If you didn’t make the trip to Juneau to watch the Yukon Roller Girls’ last bout but wanted to check out the action, it’s not too late.
The Yukon roller derby crew is holding a public viewing of the Feb. 18 bout tonight at the Old Fire Hall.
“When we played our bout in Juneau, they streamed it live on the Internet,” said Yukon Roller Girls president Ashley Fisher.
“So when we went back to our hotel and checked our Facebook, it turned out all our friends and families had watched it online. We got all these comments and it was really exciting.
“Now that we have a recording of it, we wanted to share it with our friends and the city of Whitehorse.”
At the Juneau bout - spoiler alert! - the Yukon Roller Girls maintained their undefeated status in a 164-161 win.
It was their closest bout to date; they traded leads throughout. After finishing the first half down 83-82, the trailing Yukon troupe took the lead in the final minutes for the win.
“It was a really exciting bout and the people who got to watch it really enjoyed it,” said Fisher. “We want to watch it and share it with our friends and fans.”
No sports event is as good on the screen as it is in person. Luckily the Yukon Roller Girls have six more bouts scheduled for this season, including three in Whitehorse.
The Yukon Roller Girls will first travel to Alberta to play the Red Deer Belladonnas on April 7.
They will then compete in their first at-home bout of the season on April 21 against a team yet to be determined.
The following bouts are versus the Fairbanks Rollergirls ‘B’ team in Fairbanks on May 19; the Red Deer Nightshades in Whitehorse on June 23; another home bout against an undetermined team in September; and an away bout against the Reign Valley Vixens in Abbotsford on November 24.
After some careful measuring of the space, the Yukon Roller Girls have decided to hold all three Whitehorse bouts at the Whitehorse Curling Club.
“We are definitely using it on June 23 against the Red Deer Nightshades and we have it booked for the 21st of April, but we’re still working on confirming an opponent for that one,” said Fisher.
The Yukon junior roller derby team is also getting its season started. It will hold its first practice next Thursday at Christ the King Elementary School from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. No equipment or experience is necessary and all female ages 12 to 18 are welcome to attend.
“We do have gear available for the girls to use,” said Fisher. “It’s very inclusive. And you can come once or come all summer.”
In what was both its first Outside bout and first club-sanctioned bout, the Yukon crew beat the Oil City Derby Girls’ rookie team 187-127 in Edmonton last August.
At the Klondike Klash in September, their first at-home sanctioned bout, the Yukon girls defeated the visiting Fairbanks Rollergirls 159-104 at the Takhini Broomball Arena in front of a sold-out crowd of 749.
For tonight’s viewing, doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Admission is by donation.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com