OLYMPIC OVAL--A Leave It To Cleavers skater stands up to a shoulder check from a Sisters Of No Mercy jammer. The boisterous bout kept a lot of the Derby skaters scrambling to get back up.
CLEAVERS BASH SISTERS
by GENEA GAUDET (aka: NICO NOIR)
I've only been doing Derby for eight months, and this was only my second bout, but our team (Leave It To Cleavers) had so much energy for this bout. We beat the Sisters Of No Mercy, 75-55.
The game took place at the Olympic Oval on June 28. We had four main jammers. Dirty Pirate Hooker is an amazing jammer (NOTE: Roller Derby points are scored by the jammers, who try to "jam" through the pack and around to lap them, getting a point for each skater they lap.) She was actually playing a little hurt, so she turned it over to England's Glory, who was our main scorer. She's a rookie, but she's petite and fast.
The Cleavers took the lead and then the Sisters caught up. By halftime, we had the lead again, and we continued to hold it through the second half. At half time, I don't remember one person being tired, we were all exhilarated to get out there again. The Sisters seemed really tired in the second half. By the end, they honestly seemed pretty beat up.
I saw a difference between my first bout and this one. The speed of the pack was much faster. As a league (Salt City Derby Girls) , we have been practicing hitting skills. Even the scrimmages are becoming more physical. I think it's because we're all more confident as skaters, and we are practicing Derby hitting.
Throughout the bout, what was going through my mind was to break up walls so that my jammer could get through, so I was hitting as much as I possibly could. I was trying to distract the players on the other team, and trying to take their position if it was a better position.
This was a very physical game, there was a lot more contact than usual. We all learned a lot when the Salt City Derby Girls league all star team, the Shakers, played the team from Los Angeles, the Hollywood Scarletts. They were very hard hitting and knocked the Shakers around. We've all been working on our hitting skills.
The next bout will be July 12, at the Olympic Oval. The all-star team, the Salt City Shakers, will skate against the Fort Collins FoCo Girls Gone Derby. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.; game starts at 7:00.