Roller derby action at Mosaic Place this past season.

2013 was a great year for the Lil Chicago Roller Derby League here in Moose Jaw and for the sport of roller derby in the province of Saskatchewan.

Evidence of that outstanding year come in the fact that ten members of the local organization have been nominated in the first ever Derby Frontier 2013 Best of Saskatchewan Roller Derby.

“It's a wonderful group and I've seen a lot of them progress and grow as personal individuals as well as athletes and leaders in the community,” said Kevin Dennison with Derby Frontier, a Saskatchewan-based blog on roller derby.  “It's absolutely wonderful to see that they're being given the recognition for their hard work.”

Dennison put together the awards to showcase the athletes and behind the scenes people that are helping make roller derby one of the fastest growing sports in the province.

“It's absolutely booming right now,” he said.  “What this essentially was, was to continue that celebration of what we've accomplished here in the province.  2013 was a massive year for Saskatchewan, including here in Moose Jaw.”

The LCRD moved into Mosaic Place in 2013 and took the sport to a whole new level here in the Friendly City by hosting a Central Division tournament and starting up a junior team.

“With Moose Jaw, all of these people that I've been training and teaching the rules and officiating for and volunteering for, to see them all get the recognition that they deserve after putting in all the hard work is great to see,” added Dennison.

Ten local skaters in total are up for awards:

- Amy Dodd (aka Aimin’ 4 U) for Sask Blocker of the Year
- Kevin Dennison (aka Kevlar) for Most Supportive to the Provincial Derby Community and Sask Referee of the Year
- Krista Michelson (aka Addy 2’d Juster) for Sask Freshmeat of the Year
- Mackenzy Vida (aka Q-Tee McWhiskers) for Sask Junior Skater of the Year
- Mandy Eirich (aka Anya Azz) for Most Supportive to the Provincial Derby Community
- Nicole Bellrose (aka Nickle N’ Dime Her) for Sask Freshmeat of the Year
- Rob Vida for Sask Derby Photographer of the Year
- Ron Gall (aka Coach Rotten) for Sask Coach/Trainer of the Year
- Tabitha Vida (aka Baby Zebra) for Most Promising New Official
- Terri Dolph (aka TERRorIzer) for Sask Freshmeat of the Year

Voting for the awards is open to anyone and is underway for the next week.  Voting closes on Tuesday and the winners will be announced on Wednesday.  Click here to vote.