ALTER-EGOS, pace and brute strength are all needed if you are going to make it as a roller derby girl.

However, tactical ability and a high level of discipline are also vital to succeed in this demanding full contact game.

Roller derby is no longer considered just an alternative past time and it is increasingly being recognised as a sport in its own right.

Popularity in the sport was given a boost when England ranked third in the first ever Roller Derby World Cup in Toronto, Canada in December 2011.

Leagues have been springing up across the UK with many clubs having to create waiting lists.

The Seaside Siren Roller Girls, in Southend, formed two years ago.

Membership has increased from 30 to 63 within a year and now there is a waiting list for the esteemed club.

They are one of just two roller derby clubs in Essex, the other being the recently re-launched Killa Hurtz Roller Girls in Chelmsford.

April will see the Seaside Sirens enter the roller derby league for the second time and they couldn’t be more thrilled.

I met up with some of the women from the club to find out what attracted them to the sport.

Donna Sams, a feisty red head who is known on the roller rink as Snarley Davidson, has been with the club for two years and is now the bench coach.

She believes that people are starting to give roller derby the recognition it deserves.

Donna, 37, from Southend, says: “Yes roller derby is about alter-egoes etc but mainly it is just a very tactical sport which involves a lot of hard work and training.

“It is still a niche sport and not very many people know about it but all of us who are involved are extremely passionate about it.”

All new members have to undergo minimal skills training in the roller derby ‘fresh meat’ programme before they are able to play in bouts.

Donna says: “Some women might join to lose a few pounds but they quickly find out that there is a level of commitment needed to be on the team.

“They have to go through the training programme and then we train three times a week as well as other fitness and weight training the girls do in their own time.”

The club is run and funded by sponsors and the members, who pay £30 a month, and they all play their part in keeping it running.

Ellie Punter, a journalist and graduate of the fresh meat programme, goes by the nickname Ella-Gnaw and promotes the club in her spare time.

She says: “We all chip in with the skills we have to help run the club. Whether that’s helping promote the club or organising fundraising events we all help out.”

Ellie, 29, from Southend, found that moving to the area six months ago with a husband and two children made her want to start a new friendship group.

She says: “I made a lovely group of friends through mother and baby groups but I really wanted to do something where it wasn’t about me being a mum.

“My friend had joined and she said I should try it then I watched the film Whip It and thought I’d give it a go!”

When Jade O’Neil, also known as Killer Bite, first started the fresh meat programme she could bare it stand up on her skates.

Now she plays for the Seaside Sirens’ A team as a blocker.

Jade, 24, from Westcliff, says: “They all joked that I was like Bambi when I first started! I was taught how to skate properly in the ‘derby stance’ where you stand at a 190 to120 degree angle. It means that ours thighs hurt after training and a bout!

“I’m so proud that I am now in the A team now and skating 30 laps in five minutes.”

Laura Jones, 32, fromRomford, a blocker for the Seaside Sirens, went to Canada in December to watch the World Cup match.

She says: “It felt important to be there for the first ever World Cup. There was a great atmosphere and, unlike some football matches, there was no animosity for the other teams, we were all their for each other.

“Because it is a fairly new sport it’s not your usual countries that are excelling - which countries Canada, Finland and England during the World Cup.”

Seaside Sirens are currently recruiting referees anyone interested can get further details at www.seasidesirenrollergirls.com.

Kate Powell, 25, from Braintree, plays for the Killa Hurtz Roller Girls in Chelmsford.

The team have been running in Chelmsford under different guises but they re-launch in October last year under their new name.

Now they have a fresh batch of fresh meat graduates and with a team of 16 members and counting they are keen to start competing this year.

Kate says: "We are focusing on recruiting new members at the moment and we aim to train up another 15 girls and to be competing in the league this year."

Having moved to Essex two years ago Kate joined the club to make friends.

"It’s a bit different to joining a netball team but it appealed to my wild side I guess! You have to be pretty tough and determined to be in the team as it is a full contact sport but you get so much out of it."

For details visit www.killahurtzrollergirls.co.uk.

The rules: -The two teams skate around around a track.

-A members of each team – known as jammers – first force their way through the group, lap them, then make their way through again, scoring points for every player they pass.

-The pack of blockers help their own jammer through, while simultaneously blocking the rival team’s jammer.

The present-day game started to take shape in the 1930s with a roller derby revival in Austin, Texas, in 2001, when the first grass-roots all-female league was formed.

UK Roller Derby leagues began forming in 2006 where the London Rollergirls, Birmingham Blitz Dames, London Rockin Rollers and Glasgow Rollergirls were among the first.

There are now over 90 leagues and growing across the UK.