The Gold Pain City Derby Girls have been picking up skaters and picking up speed, endurance and skills all season! With four bouts behind us – one in May at home where we defeated Fort St. John’s Energetic City Roller Derby – we are eager and excited to be hosting the second annual Gold Rush Rumble, July 20 at the Quesnel Twin Arenas during Billy Barker Days! Flat track roller derby was recently said to be the fastest growing sport in the world and our local Gold Pain Girls’ team has been growing too! We started the season out with eight skaters who passed their minimum skills. Injury is always a concern and over the course of the last six months we’ve had knee, shoulder and leg injuries that have kept players from playing. But still we keep growing. At present we have twelve skaters who have passed their minimum skills and more in training! We’ve also been training our own refereeing crew!
The team is fired up to complete our first full bouting season at home at the Gold Rush Rumble! It’s a real mark of success for us. There’s a lot of dedication, hard work, organization, sweat and even a few tears that goes into putting a team together and keeping it growing and improving. It’s a common jest that we all have derby widows and widowers at home as we head out the door for the second or third night of the week for a meeting, fundraiser, dry land work out, bout planning or practice, but it stems from truth. The women and men participating conduct a fine juggling act of work, home, kids and their activities, with the demands of a new team. So far so good! I’m incredibly proud of each of them!
A big part of our success is the support the team members offer one another; sharing teen children to care for little ones, helping out when someone is injured, car pooling and basic encouragement through the learning process of such a physical sport. And we’d not have come this far without the support of our wonderful volunteers and the businesses of Quesnel who have really backed us up. We’d be lost without all of them and their efforts! Our volunteers have done everything from selling tickets, to serving hot dogs, sponsoring so we can host bouts and travel to learning the duties of a non-skating official. We’re always humbled and so grateful! So, we ask you this July 20 to come out and support us again and we promise to return the favour by entertaining you with the fastest growing sport in the world!! Last year we played the Rated PG Roller Girls with an after party dance at the arena. This year, we’ll kick off the night at 7 p.m. to play Kamloops’ Tournament City Derby Dolls’ Rookie team. It’s an anticipated rematch after our bout in Kamloops, June 23 when we lost to them. We need you all out to cheer us on! The fun of the night doesn’t stop there because it’s a double header and the Rated PG Roller Girls from Prince George take on the Lake City Derby Girls from Williams Lake! After party dance is right there at the arena again! We have JP Pinel spinning the music for us.
For tickets to the event and to the after party and dance, locate one of our fine derby girls or head down to Reason 2 Run on Reid Street or up the hill to the Shark Club! Pre-sale tickets for the bout are $10, children 10 years and under are free. (Everyone needs a ticket so pick your free child tickets up as well.) Or you can get them at the door for $12.
The after party dance tickets are $10 but are only available until the end of the first bout, there will be no ticket sales at the door of the after party.
If you are interesting in joining us as a volunteer for the Gold Rush Rumble please contact Dorine Lamarche a.k.a. Reani Rink Rash at 250-249-5095.
We have plenty of spots to fill! Volunteers get in for free!
–submitted by Dorine Lamarche