It’s been more than two months since the Durango Roller Girls have competed in a bout.
They’re getting a little antsy.
The team will return to the track for the first time since the Spudtown Knockdown on April 4 and 5 in Boise, Idaho.
The Durango Derailers will compete in their first home bout of the season Saturday at Chapman Hill against the Pueblo Jailhouse Jawbreakers.
The doors will open at 5 p.m. with the bout starting at 6 p.m.
The Durango Trainwrecks, the DRG “B” squad competing for the first year, also will face the 4 Corners Roller Girls in the nightcap.
The Deraliers were scheduled to face the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls Contenders on May 31 in Denver, but the match was postponed to a date to be determined later because of venue issues in Denver.
“We’re really excited to host at home,” said Kalisha Crossland, aka KillEtcha. “It’s exciting for us to put on a bout for all of our friends and family in the community of Durango. This is our fifth season, so we’re pretty pumped about it.”
The Derailers have continued practicing and scrimmaging in lieu of official competition.
Much of that practice time has been spent focusing on reducing any weaknesses exposed in the Spudtown Knockdown, where they finished in third place on the unsanctioned track.
“Our girls have a really good training regimen down,” said Kate Jones, aka Crossbones Jones. “Every week they found one key strategy and focused on improving that. After five years of doing this, we finally have gotten down a good routine. We don’t just show up and skate without a legit plan.”
Jones said the team primarily uses online resources to study successful strategies from other leagues.
“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here,” she said. “We’re trying to learn from those girls since we are so isolated.”
Another goal of the DRG in recent years has been to achieve full Women’s Flat Track Derby Association certification to be able to participate in higher levels of competition.
The team applied for certification and expected to have heard back by now, but a conference gummed up the WFTDA’s processes, delaying the verdict.
“We could hear (Saturday),” Jones said. “All signs are pointing that we covered all our bases. There should be no reason why we aren’t accepted, knock on wood.”
The debut of the DRG Trainwrecks against the 4 Corners Roller girls also signals growth for the DRG that they are able to field a developmental team.
“(The 4 Corners Roller Girls) don’t play a lot of bouts, but neither does our B team,” Crossland said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing that and seeing how our girls progressed.”
In the evening’s main event, the DRG are facing an unfamiliar Jailhouse Jawbreakers squad.
The Jawbreakers are a WFTDA-certified team and have been since 2010.
“We really don’t know too much about the current team right now, because, just like us, they’ve changed a lot since we had any introduction to them,” Jones said. “They’re definitely holding their own against some really good teams, so it is making us stay on our toes.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
