Photos by David Dyte. Support David’s derby photography on Patreon!
Calgary Roller Derby is exhilarated to announce that their All Stars have earned bronze at the inaugural WFTDA Continental Cup North America West, held Aug. 24-26 in Omaha, Nebraska.
Coming into the 12-team tournament the 5th seed, Calgary was motivated to show their regional competition what they’re made of—and make Western Canada proud. And that fire in them led the team to play in three of the most exciting and closely battled games of the tournament.
“I’ll take a win or a loss with as much gratitude and gratefulness as the other,” said co-captain and jammer Hilary Boswell. “As long as I do it with this team, we can do anything. I love this sport because each year, something new happens that reminds me: the world is truly my oyster. Surround yourself with likeminded individuals and nothing will stand in your way.”
Photo by David Dyte.
Easy Break Oven jumps the apex for Calgary during a Continental Cup game vs. Crossroads Roller Derby.
In their first game, the team faced Seed 12 Crossroads City Derby from Las Cruces, New Mexico. Despite some nerves starting their third post-season tournament in as many seasons, the All Stars came out with a commanding 320-136 victory.
The win meant a game against Seed 4 Vancouver’s Terminal City Rollergirls—a team that had defeated Calgary earlier this season at the Big O. The game was close for 60 minutes—fans and friends back home chewed through more than a few fingernails. In the end, Calgary earned the win 190-172.
Photo by David Dyte.
Every point was a battle vs. the Tucson Saddletramps.
“We’ve been preparing all year for these games,” said co-captain Preacher’s Slaughter. “We made a lot of adjustments after our last tournament that really paid off this weekend. The whole team bought into those changes at every practice, week after week, and that’s why they they paid off this weekend.”
“And we couldn’t have done it without the support of our families, leaguemates and especially our officials back home,” said Boswell.
Just six hours later, Calgary was skating against Seed 1, Rocky Mountain Rollergirls from Denver. Going in focused on having fun in a game few expected the team to be playing, Calgary came out of the gate strong. They quickly realized winning—and a spot in the gold-medal game—was within reach. And they came within 14 points of that finale, though Rocky was triumphant 197-183. But Calgary was all smiles, knowing they’d earned a spot in the bronze-medal game against familiar opponents Tucson Roller Derby.
And that bronze medal game was another one not for the faint of heart. Calgary opened a wide lead in the first half, but Tucson came on fiercely strong in the second, with lead changes keeping Calgary fans sweating almost as much as the skaters. The game came down to the final jam: Calgary was victorious 190-188.
The team is taking a breather now, but preparation for next season starts this fall. Stay tuned to Calgary Roller Derby on Facebook for information on open skates with the All Stars and tryouts.
