May 11, 2014

Triple-header: Richter City v Pirate City v Paradise City

Saturday saw the first public triple header of Roller Derby in Wellington with invited teams from Auckland and Australia. Overall there were more injuries than I recall in previous bouts; because there was more pressure to win or tired players, who knows?

The first game between Pirates and Richter City was a very close game which may have ended differently had not jammer Myrtle Kombat been injured in the very last jam. She was heavily featured by Pirates despite not coping well with falls early in the match and her tiredness continuing to show. Beatrix Kiddo (RCRD) was fouled out of the game for reaching the seven penalty max, mostly for cutting. It was an excellent game with both teams exhibiting multiplayer blocks which we haven’t seen to this extent before. Richter City won 209 to 204 Pirates.

The second game Pirate City played again, this time against visitors Paradise City from the Gold Coast in Australia. Myrtle Kombat was back but on the bench rather than the track. This game included a skate malfunction, one player being carried off on a stretcher (Past-Her Belx?) and a weird jam where the jammer paused play simply by refusing to move. Paradise City took out the game with 197 to Pirate City’s 153.

The arena filled up for the third and final game between Paradise City and Richter City. Three players from the visiting team were sent off this match; Rattlin’ Bones, Sarsaparilla and Guns N Rosie perhaps due to this being their second game and having little rest. Neither side backed down despite a strong lead throughout the game for Richter City. They eventually won with 204 to Paradise City’s 184.

Bringing Pirate City down from Auckland to meet our visitors from Australia was an inspired idea. It’s more economical for all the teams involved if not a little tiring.

The first game of the RCRD Home season is another triple header Comic Slams vs Smash Malice vs Brutal Pageant on 28 June at TSB Arena.

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