This weekend is the start of the Canberra Roller Derby League, with a total of four teams battling it out for dominance.

This year's competition is set to be one of the largest in the capital after growing from just a single team when the league first started in 2008.

Kat Geurin has been competing in roller derby for more than two years and is a member of the Black 'n' Blue Belles.

She said she first became involved in the sport as a way to continue her love of roller skating.

"I did an exercise class with roller skates amd then I thought it was time to up the ante and do a full-contact women's sport," she said.

"It's one of the fastest growing women's sports in the world and one of the few sports where you play both offence and defence at the same time."

A typical game of roller derby involves two teams of five skaters taking to the rink, with one skater from each team - known as a jammer - attempting to get past the members of the opposing team.

The fast-paced nature of the sport means there are often more referees on the track than there are skaters.

"There are also lots of penalties involved, and with so many skaters on the track, there's a lot of people to follow," Ms Geurin said.

While the gameplay is a big part of the sport, an equally large aspect is the costumes as well as the player's roller-derby name, an alter-ego used during the competition.

Ms Guerin, or Katomic as she is known on the track, said the roller derby names stem from the sport's grass-root origins.

"It's a very entertaining sport, and the emphasis is placed on that," she said.

"People would go out with the make up and and special costumes and adopt an alter-ego for the day, which was a more important part of the game."

At a time when there has been increased emphasis on women's sport such as the AFL Women's League and the Super Netball competition, Ms Guerin said roller derby has been one of a few sports that has been female dominated since its inception.

"When you talk about other sports, you say women's AFL or women's cricket and it's always clarified as a women's sport. But with roller derby, you just say roller derby," she said.

With many Canberra-based players making it into representative sides, Ms Guerin said the sport was going from strength to strength in the nation's capital.

She said she hopes to see it expand and become as large as similar leagues in Sydney or Melbourne.

"We're spoilt for numbers now," she said.

Canberra Roller Derby League matches are held at Southern Cross Club Stadium in Tuggeranong. The season runs until November.