CANBERRA Roller Derby League has felt the need to defend its status as a genuine athletic endeavour after a popular local competitor garnered more online support than any other female Australian athlete.

Local roller derby fans almost pulled off a spectacular coup by mobilising fans to vote online for Christine Murray, also known as “Short Stop”, in a poll to name Australia’s greatest sportswoman of all time.

In the end, the top honour went to Dawn Fraser, ahead of track and field athlete Betty Cuthbert and champion surfer Layne Beachley.

Short Stop was included in the list of the top 100 Australian sportswomen of all time by the organisers of the event, Sports Hydrant, but did not make the top 25.

The Canberra Roller Derby League (CDRL) decided to send out a statement today, lamenting the sport’s perception in the media.

“Due to the youth of the sport – and it’s colourful culture – media attention often comes in the form of one-off articles exclaiming over the novelty of women hitting each other,” the CRDL spokesperson says. “However fans of the sport keep coming back because they get a taste for the athleticism, the complex strategies used in game-play and the dedication of the players.”

The spokesperson took specific aim at a “Canberra Times” article that said it would have been “a little more alarming” had the top 100 been based entirely on the public vote.

“Rather than be alarmed by the vote results it may be timely for sports media to engage with derby and discover what the fans across Australia and the world already know. This is a tough competitive sport that is exciting to watch, and challenging and satisfying to play.”