EAGLE, Colorado — If you know a Rollergirl, chances are she's sporting a few bruises.

“I have somebody's skate stamped on my leg right now,” said P.J. Shields, a newspaper reporter who comptes in roller derbies. “It's really funny because it's perfect. You can see the wheels.”

Bruises are just part of the culture for the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, a Denver-based group of women who compete nationally in roller derbies.

This contact sport is anything but dainty, and local folks will have a chance to check it out on Saturday during an exhibition roller derby at the Eagle Pool and Ice Rink.

Expect to see two rival teams — the Red Ridin' Hoods and the Sugar Kill Gang — square off in an action-packed battle for roller supremacy.

It will be Eagle's first roller derby. Sheryl Staten, facility manager for the pool and ice rink, said she contacted the Rollergirls about staging an event here after seeing them on the TV news. She thought a roller derby would be a good fit for the ice rink space, which is lined with sport court surface in the summer.

“I'm always trying to be creative with that space when we don't have ice,” she said. “There are tons of women in the valley who play hockey. I thought it (the roller derby) would appeal to people as something different.”

Here's how the sport works: There are two 30-minute periods. Each period consists of two-minute spurts of action during which the “jammers” — point scoring skaters — try to maneuver their way through a pack of “blockers.”

“It is nothing but action,” Shields said. “It's not like some sports where you have to wait a long time for something to happen. When the pack is moving, there is action and it's full contact, so you see a lot of speed. You see a lot of bodies hitting the floor.”

Given all that time on the floor, it's no wonder the girls practice falling safely when they train three to five times per week in a Denver warehouse. The girls also accessorize with helmets, kneepads, elbow pads and wrist guards, since broken bones are common.

The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls formed in 2004, and was a founding member of the national umbrella organization the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. Skaters own and operate the league. The women range in ages from 22 to 45.

All sorts of ladies choose to become roller girls. Shields, 33, is a criminal justice reporter for the Longmont Daily Times-Call. There are stay-at-home moms and former rugby players. There's a bounty hunter.

Regardless of who they are in real life, the girls take on skating alter egos in the rink. That includes wearing jerseys sporting their often naughty nicknames (think Vixen TKillYa).

“It's fun. It's just part of our culture,” said Shields, who goes by Dangerous Leigh A'zon. “You don't get to choose a derby name until you've mastered a certain number of skills and passed a skills test.”

There will be five girls on a team at once, with each team playing 13 girls altogether. The girls compete on flat tracks and wear quads, the traditional four-wheel skates.

Garnering fans

Staten expects about 500 people to attend the roller derby. Plenty of adults come out to see the Rollergirls, although children get a kick out of the show and the mascot, Wolfie, Shields said.

“You can bring your family and it's a lot of fun,” she said.

It is one of those sports where a fine line exists between spectators and the action.

“Sometimes the brave can sit up front and they could end up with a roller girl sitting on their lap for a second just because she flew out of the track. We do ask that children don't sit in that row for obvious reasons.”

For audience members who know little about how a roller derby works, an “ask me” girl will be walking around answering questions.

If the Rollergirls get their way, spectators will walk away fans of the sport.

“We really hope that the crowd comes out and gets a taste of what this is and we garner some new fans who are going to want to come down to Denver and support us when we have visiting teams in.”