Bruisers Sit Atop Throne as Eastern Champions

ToRD’s Bay Street Bruisers, 2012 RDAC Eastern Canadian Championship (Photo by Greg Russell)

You could look at the outcome of the Roller Derby Association of Canada’s 2012 Eastern Canadian Championship and see that the status-quo had been maintained: No one would have been surprised to see Toronto, Forest City and Royal City finish as the top three teams in the tournament. But if that is all that you took away from this weekend, you’d be missing almost the whole story. With four of the ten games being settled by 10 points or less and only two breaking the 100-point differential, the real story was in the parity. There was fantastic, exciting roller derby provided during nearly every game with the tournament’s only winless team, Capital City’s Dolly Rogers, providing some of the most exciting moments, losing by miniscule margins of 9, 6, and 5 points. The tournament’s lowest ranked team, Nickel City’s Sister Slag, grew almost exponentially. They started the tournament getting knocked around by the eventual champs in the opening game before pushing a vastly more experienced team to the limit in their second. Then in the second of back-to-back games, they upset their favoured opponents to claim 6^th spot.

It was a tournament that delivered on both fronts: great derby, but a great learning experience for the teams as well.

ROUND ONE

Sister Slag was paying close attention during their opening round loss to the Bruisers. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

The only significantly one-sided bouts occurred (unsurprisingly) in the opening round. Second seed Bay Street Bruisers (Toronto) took down seventh seed Nickel City’s Sister Slag (Sudbury) by 137 points, though the far less experienced team from Sudbury certainly had moments, and used a strong opening and then final ten minutes to keep the score down. In the only other lopsided score of the weekend, third seed Misfit Militia (from Aliston’s Renegade Derby Dames) tore up the track against the G-sTARs (GTAR), building on a 160-10 half-time lead and riding some stifling pack work to a 326-point victory. The win sent a clear message and set up a highly anticipated semifinal matchup up between the tournament’s second and third seeds.

The final first-round bout lived up to the billing as the closest seeds the Brute Leggers (fourth) and the Dolly Rogers (fifth) swapped leads throughout (Capital City was up at half) to kick off the tournament with a thoroughly entertaining game that would be indicative of much of the weekend’s matchups. The Royal City hosts were able to put together a customarily strong second half to pull ahead and hold on for the 142-131 victory and an opportunity to face off against the defending champions, Forest City, in the semfinal.

The G-sTARs defeated the Dolly Rogers on their way to a fifth place finish. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

CONSOLATION ROUND

The opening round divided the teams into the consolation bracket and the single-elimination medal round, with the three losing teams from the opening round playing a round robin to determine the bottom three spots in the tournament. This round began with a showdown between the fifth and sixth ranked teams in the tournament, and it too did not disappoint finishing with the G-sTARs clutching a 140-134 victory against the Capital City Derby Dolls. Growing through a tough rebuild, the GTA skaters looked like a far different team this time around, shaking off their opening–round loss to win both of its consolation games. Built around veterans like Newfie Bullet, Lee Way Wreck’em and Holly de Havilland, and featuring a promising skater in Paper Jam, they were able to close out their tournament with a 19-point win over Sister Slag to secure fifth spot.

The Dolly Rogers used this tournament to announce its presence. Led by strong pack work from the likes of Whips N. Chaynes and eventual team MVP Delicate Plow’her, some crafty jamming from Sneaky Dekey and consistency from Ha-Lou-Ween (not to mention double-threat performances from Violently Jill and Deanna Destroi), Capital City impressed with their ability and preparation, but showed that they still lack the all-important game experience that allowed them to close out wins.  They closed out their tournament the way they began it, with a thrilling back-and-forth game characterized by large swings in momentum, only this time it was with a surprisingly resilient Sister Slag. Led by Elle Hoar (whose role seemed to grow as the tournament went on), and paced offensively by Legzy Megzy and Red Hot and Anna Maul, the Nickel City skaters seemed to grow closer together during the tournament and finished as a much tighter and more polished team than they were when it began. They closed out the final consolation game with a natural grand slam to break a tie and secure sixth place with the 149-144 victory.

MEDAL ROUND

The Brute Leggers were taken out of their game by Forest City’s physicality. (Photo by Greg Russell)

Perhaps the greatest level of tension and excitement came in the semifinals where the top four seeds squared off. In the first semi-final, the Brute Leggers dominated Forest City early on. With an offence paced by Hot Cross Guns and Hellcat of Panar and a pack anchored by Kim Scarsmashian, Forest City—responding with a jammer crew of Andi Slamberg, Mighty Thor and Torque e Mada and a veteran pack now ubiquitous in eastern Canadian derby—was only able to score 7 points over the first twenty minutes of the half. But with London blocker Mirambo raising the intensity level, knocking Royal City off balance, the defending champs began to claw back and were down 60-38 at half. Never able to get their heads back into it and thrown off by Forest City’s intense physicality, the hosts managed only 26 second-half points to fall 145-86.

The Bay Street Bruisers needed a late comeback to get passed the Misfit Militia, in one of the most exciting games of the tournament. (Photo by Neil Gunner).

In the second semi-final, the Misfit Militia roared off of the jammer line and barely looked back, throwing everything they could at the Bay Street Bruisers who could never really get anything going in  the first half. Consistent jamming from Randy Roll-lin and Zombabe and dominant pack work from Renny Rumble had the Bruisers stumped throughout. The Militia had a 27-point half-time lead. The dominance continued in the second half, but the persistence of jammers Bala Reina and titmouse, and the on-track leadership of eventual team MVP Chronic had the Bruisers sticking around, never letting the lead grow past 50 points, and when the penalty calls started going their way, they were ready. A 29-point Bala Reina power jam (much of it orchestrated with the Bruisers having only two Blockers, Chronic and Miss Kitty La Peur, on the track) with only ten minutes remaining had Toronto within 12 points and holding all the momentum. They controlled things for the final ten minutes aas frustration mounted for the Renegade Derby Dames and were able to hold on to advance to the final.

The Brute Leggers pulled it together to defeat the Misfit Militia in the third place game. (Photo by Greg Russell)

The Misfit Militia never seemed to recover from the defeat, while the Brute Leggers pulled it together after their emotional loss to come back to control the third place bout most of the way and skated to the 190-129 victory. The championship game provided an entertaining first half that saw the Bruisers storm out 42-9 lead at the halfway mark. Strong jamming from Bala Reina and Bellefast continued to pace the Bruisers who were able to impose their style of play on the game early, and never let Forest City get comofortable. Although penalty troubles allowed London to get back into it only a few minutes later (they even briefly took the lead at the 10-minute mark), the Bruisers regained control to lead 78-54 at the half. The second half was all Bruisers with the lead increasing steadily to 135-86 at the midway point, before they held on for the 163-88 victory and took home the 2012 RDAC Eastern Canadian Championship.

The Bay Street Bruisers and Forest City All Stars (Eastern Region) join the Terminal City All Stars and Kootenay Kannibelles (West), Saskatoon Roller Derby and Pile O’ Bones Derby Club (central) at the Canadian championship. The Atlantic representatives will be determined at a tournament in St. John’s in September.

Bruisers’ jammer (and one of the team MVPs) Bala Reina was dominant in the final. (Photo by Greg Russell)

COMPLETE RESULTS

First Round Brute Leggers (Royal City Roller Girls) 142 vs. Dolly Rogers (Capital City Derby Dolls) 131 Misfit Militia (Renegade Derby Dames) 354 vs. G-sTARs (GTA Rollergirls) 28 Bay Street Bruisers (Toronto Roller Derby) 253 vs. Sister Slag (Nichel City Roller Derby) 116

Consolation Pool G-sTARs (1-0) 140 vs. Dolly Rogers (0-1) 134 G-sTARs (2-0) 194 vs. Sister Slag (0-1) 173 Sister Slag (1-1) 149 vs. Dolly Rogers (0-2) 144

Medal Round Semifinals Forest City All Stars 145 vs. Brute Leggers 86 Misfit Militia 130 vs. Bay Street Bruisers 140 Third Place Brute Leggers 190 vs. Misfit Militia 129 Championship Forest City 88 vs. Bay Street Bruisers 163

Dames of Thrones Preview: Eastern Champs Second RDAC Regional Tournament

A TALE OF TWO TOURNAMENTS

Last month the Terminal City All Stars won the 2012 RDAC Western Canadian Championship in fairly convincing fashion: holding off a more than game West Kootenay Kannibelles team in the final, 159-75. The Kanibelles turned a lot of heads with their dominant performance in the tournament, and with E-Ville upending Red Deer’s Belladonnas in the third place game, it was clear that the top four teams in the region had performed as expected, and the top two teams had qualified for the Canadian Championship.

It will be a slightly different story at this weekend’s Dames of Thrones: RDAC Eastern Canadian Championships.

With the top leagues in the east focused squarely on the WFTDA, the Eastern Championship has developed into an Eastern Canadian B-Team Championship (although Montreal and Tri-City will not be sending their B-Teams).  Nonetheless, with the absence of the top teams in the region, this tournament will feature a fairly even field of teams that should provide a close, exciting tournament. A lot of these leagues are looking to work their way into that upper-echelon of derby, and this weekend will provide them with a platform on which to do that. With a wide open field, the scene is set for a team to make some waves and announce itself as a the Next Big Thing in Canadian Derby.

THE TEAMS

The Forest City All Stars won the inaugural Eastern Canadian Championship last year in Ottawa. (Photo by Neil Jeffry)

The Favourites

Given the relative lack of play between participants, it’s somewhat challenging to pick favourites, but as defending champions (winners of the precursor CWRDA Championships last year), London’s Forest City All Stars are the team everyone is gunning for. Formed out of Forest City’s two hometeams, the All Stars came together exclusively for last year’s Eastern Canadian Championship and took the tournament by storm, scoring one-sided victories at every level (and defeating a Rideau Valley B-Team for the championship). The All Stars have seen limited action this year, but have scored lopsided victories over Blue Water (Port Huron, Michigan) and Lansing’s Mitten Mavens in preparation for the tournament. Part of eastern Canada’s first wave of leagues, Forest City has the most experienced core of skaters in the tournament, and boasts a roster very used to these big-game situations.

The Bruisers and the Brute-Leggers recently faced off with the Bruisers winning 176-153. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

The Contenders

One of Canada’s top leagues, Toronto Roller Derby, will be sending its B-Team, the Bay Street Bruisers, to compete in the tournament and should be looked upon as a threat. Although the teams itself has not been playing together long (the B-Travel team was born this year and has only two games under its belt), it is made up of an experienced roster of skaters from ToRD’s four houseleague teams. 1-1 on the season thus far, they enter the tournament as the #2 seed on the strength of a recent victory over the Royal City Brute-Leggers. The Brute-Leggers have been rounding into form over two years now and have been very busy this year, compiling a 6-3 record on the season. But two of those losses have come to the Bruisers and the Thames Fatales (Forest City’s top hometeam), which should give Toronto and London some confidence heading in.

The Dark Horse

Renegade Derby Dames’ Misfit Militia, could be the dark horse pick of the tournament.

If there is one team that could shake up the top, it could be the Renegade Derby Dames’ Misfit Militia. Training in relative quiet in Aliston, Ontario, there isn’t a lot to base judgement of this team on, but it is a squad made up of a core of very strong skaters. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that they have had uneven results this year: They’ve faced off against two tournament participants in their only two bouts of the  season, dominating the Derby Debutantes before falling in a tight one against Capital City’s Dolly Rogers (who will also be participating).

The Field

Ottawa’s Dolly Rogers lead the pack of the rest of the participants and have had an interesting season as well. The team is 4-3 on the season but seem to rounding into form and are coming off of back-to-back victories that included a 283 point thrashing of Peterborough. Dolly Rogers skater Lobster, veteran skater with Capital City, said the team was not too surprised with their victory over Peterborough and will be use it as “a bit of a confidence boost.” The team Brazil representative at the World cup added that “this tournament’s going to be what we need right now: a challenge.”

Capital City’s Dolly Rogers defeated the Renegade Derby Dames earlier in the year.

Although GTAR’s G-sTARs did exceptionally well at last year’s tournament, finishing in  third place, the team has gone through a recent roster overhaul that sees them slipping into a mid-season rebuild that could hamper their chances this weekend. The G-sTARs are 1-6 on the season with a lot of losses coming against stiff competition, but the sole victory was in their final tournament tune-up against Durham’s Atom Smashers that ended the six-game slide.  Nickel City’s Sister Slag has the least amount of game play this year. Playing out of Sudbury, Nickel City has followed an optimistic 2011 (going 2-4 in their first season of bouting) with a quiet 2012. Their only competition has come in a one-sided victory over the Derby Debutantes, GTAR’s B-Team, in May.

THE OPENING ROUND

While the defending champion Forest City All Stars will receive a bye to the semifinals, the other six teams kick things off in the opening round. First whistle blows at 8:30 AM, with the host Brute-Leggers facing off against the Dolly Rogers. Up next (10:15) will be the Misfit Militia against the G-sTARs; the Misfit Militia crushed the G-sTARs’ little sister (the Derby Debutantes) early this season, so the GTA skaters will be looking for revenge. The opening round ends with the Bay Street Bruisers squaring off against the Sister Slag at 2:00 PM.

The winners of these three games will advance to the final four, while the losers will continue the tournament in a round-robin consolation bracket to determine final seedings.

***Dames of Thrones: RDAC Eastern Canadian Championship will be boutcast live all weekend by the fine folks at Canuck Derby TV. Check here for the complete schedule.

Power kills the ‘Zoo; DVAS slay the Sisters

CN Power hosted Michigan's Killamazoo Derby Darlins at a packed Hangar.

Killamazoo Derby Darlins 35  vs. CN Power 197

It was a pink-clad and energized sell-out crowd at the Hangar that greeted the Killamazoo Derby Darlins as they made their first foray north of the border. And it was a pink clad, hyped up roller derby team that welcomed them to Canadian roller derby. Recently promoted to full WFTDA status, Killamazoo looked shaky early on as they adjusted to the slick Hangar floors, and after being overwhelmed in the first ten minutes, never really seemed to get back into it, as CN Power skated away with a lopsided 162 point victory.

FIRST HALF

The jammer trio of Land Shark (pictured), Candy Crossbones and Defecaitlin was dominant.

Having lost four bouts in a row to end 2010, CN Power rejigged the lineup, found a new focus and purpose, and put a renewed effort into training and preparation: It paid off early. After the opening jam ended in a 0-0 deadlock, Defecaitilin got CN Power on the board for their first lead of the bout and it was a lead they would not relent.  Killamazoo had no answers early on for the sustained ToRD attack led by the strong jamming trio of Land Shark, Defecaitlin, and Candy Crossbones (who led the bout in scoring with 78 points in 10 efficient jams). ToRD’s jammers managed an impressive 83% overall lead percentage (led by Land Shark’s 87%), keeping a lot of the decision-making in their own hands.

While at times ToRD seemed thrown off by the loose, stretched packs (and did suffer some discipline problems that resulted in a fair number of penalties), Dyna Hurtcha, Brim Stone and Dolly Destructo showed a great track awareness, assisting with timely offensive blocks when their jammers were stuck against Killamazoo pivots at the front.  But for the most part, the divided blockers made easy pickings for the ToRD jammers who could not be beaten one-on-one. A much needed timeout 9 minutes in seemed to settle down the Michigan skaters and in the following jam were able to put up their first points of the bout. Nonetheless, mid way through the half, the visitors faced a 56-4 deficit.

Lady Hawk (blocking Defecaitlin) had a strong bout for Killamazoo.

There were moments of great individual effort from the Killamazoo skaters; Darlin triple threat Javelin had a strong bout, leading her team in blocks (10), and despite being trapped behind a back wall at one point on a well-executed Toronto power jam, played some brilliant one-on-one defense on the jammer to limit the damage. Even with some big hitters of their own, the Killamazoo skaters got increasingly frustrated by the heavy hits doled out by the likes of Jubilee, Nasher the Smasher and Tara Part. Despite the ability in flat track roller derby to make up a lot of ground in a short amount of time, CN Power seemed in total control of this one, building a 112-10 lead heading into the half.

SECOND HALF

CN Power played a textbook flat track roller derby bout, strategically sound and physically prepared. Dictating their style of play, ToRD’s pivots—co-captain Brim Stone and the Chicks Ahoy! trio of Rebel Rock-It, Mega Mouth and Tara Part—controlled the pace and, when possible, the formations of the packs; whether walling up along turns to open an outside lane for Land Shark, or splitting an unfocused pack to allow Defecaitlin to deke her way through, Toronto’s packs were working well for their jammers. To their credit, Killamazoo never stopped battling and were able to slow CN Power’s point production late in the game. Lady Hawk had a strong second half for the ‘Zoo delivering solid blocks in the pack and donning the star for her team as well. Rosie Ferocious took advantage of a rare Killamazoo power jam to pick up 9 points in The Darlins’ biggest jam of the night (Sparkills had an 8 pointer to open the second-half scoring for Killamazoo). But with 10 minutes left in the game, and the fans beginning to trickle out of the Hangar on an increasingly snowy evening, CN Power was cruising, up 174-31.

CN Power rookie Hurlin' Wall lines up Killamazoo jammer Javelin.

Killamazoo’s Yoga Nagettit starting taking out her frustrations on the track late in the second half, keeping things physical and scoring a solid jammer take out on Land Shark. But it was Hurlin’ Wall, CN Power’s lone rookie in the lineup, who took over the pack for Toronto in the second half, leaving it all in the track with some ferocious hits and strong positional blocking. After also looking impressive in her hometeam opener, it doesn’t seem like we’ll have to worry about a sophomore slump for Hurlin. Dyna Hurthca joined the jammer rotation in the second half, adding a physical component to CN Power’s offense, propelling them to a 197-35 victory.

After an inconsistent 2010, CN Power looks reenergized and refocused in 2011. The continuity of a set roster has visibly aided the pack awareness, and more than ever, CN Power looks like a unified front. With significantly stiffer competition coming up in next month’s Quad City Chaos, ToRD’s all stars can’t spend too much time celebrating this one. But the confidence gained from this victory, and knowing  that they can pull off a WFTDA calibre bout, will only help CN Power moving forward.

TEAM STATS

Stat	CN Power	Derby Darlins
Margin of Victory/Loss	+162	-162
Lead Jammer Percentage	83%	14%
Points Per Jam	4.93	.88
Total Blocks (Knockdowns)	56 (19)	65 (8)
Hits on Jammer (Jammer knockdowns)	10 (15)	41 (7)
Assists (including offensive blocks)	49	25
Minor Penalties (Major penalties)	43 (15)	48 (16)

BLOCKER STATS LEADERS

Stat (Minimum 7 jams)	CN Power	Derby Darlins
Blocks (Knockdowns)	Nasher  8 (3 with 5)	Javelin 10 (Miss B. 2)
Jammer hits (Jammer knockdowns)	4 with 2 (Tara/Dyna 4)	Javelin 8 (Miss B. 2)
Assists (including offensive blocks)	Dyna/Rebel  8	Sparkills  6
Blocker +/-	Jubilee +108	Yoga Negattit -11
Pivot +/-	Brim Stone +70	Noam Stompsky -25
Total +/-	Jubilee +108	Sparkills -34
Minor Penalties (Major penalties)	Rebel 6 (Nasher/Dyna 3)	Javelin 8 (Ivanna / Beverly 3)

JAMMER STATS LEADERS

Stat (Minimum 5 jams)	CN Power	Derby Darlins
Points	Candy  78	Rosie Ferocious 9
Points Per Jam	Candy  7.8	Rosie Ferocious 1.5
Jammer +/-	Candy  +72	Rosie Ferocious -5
Lead %	Land Shark 87%	Rosie Ferocious 20%
Jam %	Land Shark 38%	Lady Hawk/Beverly 17%

Zebra Mafia: Penny Whistler (Head Ref), Parking Lot (Assistant Head Ref), D-Minus (HCRG), Hot Carl (HCRG), R’Effin Adorable, Trickless Magician (Killamazoo), Ref-ormed Rebel (FCDG).

D-VAS (ToRD) 71 vs. Sister Slag (NCRD) 38

The opening bout of the double header featured ToRD’s future stars, the D-VAS, hosting Nickel City’s Sister Slag. Lead by bench managers Raunchy Hextall and retired CN Power jammer Lunchbox, the 2011 D-VAS are beginning a journey that could eventually see these fresh meat drafted onto one of ToRD’s four hometeams. Many of these players were skating in their debuts, which allowed ToRD’s fans (and hometeam captains with an eye for the future), the first look at the next crop of Toronto talent. It’s going to become increasingly more difficult to gain a position on one of the Toronto rosters, and this bouting experience is integral in the development of these players.

Smashley of Sister Slag lines up against the D-VAS' Hellbat (photo by Joe Mac)

For Nickel City, this bout represented the second foray south after 2010’s bout against Forest City’s Luscious Lunch Ladies. The skaters of Sister Slag, the league’s travel team, are picking up necessary experience on these trips to bring back to their developing league (which consists of two hometeams: The Sudbetties and Smelter Skelter). This bout was the first of a home and home between these two teams that will be reciprocated with a visit by the D-VAS later in the year.

With Low Ride Her on the bench nursing an injury, Sister Slag was missing an essential component of their team. A competitor in the all star game at Toronto’s Blood & Thunder Training Camp, she could have been a difference maker in this one. What this gap did allow, was for other skaters to step up and lead their team. Smelter Skelter captain Smashley lead the offense for Sister Slag with 16 points, joining Wheels of Misfortune in going toe-to-toe with each of the D-VAS solid crop of developing jammers. The comparative experience of the remaining D-VAS from last year’s squad was evident on the track. Laya Beaton (10 blocks, 5 assists) and Skinned Knee Crosby (9 blocks) were strong up front for the DVAS, with Laya taking her turns with the star as well. Sister Slag captain Dirt Devil was a solid leader for her team on the track, pivoting with confidence.

The bout was tight in the early going, with the D-VAS unable to hold leads. Some untimely Sudbury penalties and another D-VAS vet, Krash, may have been the difference in the end. Krash skated well all bout and gained confidence with her jamming as the game wore on. Keri Daway (who led the DVAS with 32 points and a 100% lead percentage in 6 jams) and Hellbat provided the depth at jammer that allowed the D-VAS to pull away with a 71-38 victory.

* Keep an eye on ToRD.TV for a video recap and layer9’s video archive of the bout. *

And finally, for your viewing pleasure: After the bout, a fan shot this video on the 101 TTC bus that runs from The Hangar to the Downsview subway station. Only roller derby could inspire a bus full of people to have a sing-along (to Queen at that). And to think they almost cut this route.