less than they expect us to.”

Captain Jez with the team

Roller Derby has been around since the mid-1930s. A US import it is played with two teams of five skaters on a roughly circular track.

The match is broken up into a series of short games – called jams – each lasting up to two minutes. One of the players, called the jammers, has to try and get past the players on the opposing team. She scores a point for each of the opposing players’ hips she passes.

It’s a full contact sport, with skaters trying to block the other side’s players as they skate around the track.

Jez describes it as chaotic: “People often say it’s British Bulldog on skates. But I’d say it’s got the physicality of rugby and the strategy of chess.”

Wiltshire Roller Derby has around 30 members across two teams. They practice every week at Kingsdown School and hold their matches at the Oasis leisure centre. Currently, they only have women’s teams – but men are welcome to train with the side.

Practice night at Kingsdown

Anyone can play roller derby, Jez said. The team is made up of all ages and professions from teachers and lawyers to graphic designers.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re big, thin, small or tall, there will be a place for you. It’s having that good mix and people with a competitive spirit that helps,” she added.

“For a player, you’ve got to have someone who’s a thinker. It’s such a strategic game you’ve got to be able to understand everything that’s happening.”

To find out more about Wiltshire Roller Derby, visit: www.wiltshirerollerderby.co.uk.