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Dam City Rollers hosts Spokane’s Lilac City

Roller Derby hits the track hard at Selkirk College Saturday with Dam City jamming with Lilac City
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Dam City’s Captain Kristina Kruchowski Conroy (Kitty Karnage) sets up a perfect tabletop block, assisted by teammate Cheyanna Shypitka (shyRamasaurus Wrex). Castlegar’s Dam City Rollers host the Lilac City Roller Derby team from Spokane on Saturday at Selkirk College in what will be an exciting and hard-hitting match up. Lee Orr photo.

‘Work hard, play hard’ is the motto for many sports enthusiasts, and women who play roller derby are no exception.

Castlegar’s Dam City Rollers’ hard work will be on display Saturday when they take on Spokane’s Lilac City Roller Derby team at Selkirk College Gym in Castlegar.

“Lilac City is a competitive team that the Dams have faced off against before; they always bring solid play and excitement to the track,” says Dam City’s Valerie Rossi, known as Lois Slain in the derby community. “It’s always a real treat to host a local bout and get the fans together.”

The Dams are rolling into their eighth season with a strong showing of returning players and new talent. The travel team started their season off with a bang by participating in NWO’s Daze of Derby, a fun one-day tournament held in Chilliwack that gave teams plenty of play with seven guaranteed mini bouts. The Dams placed fourth and most importantly came back with some new tricks for their arsenal. The team was further schooled when they hosted a CRDA All Stars Bootcamp in Castlegar this past November, which focused on strategy and technique and was delivered by national-level coach Mack the Mouth and top Canadian skater Lever.

The hard-hitting women in purple have been applying these new skills and techniques to their gameplay and are ready to take on Lilac prior to hosting Avalanche City Roller Derby (Fernie) and Hellgate Roller Derby from Missoula, MT in early April.

“Come check out some live roller derby and see what all the ruckus is about,” adds Rossi. “Derby truly is for everyone – we have fans from as young as two years old to as old as 70-plus. Derby doesn’t discriminate.”

Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first whistle at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10 for adults or $5 with a food bank donation. Children 12 and under can enter with a non-perishable or cash donation to the Castlegar Community Harvest Food Bank.

In addition to some hard-hitting derby, the event serves up a beer garden and chili-dogs, a 50/50 raffle, and an after-party held at the Lion’s Head Pub.

For more information, ‘like’ the Dam City Rollers on Facebook and stay tuned for details on local games, volunteer opportunities, and all kinds of derby good times.



Jim Bailey

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