Roller derby season ends in P-burg bout

Wrangell's roller derby term held its last bout before the summer on April 8, heading over to Petersburg.

The Garnet Grit Betties faced the Ragnarök Rollers at the local high school gym. The bleachers were pretty well packed with spectators, with about 170 people turning out for the bout.

"We were super surprised and excited that such a large crowd turned out," said Ola "PolkaOlka" Richards, a first-year skater for Petersburg.

Running a lean roster this year, Wrangell filled out its bench with a pair of players from Juneau and another from Sitka.

"We invited them to come with us and give us a fighting chance," explained Andy "Stitches" Slusser, on the Betties. The three had played in Wrangell's region-wide mash-up bout the previous weekend, and added a blocker, a jammer, and one who can play either to the team's set. "They helped us quite a lot," said Slusser.

While the Rollers fielded a larger team, illness cost it one of its key skaters, Angela "Slammin'" Christensen.

"That was really hard on us," said Richards.

It was a really challenging game," agreed teammate Alice "LewdaFrisk" Williams. "The lead was back and forth through the game."

Playing short, the Betties hardly had time to rest on the bench between jams. Slusser said that hadn't kept them down, however.

"We're pretty used to going and going, until you're really just ready to sit down," said Slusser.

Keeping things close, Wrangell had started pulling ahead by the end of the bout's first half.

"We were pretty nervous, I would say, that Wrangell was going to win," said Richards.

However, Petersburg coach Rebecca "Midlife Tigress" Anderson made some changes in the team's approach going into the second half. Ragnarök regained the lead about halfway through the second half, and were able to start building a rift in the scores that widened into the closing minutes.

The game ended in a 124-108 win for Petersburg.

"It was quite close," said Slusser. "It was fantastic."

"The game was really intense," Richards commented. "They made us work really hard."

While the season ends for Wrangell, Petersburg will be rolling on up to Wasilla the weekend of May 5. The two-day state derby championships will see teams from all over Alaska.

"It looks like almost the whole team is going. That's pretty exciting," Richards said.

After that, Ragnarök will be having its final home bout over their big Mayfest weekend, hosting Far North Derby from Kenai on May 19.

"This will be our first time playing with the team," said Williams.

Considering the size of the crowd this weekend, Richards is hoping for an even bigger crowd at Mayfest.