What’s Gonna Work?
Teamwork was the name of the game for Crossroads City Derby, as they piled into their vehicles on Friday, August 29, 2014, on a 685 mile journey to San Diego, California, for the 2nd Annual Labor Pains Invitational. Having placed third in the tournament the previous year, they weren’t coming all this way to bring home anything other than the first place trophy. But the teamwork was evident long before they laced up their skates and took to the track. In the number of skaters willing to drive the distance to represent their team, in the number of refs and NSOs volunteering their time to support the tournament, and even in the willingness of a car-full of skaters to turn back home to retrieve a necessary medical item for a skater who left earlier in the day, CCD takes care of their own.
Over the course of two days, six teams played a series of 30 minute bouts to determine the championship bracket. If a team was up by 100 points or more within the last five minutes of the bout, a mercy rule was in place to end the suffering of the losing team. It became the goal of CCD to “mercy rule” every team they skated against, and they nearly did. Starting Saturday morning with a 180-30 win over the San Diego Derby Dolls, and later that morning with a 173-29 win over Valley Heat Roller Derby, they were off to a good start in dominating the tournament. They spent the afternoon soaking in the California sunshine and the evening soaking in the hot tub to get ready for Sunday’s competition.
While the host team, San Diego Roller Derby, put up a good fight and Border City Rollergirls fielded their best skaters, both teams were defeated, 154-51 and 154-34, respectively. It wasn’t until the match up with the Bakersfield Rollergirls that CCD even played a full 30 minute bout. Bakersfield wasn’t ready to let CCD run away with it and held them to a respectable 92-63 in the final bout of the day. Knowing what they were going to be up against in the championship the next day, CCD retired for the evening to rest up, fuel up, and form a game plan.
With a reminder of their strengths from Jesus H. Coach, Monday found the team ready and determined to finish the tournament strong. They would need the teamwork they developed in dedicated practice and demonstrated in the tournament up to that point. Anyone present could see it when CCD stepped onto the track. It could be seen in the team warming up to Bohemian Rhapsody, skating circles around Coach, so fluidly and comfortably it was like a dance. It could be seen in the smile on Boozeberry Pie’s face when she was sent to the box for a revenge hit on a skater that dared take a cheap shot at her jammer. It could be seen in the determination of Spicy She Ra Chacha to call off the jam from the ground after being hit so hard she had a concussion. There were so many moments that teamwork would be the necessary ingredient for success, and every time CCD was ready to give it their all. With a final score of 234-135, Crossroads City Derby defeat Bakersfield Rollergirls to take first place in the 2nd Annual Labor Pains Invitational, beating every team they played. What’s gonna work? Teamwork! And it worked like a dream!
Maully Marine #1775
Teamwork was the name of the game for Crossroads City Derby, as they piled into their vehicles on Friday, August 29, 2014, on a 685 mile journey to San Diego, California, for the 2nd Annual Labor Pains Invitational. Having placed third in the tournament the previous year, they weren’t coming all this way to bring home anything other than the first place trophy. But the teamwork was evident long before they laced up their skates and took to the track. In the number of skaters willing to drive the distance to represent their team, in the number of refs and NSOs volunteering their time to support the tournament, and even in the willingness of a car-full of skaters to turn back home to retrieve a necessary medical item for a skater who left earlier in the day, CCD takes care of their own.
Over the course of two days, six teams played a series of 30 minute bouts to determine the championship bracket. If a team was up by 100 points or more within the last five minutes of the bout, a mercy rule was in place to end the suffering of the losing team. It became the goal of CCD to “mercy rule” every team they skated against, and they nearly did. Starting Saturday morning with a 180-30 win over the San Diego Derby Dolls, and later that morning with a 173-29 win over Valley Heat Roller Derby, they were off to a good start in dominating the tournament. They spent the afternoon soaking in the California sunshine and the evening soaking in the hot tub to get ready for Sunday’s competition.
While the host team, San Diego Roller Derby, put up a good fight and Border City Rollergirls fielded their best skaters, both teams were defeated, 154-51 and 154-34, respectively. It wasn’t until the match up with the Bakersfield Rollergirls that CCD even played a full 30 minute bout. Bakersfield wasn’t ready to let CCD run away with it and held them to a respectable 92-63 in the final bout of the day. Knowing what they were going to be up against in the championship the next day, CCD retired for the evening to rest up, fuel up, and form a game plan.
With a reminder of their strengths from Jesus H. Coach, Monday found the team ready and determined to finish the tournament strong. They would need the teamwork they developed in dedicated practice and demonstrated in the tournament up to that point. Anyone present could see it when CCD stepped onto the track. It could be seen in the team warming up to Bohemian Rhapsody, skating circles around Coach, so fluidly and comfortably it was like a dance. It could be seen in the smile on Boozeberry Pie’s face when she was sent to the box for a revenge hit on a skater that dared take a cheap shot at her jammer. It could be seen in the determination of Spicy She Ra Chacha to call off the jam from the ground after being hit so hard she had a concussion. There were so many moments that teamwork would be the necessary ingredient for success, and every time CCD was ready to give it their all. With a final score of 234-135, Crossroads City Derby defeat Bakersfield Rollergirls to take first place in the 2nd Annual Labor Pains Invitational, beating every team they played. What’s gonna work? Teamwork! And it worked like a dream!
Maully Marine #1775
