The Estevan Coaler Rollers junior roller derby team celebrated the strides they made on the track over the past 10 months with their annual windup scrimmage at Bienfait Memorial Arena on Sunday.
The fun scrimmage pitted various members of the Coaler Rollers Level 1/2 team, introductory roller derby, and Level 3 team, full contact women’s roller derby rules, split up into black and pink squads that faced off against each other over two 30-minute halves of derby. Cheering them on from the track sidelines were members of the Coaler Rollers friends and family who had gathered to see the progress each of the kids have made over the past year.
“It was a phenomenal season for the amount of growth that each skater showed this year,” said Lorelei Lachambre, coach of the Coaler Rollers. “It was from start to finish by far the most we’ve progressed and I think it has a lot to do with (the fact) we played more games, we did more travelling and the girls who have stayed and stuck with derby are girls that really take it seriously and want to grow the sport.”
The Coaler Rollers Level 1/2 team brought Estevan’s competitive season to a satisfying end on Saturday afternoon with a 344-282 win over the Pile O’Bones in Regina. One week earlier, both teams made a trip to Calgary to play in the Canadian Roller Derby information (CRDi) 2016 Junior Roller Derby Tournament at the Acadia Recreation Complex.
Lachambre said the Level 1/2 team began the tournament with a win over the Highway 14 Roller Derby Association before scoring a 282-281 victory in an extra jam over the South Alberta Junior Roller Derby team. She said the girls lost their next two games, but still came out with a bronze medal to show for their efforts.
“Our Level 3 team played two games and lost out, but the first game we had scored over 100 points against the Calgary team and that was our goal,” she said. “The second game we played Edmonton, which was the top-ranked Level 3 team in Canada going into it, so we took a beating there. It was a really physical hard-hitting game and those girls were on average 16 to 18 years old and our girls on average are 12 to 14, so just size difference. We couldn’t really compete against (them) because we were such a young team, but they held in there, held their own, kept fighting and kept going for it.”
KillerElla, 11, said the 2015-16 season was her third with the Coaler Rollers and the fun she had travelling to tourneys like the CRDi as well as their many games in Regina against the Pile O’Bones ensures she’ll be back playing pivot and blocker for the Level 3 team when the new season starts up in September.
“With blocker, you’re blocking the opposing team’s jammer, not letting them pass and not letting them get their points,” said KillerElla. “A pivot is leading everybody, like where they should be and where the jammer is. They’ll say ‘the black jammer is coming,’ things like that. I’m not good at jamming, so I just stick to those and I’m big so I can block the small jammers.”
Hearing a key player like KillerElla is coming back for another year is music to the ears of Lachambre, who noted the more returnees they have next season the more the derby program will grow in Estevan. She said the Coaler Rollers will be having another big recruiting drive for new players at the beginning of September with the hope that everyone who played this past season keeps working on their skills during the summer months.
“I would love these girls (to be) outdoor skating in July and August in Estevan on the good roads they can find…to keep their endurance up and to work on strength in their legs and then in September we’ll be back for derby.”
