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Harbour City Rollers win thriller

Roller derby
Roller Derby
Nanaimo’s Harbour City Roller Girls pulled out a 146-144 win over the Sunshine Coast Roller Girls Red Tide Warning last Saturday night at the Sunshine Coast Arena in Sechelt. See more photos online at www.coastreporter.net

Nanaimo’s Harbour City Rollers held on for a thrilling 146-144 win over the hometown Red Tide Warning in an entertaining roller derby bout at the Sunshine Coast Arena in Sechelt last Saturday night.

In their first home bout of the season, the Sunshine Coast Roller Girls did not disappoint the more than 100 home fans who came out to cheer on the two evenly-matched teams.

The first half saw a fast, focused, strategic game being played by both teams, with Nanaimo using their swarm technique effectively to maintain a small lead for most of the half.

Red Tide played the great defence they are known for and kept up the pressure and the scoring. At half time the score was 75-67 for Nanaimo.

But nine points in roller derby is a small point differential. The second half saw the game intensity heat up. The play was strong by both teams. The score bounced back and forth with both sides taking the lead, and then losing it again. Fantastic jamming, coordinated bridging and powerful offence and defence made it a great game for the fans.

The game came down to a tight six-point spread in the last minute of the game with a photo finish where it was anyone’s game and even the refs were not sure who had won.

“It was so exciting — the crowd was on their feet,” reported Sunshine Coast Roller Girls media liaison Xerez Haffenden. “A complete recount was required to determine the final score. Both teams were thrilled with the exciting and great game they played, and the fans were the winners. That’s roller derby as it should be.”

The next home bout is slated for Sept. 13.