This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Elbows, forearms and clotheslines will be in full effect Sunday at the Taylorsville Rec Center.

No, it's not a pro wrestling event, it's the Wasatch Roller Derby — which will be taking on the FOCO Micro Bruisers at 11 a.m.

The WRD has been on the road lately, playing against some of the best competition the Western region of the United States has to offer. Now the conquering heroines return to their home state to face off against some of Colorado's top teams in the Micro Bruisers from Fort Collins followed by the Slaughterhouse Derby Girls of Greeley on June 26.

This isn't your mom's roller derby of scripted fights, planned finishes and banked tracks. This is the real deal occurring on flat tracks where skating ability and toughness are the attributes that come into play the most.

Each team places five skaters on the track. There are four blockers and one jammer per side. To score points, the jammer has to get through the fracas, with each blocker passed counting as one point. Scores can range anywhere from the 50s to the 180s in some cases.

Roller derby has skyrocketed in popularity, with many leagues sprouting up across the country. Utah has four leagues — WRD, The Salt City Derby Girls, Ogden's Junction City Roller Dolls and the O-town Derby Dames.

"Utah is definitely coming around to [roller derby]," said Pandora Doom, a blocker who joined the Wasatch Roller Derby squad in November. "Some of the other states are more supportive, but that is because those states have had derby teams longer. It's only been going on for like five years out here."

The Wasatch Roller Derby came about from a split with the Salt City Derby Girls. The team is an official member of Women's Flat Track Derby Association Apprentice Program – which matches new leagues with an established WFTDA team that will help with the processes of becoming a ranked team and qualifying for tournaments.

The WRD comprises the Midnight Terror, which is the league's "A" squad; the "B" team, called the Wrecking Crew; and the only men's team in the state of Utah, the Uintah Madness.

The names on the WRD roster are something out of a comic book: Medusa Damage, Dr. Pain, Gunnin Geisha and Tina Terminator as well as Pandora Doom, River Angel and Renegade Roller.

And while the ladies bring the pain on the track,they couldn't be nicer away from it.

The WRD donated 40 percent of its gate revenue from its Feb. 6 bout to the Utah Parent Center and held another charity race for the Huntsman Cancer Institute in March.

The June 13 bout will be the first of two events that the WRD will hold at the Taylorsville Rec Center this summer. All tickets are general admission. They are $10 in advance, $12 at the door with children 5 and younger free. Tickets are available at the Hoppers at 890 Fort Union Blvd. in Midvale, at http://www.wasatchrollerderby.com, or at the door on the night of the event.