April 24, 2010

Skating nuns triumph in pre-season derby

Sports report, by David Clarkson

Christchurch?s flying nuns, the Filthy Habits, showed their devotion to women?s roller derby when they jammed to a convincing win in the pre-season bout at Cowles Stadium on Friday night.

Possibly incensed at the infringements that saw opposing jammers for the Cellblock Brawlers binned for their sins, they religiously took their chance to pile on the points midway through the final.

Final judgment was 62-21 to the Filthy Habits at the end of a night that was undoubtedly serious sport, but also show, comedy, and craziness. It was, in short, high impact fun.

The Dead End Derby league used the night to introduce the teams to the Christchurch public ahead of its league matches in the spring, and to demonstrate the sport to the crowd with the help of the new players, ominously known as fresh meat.

The sport is a mix of racing and fighting. Jammers have to weave, duck, and jive their way through the pack of blockers to score points. Legal checks are allowed; nasty stuff will get players binned.

Two short bouts between the three local teams selected the two sides for the final.

First up, Carnage Academy played the Cellblock Brawlers who had been delivered to the stadium in a prison van and had their handcuffs unlocked before being let loose to play.

The Brawlers won that bout 30-28 to head straight for the final,?and the Academy went on to the second match to play the Filthy Habits, who had arrived in the stadium dressed as nuns before stripping down to the skating costumes.

Academy was winning that bout as well until the last jam, when Marilyn Mon-Rude snatched the win with 5 unanswered points as she drove through the pack.

That left the Brawlers to face the nuns in the final, with Crass getting the Brawlers off to a great start.

It didn?t last. Only three jams in, the Brawlers? jammer was fouled into the bin for the first time and the nuns? points started to mount. After seven jams, they were leading 54-8 and the Brawlers would have needed more than their recidivist tendencies to get back into the game.

They clawed back a little, but the Three?s a Crowd pre-season title went to the Filthy Habits.

The programme for the Dead End Derby, Christchurch?s roller derby league, gives its season dates as September 18, October 2, and October 23, with the final on November 13, all at Cowles Stadium.

That seems a long time away, but it should give plenty of time for the players to get over the scrapes and bruises.