Double-Header Recap - June 9, 2012

Words by Ryan Seven, TCRG Bout Reporter, Photos by Bob Ayers

For Vancouver roller derby fans, it’s no biggie to see Terminal City All-Star RollerGirl picking up almost 30 points on a power jam. But last Saturday, it was a shocking and electric moment in TCRG lore, and it was only one of the many highlights of a historic double-header at Minoru Arena in Richmond.

The night started with the Faster Pussycats throwing down a strong 182-84 win over the Riot Girls in the TCRG house team match up, and it ended with a homecoming of sorts for the Terminal City All-Stars, who took on the Rat City Rollergirls All-Stars in WFTDA-sanctioned play, losing 284-144 to Seattle’s best skaters and bruise-inducing hitters.

Faster Pussycats versus Riot Girls

Although FPC ultimately dropped a large point deficit on the Riot Girls, the bout felt surprisingly close, with just a handful of big power-jams that opened up the scoreboard.

The first few minutes were jittery, with some scoreboard and penalty confusion. But by the middle of the first half, the Faster Pussycats had pulled ahead 44-34 before jammer NazDroveya Wylde powered through a 28-point power jam, followed by 15-point power jam by Schwarzemegger.

FPC blocker L.A. Gunns lays one on Riot Girls jammer Justine TimberSkate

With FPC up 94-41 at halftime, the Riot Girls were still battling hard. Although FPC was able to keep to the Riot Girls to single-digit jams the entire night, the Riot Girls jammers were resilient.

Both teams locked down in the middle of the second half and the points were kept to a premium for a five-jam stretch. Sundown, who was doing double-duty that night for the Riot Girls and the All-Stars, looked especially dangerous in the pack all night. During a FPC jam, she was able to hold the jammer back, eventually knocking her out of play – sending her to the penalty box scoreless.

It was impossible to tell that it was FPC jammer Sim-Mutilator’s first-ever bout. Especially after she bounced back from a big hit from jammer Trixi Trippin Chix at the jam line and captured lead jammer.

As time ticked down, FPC continued to claw ahead, thanks to a 25-point powerjam from captain Tiki TimeBomb and a 15-point powerjam from Sim-Mutilator.

Picking up a victory against the Riot Girls, the Faster Pussycats finish 2-1 on the season, with the second seed in TCRG’s league standings.

Terminal City All-Stars versus Rat City

There were more than enough reasons that the crowd was fired up for the marquee bout between the hometown Terminal City All-Stars and Seattle’s Rat City Rollergirls.

After traveling down the West Coast, and leaping up the WFTDA Western rankings in the process (currently ranked 16), the All-Stars returned to play on home turf for the first time in over a year. And it was against one of the best teams in the West --and, really, the world -- the Rat City Rollergirls, who brought their A-game for the first officially sanctioned bout in Vancouver.

With the Rat City pack setting up a big wall right at the jammer line to start the bout, TCRG pulled off an immediate star-pass to pivot Buffy Sainte Fury that slipped through successfully. A jammer who has been passed the star is not able to be lead jammer, but Buffy was far enough ahead that Rat City's jammer saw the threat and called it off before Buffy was able to score any points, leading to a scoreless jam.

But with Rat City setting up another scrum start of immovable skaters at the jammer line, Terminal City used the tricky star-pass again. This time, with Luludemon passing it to RollerGirl, and with Rat City’s jammer going to the box, TCRG went on an epic power-jam as Rat City was whittled down to only two skaters on the track not sent to the sin bin.

The bout was off to an amazing start for the hometown crowd, and it only got better from there, as both teams were throwing up huge walls, and each jam was filled with fancy footwork one would expect from world-class derby.

TCRG held onto the lead for a good chunk of the first half, but it was clear that Rat City was getting stronger as the night went on. Rat City was able to get their first lead of the night after a 5-on-3 jam by Jalapeño Business, who took the score to 53-49. It was also in the middle of three-jam stretch that Rat City was able to hold Vancouver scoreless.

Jammer Kim Janna negotiates a very defensive Rat City wall

TCRG’s Kim Janna picked up 15 huge points in a wrecking-ball jam that got the home team their last lead of the night. The Rat City jammer got sent to the box for cutting the track, leaving Janna to skate for a full two minutes, before being sent off for a penalty herself at the end of the jam. The score was 115-83 at halftime.

The second half was filled with penalty problems for the home team, who saw two skaters foul out, as Rat City continued to dominate. RCRG’s walls stood strong, while their jammers kept find ways to squeak around TCRG’s walls.

Penalties caught up to the Vancouver team especially on a 5-on-PLAYER 1 power jam that saw Carmen Getsome pick up 30 big points.

TCRG battled back a couple jams later with two big jams by Rollergirl and Luludemon, bringing up the score, but momentum was squashed when TCRG didn’t send out a jammer in time, costing them 35 points.

Even though the Terminal City All-Stars lost, it was still an impressive battle from the home team, who were projected to score only one point for every five of Rat City’s, according to Flat Track Stats. And it was a memorable night of derby for Vancouver, many of whom have been dreaming of a Rat City-Terminal City meeting since 2006.