The Final Boutdown
Article: Allan Hall – Distribution Manager
The Beaver Dames, Bombshells and Loitas battle for roller derby gold
On Sept 7th, over 900 roller derby fans watched the Bone City Beaver Dames, 306th Bombshell Battalion and Lockdown Lolitas battle it out for the Pile O’ Bones Derby Club house team championship at The Final Boutdown.
For those unaware, roller derby is a fast-paced team sport that has been growing rapidly since its early 2000s revival. There are over 1500 roller derby leagues worldwide and 2 leagues in Regina.
The oldest and largest league in Regina is the Pile O’ Bones Derby Club. Formed in 2008, the league has over 100 members, 3 house teams, 2 travel teams, and a junior league.
While there are all-male leagues, the sport is best known for its amazing female athletes and for being an environment that promotes female empowerment.
“For me personally, [roller derby] has been very empowering. You can see that it creates a safe space where women can be strong, they can try these new things, they can push their bodies to the limit, and they can feel like they have support when they are doing it,” said Cassie Ozog – who goes by the derby name “Dolly Hardon” – a blocker for the Lockdown Lolitas.
They scare me. /Allan Hall
Flat track roller derby becomes a fairly straightforward sport to understand after watching a few jams. The game is played on a giant oval track with five players per team, one jammer and four blockers. The jammers score points by skating past the other teams blockers. The blockers try to stop their opponent’s jammers by knocking them down or blocking them from passing through or help their jammer get through. The game typically has two 30-minute halves. Each half is broken into shifts called jams that can last up to two minutes. The team that scores the most wins.
The Final Boutdown featured three bouts where each house team plays against each other once. The championship is awarded to a team if they go undefeated in their bouts. If no team is undefeated, the team with the highest combined score is awarded the championship.
The first bout was between the Beaver Dames and the Bombshells. The Dames started strong against the Bombshells, and they eventually won by a score of 82-70.
The second bought featured the Beaver Dames again against the Lolitas. It was a tightly fought match and the Lolitas eventually prevailed over the Bombshells 78-69.
The victory by the Lolitas set up an interesting final match between them and the Bombshells. If the Lolitas won the final match, they would win the house championship. If the Bombshells won, the winner for the house championship would be based on which of the three teams scored the most combined points overall.
The Bombshells were the more rested team and they clearly showed it by going up 39-19 in the beginning. While the Lolitas fought back valiantly, the Bombshells ultimately won by a score of 106-72. This meant that the winner of the championship came down to the best-combined score.
After adding up the scores, the Bombshells – who had a combined score of 176 – were announced the winners of the Pile O’ Bones Derby Club house team championship.
“I’m just happy. This is the Bombshells’ second year, and prior to that the only two house teams were the Lolitas and Beavers,” says Azure Benesh – who goes by the derby name “Maiden Sane” – a jammer for the Bombshells. “So, last year’s championship went to the Beavers, and as the Bombshells being the new team, we really wanted to win it because we’re the new ones on the block.”
The Final Boutdown was the last Pile O’ Bones Derby Club bout for the season. Make sure that you check them out when they start their season again next spring.
Where the picture of little jesticles?