Sports

Local Scrimmage Spotlights South County Derby Girls

The competition included roller derby clubs from Hollister and Monterey.

The year-old South County Derby Girls, Gilroy’s own roller derby team, showed off its skills in a scrimmage last Saturday with the Monterey Derby Dames and the Hollister Derby Girls, two more established teams in the area.  

The scrimmage was a “black and white,” meaning that it was not a town vs. town competition, or “bout” which is the name for a competitive derby league game. Instead, competitors were mixed and separated into two teams with equal numbers and with members of similar skills. The black team won with a score of 166 to 132.

This predominantly female contact sport is a competition between two teams that protect or defend a particular skater that gets points every time she passes a member of the opposite team in an oval track.

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The impromptu course for the game took place at . Colored chalk aligned the edges of the ad-hoc oval at the end of the high school’s track and field course. However, the rough material of the track floor forced players to give a slower paced showing then usual.

“Usually in a scrimmage you will see girls flying on the track,” said Cristina Tuckness of the South County Derby Girls. Tuckess goes by “Bullet Sucker," as nicknames are common in the sport. “Our skates were just gripping to the ground, so we didn’t really have traction.”

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The friction created between the rollerskates and track forced the players to skate harder, taking a toll on their overall energy.

“It takes a lot more energy to skate on this track,” said Desiree Echeverria, a member of the South County Derby Girls team, whose competition nickname is ‘Mini Kamotion.’ “This track is the most difficult part today.”

Fans were also quick to blame the surface of track for the slow speed of the scrimmage.

“This is super slow, because of what they are playing on,” said Richard Lopez, who has attended seven roller derby events to show support for his girlfriend, Echeverria. “It is way faster than this.”

Members of the South County Derby Girls said they were satisfied with the overall result of their friendly scrimmage. They wanted to further introduce this sport to new enthusiasts from the area, after participating in scrimmages in San Jose and Fresno in the past two weekends.

“We wanted people to see us and get a feel for what derby is about,” said Lisa Wharton, who is otherwise known “Smashin Smeesha,” of the South County Derby Girls. Crowds showed enthusiasm throughout the two-hour competition. “It was fun and we got good exposure.”

In the full-contact sport, some falls can lead to injury–one referee twisted her ankle during this scrimmage. In spite of this, loved ones of the derby girls have respect for their passion and are trust their skills.

“She can handle herself, I am not worried,” said Terry Piechocki of Hollister, who was watching his girlfriend play for the first time. “She knows what she is doing.”

The South County Derby Girls are a new team, and are currently faced with the difficulty of finding a proper place to practice.  

“We a re currently looking for a permanent home here in Gilroy,” said Tuckness. Their team use to practice in at Monterey Street warehouse that may one day be converted to a full-time homeless shelter, the Gilroy Compassion Center. “We are just trying to bring derby to Gilroy.”

If you would like to join the team, sponsor it or have information about a place that they could, practice feel free to contact them through their website at www.southcountyderbygirls.org.


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