The Durango Roller Girls, looking to make a step up in the flat-track roller derby world, took a huge leap forward in pursuit of their ultimate goal.
And a big victory doesn’t hurt, either.
The Derailers, DRG’s main traveling squad, topped the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls Project Mayhem 213-142 on Saturday at Chapman Hill.
Project Mayhem is the C-team from the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls league in Denver, a league that boasts four home teams, three travel teams and a national championship in the 2010 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Championship Tournament.
Saturday’s bout was a WFTDA-sanctioned bout and a key step forward as the Durango Roller Girls look to move from a WFTDA apprentice program to a fully sanctioned one, which would make DRG eligible for WFTDA tournaments and a spot in the association’s rankings, which they could climb with wins over other sanctioned teams.
“(Saturday) was a sanctioned bout. ... Once we can prove to them that we’re following the steps to put on bouts accurately with trained refs, clean skaters, that everything’s all correct, once we go through steps to be apprentice, then we get accepted into the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association,” said Kalisha “Kill’Eacha” Crossland, who spends time away from the track raising her children and working with the Crossland Foundation.
Getting near full membership in year No. 4 is a huge step for the Durango Roller Girls. Not only is their performance as skaters evaluated but so are things such as the number and quality of officials, course setup and skating clean, all of which appeared to be on display Saturday.
“It’s a really big deal for us because the Rocky Mountain Roller girls are some of the best in the country,” Crystal “Wamp There It Is” Robertson said. “So for us to play their C-team, even, we didn’t know what to expect going into it. We knew it was going to be a challenge either way.
“I’m just really proud to be a skater in this league. This is my third year skating, and we’ve continued to push ourselves every year.”
Crossland and her jammer cohorts, such as Jesstroyer and Eicherumba, helped the Derailers jump from an early deficit to an eventual 114-67 lead at the end of the first period and the eventual victory by earning lead jammer status in bunches. The designation, which applies to the first jammer through the pack at the start of the jam, is critical because that jammer, the only person who can score points, can not only tally points but stop the jam before the opposing jammer has the opportunity to score, as well.
“Our defense is so strong that they make it possible for the jammers to get right through,” Crossland said. “A jammer’s only as strong as their defense.”
Robertson, a member of the Derailers’ front line of blockers, said what makes Durango’s jammers so successful is their ability to be shifty and slippery, sliding in, around and through potential blocks to max out the point totals. It showed Saturday as the Derailers had the lead jammer an unofficial 30 out of 42 jams.
“Our skaters are so agile. They can get through with any little opening they get,” said Robertson, a quality manager at Mercy Regional Medical Center who had a devoted fan club of more than 10 fans with specially made shirts emblazoned with her derby name.
The Derailers will head to Longmont on Aug. 31 to meet the Boulder County Bombers before the Durango Roller Girls finish the season with an intrasquad bout Sept. 14 at Chapman Hill. For now, however, the Derailers will savor an impressive victory against a team from one of the nation’s top leagues.
“It’s a huge accomplishment. They have some of the best trainers in the country. ... We really look up to their league,” Crossland said.
rowens@durangoherald.com
