It wasn’t a win for the Castle Rock n’ Rollers, but their debut was nothing but victory.
Castle Rock’s women’s flat track roller derby team made its debut to a packed crowd June 12 at the Douglas County Event Center in Castle Rock, where the Rollers played host to the Naughty Pines Derby Dames of Wyoming.
Nearly 800 spectators were in attendance in the Rollers first live bout of the season after six months of training. Chomping at the bit to prove themselves, Castle Rock took a 186-143 loss to the Pines.
“It was an awesome turnout. Unfortunately, we lost, but that’s OK. We did great for our first time out,” Castle Rock n’ Rollers jammer and founder Pinki Flowers said.
The bout’s first period was mostly even in points; however, the Pines held the lead for most of the half. The Rollers started to get their skates under them to tie and take a lead on more than one occasion, until they fell into some penalty problems late in the period, allowing the Pines to jump ahead by more than 40 points.
In the final minutes of the half, Castle Rock toughened up to pull within 11 points, aided by jammer PoundHer Puff Girl scoring two grand slams in one jam. 99-88 was the score at halftime.
PoundHer said at half time, the Rollers talked strategy to stay on top of the visiting Pines.
“We were just saying to hit harder, slow down the pack and use strategies, but they came back and were hitting hard, so I think it flustered us a little bit,” she said. “But we got it back.”
The Rollers got started to make the penalty box a home, especially from its jammers, through the middle of the second period, preventing them from picking up much needed points.
“We still have a lot to learn,” PoundHer Puff Girl said. “We’ve come a long way, but we’re a little grabby. I don’t think they had half the penalties we had.”
Castle Rock faced an almost 80-point deficit at one point; however, late in the half jammer Ctrl-Alt-Delete fought for grand slam points of her own.
PoundHer Puff Girl later nailed a hat trick in one of her final jams, closing in on the gap but eventually settling for a 186-143 final to the Naughty Pines.
Now with one live bout under their skates, the real work begins for the gals in purple. Flowers said strategy, endurance and hitting will be a priority over the coming month before the Rollers’ next bout July 25 away in Greeley against the Slaughterhouse Derby Girls.
“There’s lots of stuff to work on, everything,” PoundHer said. “Watching penalties, controlling pack, looking behind you. Sometimes it’s as simple as that, going where the jammer is.”
Flowers said over the coming months, the community should be seeing a lot more of the team’s skaters between bouts, including working with the local fire and police departments on a handful of charity fundraising efforts.
“We’ll also be out there working with the community,” she said. “We’ll always have something different.”
The next home bout for the Castle Rock n’ Rollers is 7 p.m. Aug. 5 at the Douglas County Event Center when they play host to the Pueblo Derby Devil Dollz. The Rollers have scrimmaged against the Dollz during their six-month development. For more information on the Rollers, visit the team’s Web site at www.castlerocknrollers.com.
Rollers