Tributes are rolling in for the founder of the Adelaide Roller Derby league, Sarah Strong-Law, who died in a car accident on Kangaroo Island last week.
Known by her roller derby name Barrelhouse Bessy, Ms Strong-Law founded one of three leagues established in Australia during 2007 after she immigrated the previous year from Austin, Texas.
The first of their kind in Australia, there are now scores of derby leagues across the country.
Close friend Phillipa Schliebs said Ms Strong-Law had been integral to the sport's "astronomical growth".
"It was a unique experience for all of us when we started, and it remains an unusual sport for a lot of people."
Ms Strong-Law, 42, died in a crash between the car she was driving and a truck at a Pelican Lagoon intersection last Tuesday.
A born leader
Ms Strong-Law started by printing flyers in 2007 that declared "Roller Derby Needs You", prompting a group of women to meet at Thebarton's Wheatsheaf Hotel for an information night, which subsequently became the headquarters for a fledgling league that grew quickly.
Ms Schliebs said that at the height of Ms Strong-Law's involvement with the Adelaide Roller Derby (ARD), it drew up to 3,000 spectators to a game.
She said there were now more than 100 different roller derby leagues across Australia.
"The outpouring of grief that we've seen on social media alone, let alone in the background because not everyone's on social media, has been quite immense and it's thoroughly deserved," Ms Schliebs said.
In a post on social media, ARD described Ms Strong-Law as a "born leader and organiser" with "boundless energy".
It said she was central in the development of a home season, teams, and for hosting Australia's first public roller derby, the Great Southern Slam, which it claimed was the largest such tournament in the southern hemisphere.
"She championed our league culture on the premise of 'daggy and endearing' and established an empowering space for the women of Adelaide — a revolutionary experience for members at the time."
Building a community
Ms Strong-Law also espoused the motto, "By the skater for the skater", a philosophy that encouraged members to be involved in the league's publicity, merchandising and event hosting.
She revealed in a 2010 TEDxAdelaide talk that she set out to create a new community through roller derby, and later featured in a 2011 documentary by Daniel Hayward about the growing sport.
A serious knee injury in 2012 resulted in Ms Strong-Law retiring from the game. She later moved to Kangaroo Island with her family where she is survived by her husband Boone and daughter Kiva.
"When she was on the mainland, she would attend some of the games, but I guess her involvement at that stage was [as] a bit of a sounding board for some of us," Ms Schliebs said.
A far-reaching impact
Ms Strong-Law offered design and management services on Kangaroo Island for events, community and projects, and was treasurer for the Penneshaw Progress Association.
"She's been involved in almost every aspect of Kangaroo Island tourism and events and the interesting cultural activity that's been going on in the island since she moved there," Ms Schliebs said.
"I think Sarah's impact on her friends, the wider roller derby community, both directly and indirectly, and the Kangaroo Island community, is quite difficult to measure.
"She could never have understood the impact that she's had on a lot of our lives — she probably would have been extremely embarrassed by all the adulation she's getting now."
A post on Ms Strong-Law's Facebook page said an appropriate service on Kangaroo Island would be organised to celebrate her life, with a live stream link made available for those who could not attend.
