Jammers Scuttle Butt Jibber Jabber and Zonan the Barbarian were tough to stop, but then Scarie Antoinette, the Wife of Wrath and Hudson Smack were no slouches, either. The Mexican-hatted announcer in a Spanish dress skated past throwing out chili peppers. And the crowd went wild. Really.
It wasn鈥檛 Halloween, just another zany night of Eves of Destruction Roller Derby at Archie Brown Sports Centre. At the final whistle, the hometown Margarita Villains were out-jammed by the visiting Northwest Derby Company from Port Orchard, Wash.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a tough team,鈥� Villains blocker Velvita Slicer said, adding her team suffered from too much time in the penalty box, and a couple of ejections. 鈥淭hey have very strong walls to break through, and they鈥檙e big hitters.鈥�
Some 600 fans hooted and cheered the women skating, spinning, crashing and body checking their way around a track marked out on the cement floor of the curling rink.
鈥淰ictoria just loves us,鈥� said bout manager Ruby D. Vixen, a member of the Bellies of the Brawl, the other team, along with Rotten Apple Junior Derby (ages 13-18), in the all-volunteer-run Eves of Destruction league. 鈥淭hey come out and support us every time, and I don鈥檛 think half of them understand the rules.鈥�
No wonder, as the rule book, interpreted by guys such as referee Wheezie Rider, runs to 65 pages, and the whistle goes constantly when a player gets carried away with an illegal elbow or shot to the back.
The gist is the teams send five players onto the track at a time, with one jammer and four blockers each. The jammers score points by getting through the pack, while the blockers try to alternatively help their jammer get through, and stop the opposing one.
Obviously, it鈥檚 an extremely physical sport, but one that hooked Vixen, a.k.a. Samantha Muir-Vargo, six years ago. As a mother of two kids whose jobs include being a midwife, doula and chef, Muir-Vargo found camaraderie and a new personality on four-wheeled skates.
鈥淢y name鈥檚 not Ruby, but everyone here knows me as Ruby,鈥� said Muir-Vargo, whose Facebook page features roller derby enthusiasts from Korea to Egypt. The sport boasts 1,400 leagues worldwide.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy. It鈥檚 just popping up everywhere.鈥�
In Victoria, the next bout is on July 27, and the Eves are currently recruiting raw meat.
