The Sunshine Coast Roller Girls reversed the curse putting their own hex on the Voodoo Derby Dollz from Chilliwack in an impressive 161-136 roller derby win last Saturday afternoon before more than 200 enthusiastic fans at the Sunshine Coast Arena in Sechelt.
The win was the second in a row against top calibre and higher ranked competition for the Roller Girls who are starting to show that they are a team to contend with each time they take to the floor for a bout.
It was a really tight, close game, said SC Roller Girls president Hippy Longstalker. Both teams grabbed four points right off the bat, then it was 15-15 and we just seemed to keep trading scores for most of the match. Then in the last seven minutes or so we pulled ahead and never looked back. It was by far the tightest game that we have played and that was the hardest working team we have played so far.
Longstalker said the two teams played two years ago when the Roller Girls were just starting out and Chilliwack won easily. This time, however, the Roller Girls showed they are a force to be reckoned with.
It's really exciting to see how far the team has come, she said. We're gone from a team just learning the game, to a team that implements lots of strategy both defensively and offensively.
And now that the Roller Girls have won their last two contests, she expects tougher and higher ranked competition will be in the cards.
Playing rookie teams when we first started out was what we had to do to get experience and playing time, but now with these results, I think other higher ranked teams will hopefully take notice and want to play us. We've really been challenging ourselves in practice and really working hard to better ourselves and show the other teams that we are a top contender.
The team was thrilled by the turnout and wanted to thank everyone who came out to make the bout such a success.
It takes so many people to put on a bout. It's not just the game, she said. It was nice to have the earlier game and with the costume contest and Halloween theme, there were lots of kids out. We really pride ourselves in offering family-oriented entertainment and we like to involve the whole community.
The Roller Girls hope to play some more road games in January and early 2013, but their home schedule has come to a close, as the team is homeless with renovations to the SC Arena set to start next month.
The Roller Girls do have the use of an area hall for practice, but the team would love to find a permanent home where they could train year-round.
We'd love to get the use of a hall, an airport hanger even a barn that we could use full-time, she said. That's the big thing right now is having the ability to keep training year round, keep recruiting and keep building the team.
While a permanent training centre is sought, the team plans to continue recruiting and fundraising for next season.
They are starting this Wednesday during the Sechelt Downtown Business Association's Halloween event by setting up a booth to sell their new 2013 roller derby calendars. More opportunities to purchase the calendars will take place in the coming weeks as details are finalized. To get involved with the Roller Girls, help with fundraising or to offer up training space, email scrg.ca@gmail.com.
