News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes 

‘Mel-A-Liscious’ from the Lake City Derby Girls said that the event was a phenomenal, with more than 550 people counted at the gate and a final total of close to 600. 

 “There were kids, families, teenagers and seniors there,” she continued. “One of our team mates had her grandma there and some of our fans brought their grandfathers---everybody had a great time and we got a lot of signatures on our ‘fresh meat’ sign-up sheet.” 

(Photo by Cathy Norman)

She said that some of the Derby Girl skaters were nervous in the first period and didn’t know what to expect. “We had a number on our team who had never played a game before, but after a few hits they knew what it was all about and they played with a lot of heart.” 

The half-time show featured local skateboarders. “We practice at the skate park and they are very respectful and great at sharing it with us,” she stated. “We also had a trio of hip hop girls who did a dance routine, as well a game that really got the crowd involved. We had three ‘creepers’ donated by Chuck’s Auto Body and got three couples from the audience to race around the oval taking turns pushing each other—we had great prizes donated for them.”  

Photos by Cathy Norman

01/27 

   

The final score of 172-117 was much closer than anyone anticipated. “ Our goal was to reach 100 points and we feel a real sense of accomplishment,” stated Coach Manny Huarez. “We had players on our team who started out kind of shy and quiet. They got into it and were rocking and rolling and knocking those big Prince George girls around---gave me some pride for sure.” 

Mel said that the girls really learned at the slammer that roller derby is a full-contact sport. Prince George had one injury and that one player from Armstrong playing for the Derby Girls had surgery yesterday for a cracked hip. “She is in full recovery and plans to get back on her skates as soon as possible,” Mel explained. 

Manny said that coaching a team of derby girls is like herding cats.  “It took a few jams on Saturday for the girls to get settled down and in place,” he said. “They started to realize that all their training and cardio pays off---they saw what it takes.” 

Mel was jamming for the first time and did great, according to Manny, and in the second jam they all really started to come together as a team and work together. 

“In the 4th bout I told Darby Doll ‘Hit the jammer! Hit the jammer!’ and she did, and started screaming, ‘I got one, I got one!’  Prince George was quite impressed with us,” Manny said. “Another proud moment for me was when I asked some of the girls on the bench to start hitting the two big blockers out in the front and Sally said, ‘I’ll do it.’ The girl she was up against held a running power saw over her head—that takes something to go up against.” 

Mel said that the Lake City Derby Girls want to say a special thank you to the OV Pub and their other sponsors, and a special thanks to Kim Emsley-Leik from the City of Williams Lake who helped them organize the event from the beginning and was behind them all along---even at the after-party. 

The Lake City Derby Girls are going to start rehearsing again the first week of October and will be welcoming new members. 

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