Daphne du Gorier #905 played her first ever bout for the Blitz Dames travel team on Saturday, and it was against the Irish World Cup Squad! Here is her take on the day:
"Today the Birmingham Blitz Dames played host to two fantastic bouts against the All Ireland team representing Ireland in the Roller Derby World Cup. The first was with the Blitz Dames, while the second pitted the Irish team against an All-Star lineup made up of teams from the Midlands, termed the Midlands Massive.
The BBD bout was my first time bouting for the A team, while the second was much anticipated as it gave me a chance to watch some of my roller derby crushes play at close quarters.
The All Ireland team took an early lead which they maintained throughout the game using their formidable blockers to create a solid defence even the nippiest of jammers had problems getting through. The Dames were at a clear disadvantage with two skaters playing on the A team for the first time, Violet Attack only jamming and Roisin Roulette playing for the other team! Despite this, we made AIRD fight for their points. In the second half the dames adjusted their game and Izzy Dauntless and Thunderkat made some great blocks while Suzette la Flamme and Nico Warrior racked up the points in some beautiful passes.
As virgin voyages go, I couldn’t have asked for a better bout. The atmosphere was relaxed and I was confident in the positions and lineups I was being played in.
The game ended with a score of BBD 55 AIRD 244 but the dames felt satisfied with their performance and grateful to AIRD for the opportunity. No sooner had the teams done their laps of honour, the Midlands Massive team started to warm up, and excitement was in the air!
The second bout was one that proved just how much of a spectator sport derby is. As if seeing Violet Attack, Helen Fury, Nuclear Miss-ile, Voodoo Ray, Inky Minx and Kid Block skating on a team together wasn’t enough, we had the tiny but deadly Mosquito jamming like it was going out of fashion, some mind blowing power jams and BB Bombshell slicing through the pack while skating on one foot as her toe guard had come loose.
Getting to watch this bout was a real treat as you get a completely different perspective from when you’re on track. I quickly fell in love with Zola Blood who darted off the jam line like she’d never heard of inertia, and ChemiKill Hazard (who was awarded MVP) also captured my heart. Crow Jane who I had been looking forward to seeing sadly went off with an injury but not before putting up a good fight for the AIRD team. Between these fearsome ladies, Violet Attack and Roisin Roulette, I had a hard time knowing who to cheer for and gave myself a sore throat from all the screaming.
It was a fantastic day from start to finish with a great effort from all the skaters, refs, NSOs and the BBD bout production team. Thank you to everyone who made my first A-team bout such a fantastic experience. Hope to see you all on track some time.
(If I’ve made any mistakes or not linked to profiles where available, let me know and I’ll edit!)"
Blog post taken from http://daphnedoesderby.tumblr.com where Daphne blogs about all things derby on a regular basis.
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