Tucson, AZ

By Rizzo ReKENbahl

What started as a gloomy weather day in the Old Pueblo soon brightened with fiery play from the Charm City Roller Girls of Baltimore, Maryland, and Tri-City Roller Derby of Ontario, Canada’s Waterloo Region. From the fast pace of Jam 1 to the nail-biting last jam, this game didn't disappoint in lead changes. Charm City came into this tournament as the #5 seed and hopes were high that they would dominate #10 Tri-City.

Photo by Joe Mac / Joe Mac Photography

Charm started strong in the first jam, with Dottie Deathwish scoring 11 points during furious action that left fans scrambling to avoid hard hits out of turn two. Holly Gohardly and Kamikaze Cash would add a combined 19 points as Charm held Tri-City scoreless through the third jam, shored up by rock-solid blocking from Coleen Best, Scariett Tubman, Raven Darkhold and Hittsburg.

Tri-City broke free in the 4th jam after Dottie, Loretta Scars and Free Radical were sent to the box in a disastrous trifecta of penalties, allowing The Honey Badger to score 20 points. Tri-City took the next two jams to move within two points of Charm, leaving fans screaming for a lead change. Tri-City granted the fans' wish in jam eight with Badger garnering 10 points, taking the lead 43 to 40. Crazy Squirrel's wild spinning attempts to beat the Charm wall in jam nine met stiff resistance, bested by Holly to regain the lead 44 to 43. Tri-City held Charm scoreless for five jams, but only managed eight points. The low-scoring jams broke in the 15th by Squirrel, elevating Tri-City to 18 points. Squirrel furthered the gap two jams later with a 13-point venture, pulling ahead 82 to 47. She-Bear sparked a hard-fought rally for Charm in the final jam of the half, scoring 15 points, but still leaving them trailing 72 to 95.

Photo by Donna Olmstead

Squirrel jump-started the second half with 20 points, followed by Badger's 10 in support of Tri-City, as they started to pull away with a 125-74 lead. Momentum remained in Tri-City's skates until the 10th jam, when Dottie closed the gap with 20 points. Holly would add 24 points two jams later, pulling to within eight points of Tri-City. The final lead change came in the 13th jam, which was a power jam for Dottie. Charm outscored Tri-City 130 to eight in the final 12 jams, nine of which were scoreless for Tri-City. A spark of hope ignited in the final jam as Squirrel attempted a valiant effort to break the wall of Cherrylicious, Raven and Free Radical. Despite Free Rad in the box, Squirrel could only garner 14 points as the game ended.

Tri-City's talents weren't to be overlooked in this matchup, but Charm City’s persistent comeback ultimately led to the win.

FINAL SCORE

Charm City Rollergirls 218
Tri-City Roller Derby 176