Let me tell ya, derby luvvers and rollergirls alike, I saw the most frustrating, surprising, longest derby game I have seen so far on Saturday night when I travelled from Hamilton ON to Toronto to see the
HCRG travel team taking on the
ToRD .
First off, everyone that's not been up to date on roller derby WFTDA news, or that has not yet switched their leagues over to the new (released in May 2008)
3.0 WFTDA rules and regs for flat track roller derby, get ready!
So let me tell you about the game. ToRD's CN Power surprised me. I've seen a few of the Toronto roller derby teams play, the Gore Gore Rollergirls played the Contrabanditas in Montreal in our first-ever exhibition game when we were newbs and the 'ditas won, but it was close.
The ToRD teams played at Beast of the East and were beaten by their opponents in the tournament 20 minute periods. But ToRd surprised everyone and had really gotten some of the best players from their 6 teams that did a great job, skated well, and traded some great hits. (I'll have some videos up on You Tube soon if there aren't any yet). For those that thought Toronto was a show league and not tough, just learned that it's not necessarily true.
As for the always hard-core, always top-notch skating HCRG, out of 14 players on their travel team, a note of inspiration here, 5 of them are Death Row Dames players, which is HCRG's newest team, and those players are all fresh meat rookies or have played less than one year. That is awesome!
Now, here's where it gets problematic. HCRG was playing under 2.1.1 rules, and found out that ToRD has already been into 3.0 rules as of the start of this season for them a week before the bout. Advantage ToRD. HCRG agreed to play under the new rules, but had only 2 refs in attendance (one being placed as an outside stats ref the whole game) and one good ref as bench manager/coach for the game.
You can chalk up some of the penalties to the rules, some to the hard-hitting playing, but the reffing at this game was super-tight. I saw calls that made it seem like we were turning roller derby into a non-contact sport. There were more jams with only 1 jammer (cause one was in the penalty box) than I've ever seen, and about three times, the packs were there, with NO jammers on the floor at all.
And per v 3.0 rules:
6.4.5 JAMMERLESS JAM
If both Jammers are in the penalty box at the start of a jam or are pulled mid-jam, the jam will end immediately. Both Jammers will turn over their helmet covers to alternate teammates on the track who will act as Jammers, and a new jam will start. The penalized Jammers in the box will re-enter play as Blockers once their penalties have been served.
Another jam had HCRG skating with a pivot and one blocker only, against a full CN Power pack. HCRG may have been disappointed, but even the CN Power team noticed the strict reffing. I have full respect for those that put on the stripes and ref us crazy derby girls voluntarily, but this was just crazy. One of the HCRG players fell, a CN Power skater tripped over her, and the HCRG took a penalty on that. I saw it, no intent to trip was made so what was the penalty for? I don't know, and at times, neither the audience nor the players knew what the penalties were called for or who on. Tough game for both leagues.
HCRG had players so clean they get through with NO penalties taking the penalty box and 3 player period expulsions (foul outs) through the game, including Carla Coma and Dicey, and I think it was Vicadoom but I was working merch with StapleHead for HCRG at one point and couldn't hear the announcer very well.
But not to cry, you live under the rules that are set, the refs that enforce them and skate your ass off, right? Well these team battled it out, for sure.
The score was tied several times, and the lead switched back and forth as HCRG would get ahead, and CN Power would catch up and surpass and at the end of the second period, the score was 61-61.
So it was close, vicious, and by the end of the third period, the HCRG Eh! team came through and had a 30 point advantage. CN Power did not give up, the refs relaxed and called a little less, and it was a good third period leaving the HCRG with only a 13 point lead, winning with 105-92.
Now what made the game long.... maybe I am spoiled from Montreal where beer goes with sports like coffee goes with the morning commute, but what is it in Ontario with the beer rooms?
I first saw it in Hamilton's arena when I and the 'Ditas took on the Steel Town Tank Girls in a double header event, but the beer sales/drinking was in a room with windows above the arena so you could see the game.
In Toronto, the room they can serve beer in has been turned into a albeit cutely decorated beer tavern with a video feed (no sound) of the game on a TV screen, but is so far from the arena floor that the ToRD is forced to add in 20 minute intermissions for fans to go get drinks between the periods (and there was sometimes a line up to get in, because the room has a capacity). For those of us that didn' t have time to play around ended up chugging what we could get our hands on, and going thirsty when there was no time to wait to go into the room. The crowd, compared to even lighter crowds in Montreal, wasn't quite as rowdy either. The arena is bigger though, so it could have been an optical illusion - I would love to hear some attendance numbers from the ToRD.
All in all, a successful event, a good game and a win for HCRG. Not a bad re-entry into roller derby after my relocation. I am excited to get back rollin'. ... Sunday I went to my first practice with HCRG, and after 3 months off skate (injury and then the move) I have a lot of little muscles I forgot about that are
screaming today. I look forward to working more with the great Hamilton skaters and their great and nice coach to take my skills up the 4 notches I need to be a good HCRG player.... I'll get to watch them take on MTLRD July 12th, so I'll see my old league and my new league and will not know who to cheer for... LOL
take care and keep rollin!
Labels: bouts, HCRG, ToRD
