Lucas Punkari
After being shellacked by the Babes of Thunder in their first bout of the season in Thunder Bay back in July, the Fort Freakshow roller derby team was just hoping to keep things close in their home bout Saturday night.
And while they ended up losing 167-125 to the Angry Beavers of Thunder Bay at the ’52 Canadians Arena, the overall showing of the local squad was one team members were proud of.
“We made some huge improvements from our bout in Thunder Bay,” enthused head coach Aurora (“Drive ’Em Hard”) Doerksen.
“Our foster skaters from Vancouver, Duluth, Winnipeg, and Thunder Bay helped us learn more techniques and some of the mind challenges that are involved in roller derby, and we really prepared ourselves, stamina-wise, for this bout, which I think helped us out a lot,” Doerksen added.
That same enthusiasm was shared by the Fort Frances skaters on the Freakshow, including assistant captain Karen (“Hemi Pow-Her) Mitchell.
“After our bout in Thunder Bay, we were all thinking, ‘All right, so that’s how it’s done,’” Mitchell recalled.
“We learned a lot since we had that game there, and tonight I felt we were definitely working as a team,” she added.
“As a jammer, I was looking for holes out there and this time my team was making those holes as opposed to the mess it was when we tried to make those holes the last time.”
Helping out the Freakshow with that teamwork aspect of their game was Sage (“Bustylicious”) Martin of Vancouver, a five-year competitor in the sport who originally was born in Fort Frances and lived here until the age of five.
“I was planning on coming back to visit my mom and my aunt here, and I found out there was going to be a [bout] taking place here, so I offered my coaching skills and they had a spot on the roster so I jumped on,” explained Martin, who regularly plays for the Terminal City All-Stars in Vancouver.
“We got some defensive walls together at practice on
Thursday, and it was really noticeable how much that helped on Saturday when the [bout] took place.
“The girls were more comfortable skating next to each other and working in a pair than when they were previously trying to do things all on their own,” she remarked.
During the first half Saturday night, as well as the early stages of the second half, the Freakshow traded the lead with the Angry Beavers on numerous occasions, thanks largely to the quick and elusive skating of jammer Colette (“Wright Around Ya”) Wright.
But as the second half wore on, the home team ran into some penalty problems, which allowed the Thunder Bay squad to jump out into a lead they would never relinquish.
“There are seven referees out there for a reason,” Doerksen stressed. “As you continue to skate for a long period of time, the sloppier you become out there and that kind of thing ends up happening to you.”
“The power play and the penalty-killing situations are something that the girls can improve on as they go forward,” agreed Martin.
“It’s all about just paying attention to when our jammers or their jammers get in the penalty box, and what we can do to get points for ourselves and prevent the other team from getting points on us,” she reasoned.
Despite coming out on the short end of their home bout, members of the Fort Freakshow not only were happy with how they performed, but also with the crowd that was cheering them on.
“I had a lot of fun just skating with these girls as they were enjoying themselves no matter what the score was,” noted Wright, who regularly skates for the Harbor City Roller Dames in Duluth.
“This crowd was very supportive of their team and when I became the lead jammer, it was really awesome to hear the reaction from them.
“Those are the best crowds to skate in front of because they are into the game and they are paying attention as sometimes it’s hard to do that if people aren’t watching what’s happening,” Wright added.
“It was so nice having the crowd behind you and screaming your name,” enthused Mitchell.
“They just make you want to go even faster and even make you want to show off a little bit,” she smiled.