Fast and physical, that’s how the Elk Valley does roller derby.
Local league Avalanche City hosted its annual tournament, the Snow Valley Slam, at the Fernie Memorial Arena on Saturday, which drew hundreds of cheering spectators.
“We were really happy with the tournament,” said league president Pamela “Rogue” Nevlud.
“It was great to get some out of town teams coming in and we love to play in front of a home crowd, that’s always great for us.”
Adult team, the Roller Girls, took on Rated PG from Prince George and Victoria’s Eves of Destruction, while junior coed team, the BombsQuad, went up against the Windy City Wipeouts of Lethbridge.
The Roller Girls won both their games, annihilating Rated PG 299-84 and also beating the Eves by a good margin, 274-192. The BombsQuad wasn’t so lucky, going down 89-118 to Windy City.
“The juniors had a great time, this was their only game of the season, so it was really nice for them to be able to do it at home and it was a great end to their season,” said Nevlud.
“The adult team, we were super happy with our results. We played well and played hard, and we were happy with the outcomes.”
Last year, the Snow Valley Slam was held in Sparwood during the closure of the Fernie arena. Nevlud said it felt good to be back on their home track.
“We had a great time in Sparwood last year and we had a great turnout, but it was definitely nice to back in our actual home town,” she said.
The Snow Valley Slam wrapped up the BombsQuad’s season, while the Roller Girls head to Bozeman, Montana, this weekend for their final tournament of the season.
They became a Women’s Flat Track Derby Association-sanctioned team last April, which has allowed them to play more sanctioned games.
Nevlud said the league is looking forward to continuing to build on this year’s success with the four new coaches, who joined Avalanche City this season.
It’s her fourth year with the Roller Girls.
“It is a really amazing community of women, that’s huge,” she said. “Then also the sport itself, there’s not a lot of competitive sports for adult women, so it fills that need. It’s really great to be able to play competitively because you kind of feel like once you finish college or university, there’s not a lot of opportunity… I love the competitive aspect of the sport.”
Avalanche City will hold a learn to skate program in the fall with more details to be advertised in September before full practice starts in November.
