Roller Girls wreck Wreckers

Nandicorn of the Rated PG Roller Girls breaks away to start jamming, while a teammate puts the Kamloops jammer on the track during action Saturday in Kamloops. Allen DOUGLAS/Kamloops This Week

For some of the Rated PG Roller Girls roller derby squad, it was their first road trip as a member of the team.

For a couple, it was their first bout of the season.

For all of them, it was the thrill of victory after a trip to Kamloops on the weekend.

“It was an amazing game,” Sistah Viberosis (aka Denise Hogue) said after the Roller Girls Grey team downed the Kamloops Wreckers 225-106. The girls really brought it. The exceeded my expectations.”

Viberosis has been coaching the Grey team this year, taking a year off from skating in derbies herself.

“We decided back in February to split into two teams. The Grey team is more recreationally focused, the Orange team is more competitive.”

While some of the skaters on the weekend had made road trips as pick-up players with other teams, this was the first time they had travelled as part of Team Grey.

“We had a couple of players who hadn’t been in a bout before. They’ve been practicing with us, but this was the first time they were free to skate in a bout.”

Viberosis said the team has been practicing for some time, but has really started to come together recently.

“We’ve been jelling as a team for the last two months or so. The skills were already there, since they had all been through the Fresh Meat camp at the start of the season, so we’ve been working on communication and how to keep the pack working together.”

When they got to Kamloops and took their first practice on the track, there were a few concerns, according to Viberosis.

“It was very slick,” she said. “They have polished concrete and our track is wood, so it took some getting used to. Some of the girls switched out their wheels before the bout.”

But, she said, there was one thing to remember.

“The conditions are the same for everyone. The tracks are pretty much the same wherever you skate.”

She pauses.

“Except for Edmonton, where they have holes in the middle of the track,” she says with a laugh.

The Roller Girls season wraps up this weekend, with the Orange team travelling to Grande Prairie, Alberta for a bout.