It was a television program that gave her the idea.

It was a friend that gave her the opportunity.

"I was telling a friend that I watched this special on A&E about roller derby," said Disco Bliss. "And she said, 'I'm doing roller derby!' And that was it."

Bliss, which is, of course, her derby name, said skating in the now two-year-old Salt City Derby Girls league has transformed her life in ways she never expected.

"I was self-conscious at first," she said. "But you start feeling strong and confident pretty fast. For a lot of these girls, it's the first time they've felt sexy."

And what girl wouldn't feel sexy working up a sweat attempting to blast her best friends out of bounds in fishnet stockings and miniskirt?

Seriously, these women feel tough and sexy, and that's one of the most attractive aspects of the league to the hundreds of people who come watch their bouts at the Olympic speedskating oval in Kearns.

Salt City Derby Girls gives women the chance to be competitive in a way that few ever considered. The league is made up of five teams, four regular squads — Sisters of No Mercy, Leave It to Cleavers, Bomber Babes and Death Dealers — as well as an all-star team, the Shakers.

Many of the women currently in the league were not athletes before they laced up with the Derby Girls.

"Some have never done sports in their life," said Bliss, who is also the league's compliance chairman. "It's my job to deal with any issue that arises between the girls."

And while each woman loves different aspects of the experience, there is one thing that all of them feel good about.

Salt City Derby Girls is a league created and run by the women it serves. They own it; they pay for it; they make all of the decisions.

"It makes you feel special to be a part of it," said Bliss, who is 28. "It's a growing opportunity for women."

The opportunities provided by the sport range from exercise to socializing.

Bliss said she's lost 20 pounds since she began skating with the Derby Girls, and she said it's not just the exercise that encourages participants to slim down.

"I think a lot of it has to do with the positive atmosphere," she said. "Everyone is very open-minded, accepting and supportive. Whatever you are out in the world, none of that matters here. It's hard in life, in general, to be yourself. But not here."

It's also not hard to let an alter ego take over.

All of the women choose derby names, and, in fact, at a tryout last month, many of the hopefuls showed up at the track with a name before they'd even done anything on skates.

"I wanted to pick a name (first) because I think it gave me a little more confidence," said Ashley Moosman, 26, who recently made the squads after the July 28 tryout. "I'm very excited. ... I think my name will be Ashes to Ashes, but there is a derby registry. I didn't know that, but there is."