The Gold Pain City derby girls are at it again, taking on the competition at home.
On June 28, fans gathered in the Twin Arenas to watch Quesnel’s derby girls crash through the Terrace Northcoast Nightmares. Gold Pain City came out on top with a final score of 146-97.
“They are great ladies and a ton of fun to play,” Gold Pain City coach Dorine Lamarche a.k.a Reani Rink Rash said.
“They were great hosts while we were in Terrace and we hope they had as much fun here.”
It was nearly a month later at Billy Barker Days that Gold Pain City took to the course again, this time taking on the Kamloops Tournament City Derby Dolls’ (TCDD) at the fourth annual Gold Rush Rumble Friday July 18.
Gold Pain City went into the rumble shorthand with only ten blockers and two jammers, as opposed to 11 and three.
“A shortage of gamers is exceptionally tough because they have to skate so hard, so having to go out every other jam is exhausting,” Lamarche said.
Though even having been shorthanded all season the Quesnel derby girls have been blazing through the competition, having won four of the six bouts this season.
In the first half of the rumble against the TCDD the Quesnel derby girls lost one of their two jammers, after number 24, Killswitch rolled her ankle.
It was all up to the second jammer CraZtrain from then on, with the help of her fellow teammates with jamming experience as relief when necessary for the remainder of the first half.
Before the second half could begin, Gold Pain City needed to find another jammer to take some of the heat off CraZtrain.
“With a bench of girls with everything from cramped hams and pulled quads to rolled ankles and sick stomach, it would seem there wasn’t much that could be done,” Lamarche said.
“But, I have a really strong team and we train every position in practice so I know who I could call on.”
It was Secret Whippin’ who stepped in as the second jammer alongside CraZtrain, with each of the jammers switching off with fellow Gold Pain City Girls Pocket Rocket, Reg the Sledge and Moshin’ Momma Jezebelle.
With many of the blockers providing relief for the regular jammer and that night’s temporary jammer as well as already being shorthanded it was a tiring night as the Quesnel girls smashing their way through the competition.
As the night came to a close the Gold Pain City girls rolled in for the win, with a final score of 186-117.
It was a night of struggle and perseverance for these tough athletes, getting knocked to the floor more than a few times and returning to the track to take the win.
The team effort after losing a jammer took a toll on the derby girls, having to struggle through exhaustion and pain as they fought to claim another win.
Ending the fourth annual Gold Rush Rumble in a bang.
“We don’t have rivalries, we don’t have grudge bouts, we don’t look at the opposing team as our enemies, we don’t play that way, we play because we love this sport,” Lamarche said.
“We play because of what it does for us as individuals , replay because of who it helps us be. I teach my girls to work hard, work together and have fun. Anything less and we’re wasting our time.”
The season will start again in Sept. with the Fresh Meat Recruitment program, with the regular season taking off in Jan. For information visit www.goldpaingirls.org.
