The Nelson Killjoys kept the pressure on Castlegar’s Dam City Rollers during the West Kootenay Roller Derby championships on June 28 but ultimately came up short, losing 300-263.
“It’s not the outcome we hoped for but we’re still very proud of how we played,” said Killjoys captain Courtney Shove post-game, while Nelson residents swarmed on to the rink.
“We knew the Dams were going to give us a good fight and they did. We didn’t let the lead get too big and that’s great,” said Shove.
Shove led an aggressive late game rush that saw her pink-hued tights streaking and weaving through her purple-clad adversaries as they pounded and mashed each other.
Her teammate Concrete Cindy had a few breakaways that had spectators surging to their feet uproariously, and the requisite body checks and doggy-piles kept coming right into the final moments of the game.
Shove said Cindy was one of the star jammers of the evening.
“She spins and jumps. There was a bunch of times if somebody had stayed standing where they were, they would’ve gotten knocked over. But she spun away and out of it and I think that made a big difference in our game,” she said.
But it was Lady MacDeath, in a purple plaid schoolgirl outfit, that had the fanciest moves of the evening. Shove said MacDeath was their most potent opponent.
“She’ll just fight and fight and fight and never stop moving. She gave our walls a run for their money,” Shove said.
“And Katie Carnage lives up to her name every game. You see her coming and it’s like a brick being thrown at you.”
The Dam City Rollers played a solid game of derby, according to Shove. “They’re an aggressive team but they’re also a headstrong team. When they get frustrated, they start to fall apart. So we capitalized on that,” she said.
However, the Killjoys were similarly frustrated.
“We got a few penalties. That really held us back. I got like four penalties in a row, one after the other,” she said.
The Killjoys were established in 2010, and have been on a steady membership incline since. They incorporated members from the dissolved Nelson Lumber Jackies in 2012 and went on to an undefeated 2013 season.
This win would’ve made them the best in the West Kootenay, a goal Shove says they’re undeterred from. She said most of the players will be back next year.
The team, though disappointed, is feeling good about their year. They were heading out for post-game drinks.
“We’re going to be talking about what an incredible season we had. We were missing skaters and you’d never know to see us play.”