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Underdog effort

Rossland Trail Roller Girls (RTRG) pulls off comeback in first derby win.
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Rossland News file photo

The Rossland Trail Roller Girls (RTRG) came all the way back from an early deficit of more than 40 points to secure a 204-167 win against the Dam City Rollers (DCR) in West Kootenay Roller Derby action at Selkirk College on Saturday.

The bout started hard and fast with the Dams taking a quick lead, pulling over 40 points ahead in the first few minutes due to RTRG jammer penalties.

The tide was soon to shift and the penalties began to rack up for the Dams. It was not a rare sight to see one blocker lining up in purple with a solid four-wall of red to counter.

RTRG kept a cool head and got their penalties under control in the second half. Their jammers did some fancy foot work and really took advantage of power jams, chipping away at points and pulling off their first win of the season (as a blended team of the former Gnarlie’s Angels and Bad News Betties).

The Selkirk gymnasium provided a fun place for spectators to take in the derby match as the wood floor was not just a slightly softer fall for the ladies but a better grip for their wheels. This translated into much faster action than on the concrete floors found in other league venues.

Because of the flooring, the skaters all needed to wear special knee pads and non-marking stoppers on their skates.

West Kootenay Roller Derby is a not-for-profit roller derby league that is run by the skaters, for the skaters. Their website is at www.kootenayrollerderby.com.

— With files from Marvin Beatty, Castlegar News