Thousands set to roll up to Adelaide Showground for the Great Southern Slam roller derby tournament this weekend

THERE will be more than a little pushing and shoving in Adelaide when one of the world’s largest roller derby tournaments rolls into town this long weekend.

Elle Cottam and Phillipa Schliebs are ready for The Great Southern Slam at the Adelaide Showground this weekend. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

THERE will be more than a little pushing and shoving in Adelaide when one of the world’s largest roller derby tournaments rolls into town this long weekend.

More than 1300 players, officials, support staff and commentators from Australia and New Zealand will go head-to-head at the Adelaide Showground in the Great Southern Slam, Adelaide’s three-day biennial event.

TGSS publicity manager Katrina Broad, better known in the roller derby world as “Hot Cross Guns”, said this year’s event would be their biggest, as 45 leagues compete in 80 games – up from 74 in 2014.

“It is the biggest tournament in the world,” she said.

Ms Broad said the sport had “outgrown” the notion that it was all about “girls hitting each other and make-up and fishnets”.

“It has got so much strategy and layers and complexity involved,” she said.

Ms Broad said the sport’s popularity was still increasing in SA, with three new leagues created in regional and southern Adelaide since the last TGSS.

Elle Cottam — or Elle Catraz, 32, — whose team Adeladies will play in division one, said she expects to be competitive this weekend.

“We’ve been training super hard ... we’re a really cohesive and strong team at the moment,” she said.