By Abby Lewtas
April may mean spring for many, but for Fernie’s Avalanche City Roller Girls (ACRG) it's tournament season.
ACRG travelled 11 hours to Boise, Idaho for their first tournament of the season, which took place April 5-6. The Treasure Valley Roller Girls hosted “Spudtown Knockdown” which saw two tracks with six teams each, battling it out for first place.
The tournament started early on Saturday morning, and ACRG played Billings Roller Derby Dames from Billings, Montana. The Dames put up a good fight, but ACRG dominated the game and won 347 to 28. The second game on Saturday was against the Rocky Mountain Contenders from Denver, Colorado. ACRG worked hard and gave the Contenders a run for their money, but as a stronger and more experienced team, the Contenders defeated ACRG 212 to 111. The loss meant ACRG had to play a third bout on Saturday, up against Treasure Valley Roller Girl’s B-Team, the hosting league. ACRG finished the day strong, and pulled off another monumental win, defeating Treasure Valley 407 to 43.
Day two also saw ACRG play in three bouts. First up was a rematch with Billings. The Derby Dames had regrouped overnight and came back stronger; however, were still knocked out of the tournament by ACRG with a score of 407 to 51. This win secured at minimum a third place trophy in the tournament; however, ACRG wasn’t finished yet. In the afternoon they went on to play the Durango Derailers from Durango, Colorado. This was the most evenly matched bout of the weekend, both teams skating hard and fighting to win the opportunity to play for first place against the Rocky Mountain Contenders. In the end, ACRG stayed ahead, defeating Durango 215 to 128. With only an hour’s break until the first place game, ACRG efficiently prepared to take on the Contenders, the only team they’d lost to in the tournament. It was an intense game, ACRG skating together and challenging the Contenders more than they had the day before, taking the lead for a short while; however, in the end ACRG wasn’t able to secure the win and the Contenders won 200 to 119.
After two days and six intense bouts, Avalanche City Roller Girls came home with a second place trophy and a classic giant cheque for $200. Tournament season continues on Easter weekend as the team travels to Spokane, Washington for a 24 team tournament, “Spokarnage”.
The team is working hard to take the lessons they learned about tournament play in Idaho and incorporate them before they hit Spokane. ACRG is also preparing for their first of five home games, taking place on May 10.