Lucas Punkari
Although it was deemed a scrimmage on paper, the match-up between roller derby competitors from Fort Frances, Kenora, Thunder Bay, and Winnipeg was anything but friendly at the ’52 Canadians Arena here Saturday night.
Thanks to an early run of points during the opening minutes of the bout, the Pirates cruised to a 138-93 triumph over the Ninjas.
But the contest, which was put on by the Borderland Roller Derby League, was a lot closer than the final score indicated.
“After [we] gave up some points early, us Ninjas tried to swoop in there and get some points, and we got it close there towards the end,” said Melissa Carpenter, who goes under the name “Melicious LaVicious.”
“It was a well-fought game, though, and a pretty clean game, as well, as the refs worked really hard to keep us in check,” she noted.
“With all those new players in a competitive game for the first time, you had a lot of minor and major penalties that were being handed out,” Carpenter added.
“But those are things that you will learn as you go along,” she reasoned.
One of those new players who made a big impact in her first game was Dominique Frenette, who was joined by four other skaters from here who already were experienced in the sport.
“She did phenomenally well, and everyone who was playing said they couldn’t tell that this was her first bout,” Carpenter enthused.
“Everyone thought that she had the look and play of a seasoned veteran, so I think it’s safe to say that she stood out.”
Saturday’s bout also marked the first-ever time that five members from a newly-formed team in Kenora, which was established earlier this year, took to the track in an actual game.
“From talking to them after the bout, and from reading their Facebook statuses after they got back to Kenora, it was all positives,” Carpenter said.
“There was a lot of reactions, such as “I hurt a lot but it [feels] great” and “I love roller derby,” so I think we will be heading them back in the future here,” she added.
The one disappointment was the attendance, which was down dramatically from the crowd that turned out for the Borderland Roller Derby League’s previous bout last September.
“Though the turnout wasn’t quite what we had expected, it was still good that we got our name out there,” Carpenter reasoned.
“I think it was a mixture of everything that led to the lower crowds, with the hot weather taking place here to a wedding here at the arena and [stock car] races in Emo.
“It was kind of a bad weekend all-round to hold an event,” she admitted.
With this scrimmage now in the books, the local league is set to switch venues for the rest of the summer, with practises to be held in the Ice For Kids Arena starting at month’s end.
The switch came about following the purchase of a new ice plant “chiller” for the IFK rink, which means all scheduled ice time has been moved from there into the ’52 Canadians Arena.
“As much as we like and as much as we know the ’52 rink, we are looking forward to heading into the IFK surface,” Carpenter said.
“It’s a cooler rink when it comes to temperatures, there’s more room for us to move around in, and there is also better seating for any future bouts,” she noted.
While a date for a next bout has not been set in stone, the league is looking at holding an event on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Ice For Kids Arena.
“Right now we’re hoping to find a team to play against,” Carpenter explained.
“Again, we could be teaming up with the girls from Kenora as they have expressed an interest in playing with us again,” she said.
“So, hopefully, we can have a Team Northwestern Ontario going up against whoever.”
