Harbour City Ship Rex player Linda (Lighting Striker) Matheson, middle, finds some jamming room in between Victoria Hard Cores opponents Saturday at Frank Crane Arena. GREG SAKAKI/The News Bulletin

Harbour City Ship Rex player Linda (Lighting Striker) Matheson, middle, finds some jamming room in between Victoria Hard Cores opponents Saturday at Frank Crane Arena. GREG SAKAKI/The News Bulletin

Home teams win in Harbour City roller derby doubleheader

The Harbour City Ship Rex defeated the Victoria Hard Cores 202-167 on Saturday at Frank Crane Arena

The Harbour City Ship Rex were able to sink the competition.

The local team defeated the Victoria Hard Cores 202-167 in roller derby action Saturday at Frank Crane Arena.

The contest was a close one, tied midway through the second half.

“We expected it. We expected a tough, tough game…” said Shelby (Block Beauty) Waugh, blocker of the match. “We kind of lost our head there for a little bit with some penalties, but we cleared our minds and just tried to slow everything down which was a big thing that helped us.”

Kinzie (The Hotcake Hustler) Wiebe, jammer of the match, had some high-scoring jams that helped her team take back control.

“It was the blockers. The blockers held the other jammer and then you can get through and they make some great holes for you,” she said. “And they really do help slow the game down when you get kind of hot and freaked out.”

Ship Rex players said they were happy to be able to protect “our turf” in Nanaimo, and said coming up with a win in their first match bodes well.

“We’re learning from some really high-up skaters and we’ve got some people who are really committed and keep it fun and light-hearted but also competitive,” Wiebe said.

In an earlier bout, the Harbour City co-ed squad defeated Victoria co-ed 321-84.

The next roller derby bout in Nanaimo will be June 9 at Frank Crane.


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Nanaimo News Bulletin