A Beastly Affair

April 26-28 marked the 6^th annual Beast of the East hosted by Montreal Roller Derby. RVRG’s Riot Squad and Slaughter Daughters players talk about their experiences in this friendly fast-paced tournament.

This year’s performance “was the best showing Riot Squad has had at Beast to date,” says Riot Squad Co-Captain, Frostbite Me. “All three games we played were fairly evenly matched. In our first game we gave up four power-jams and still only lost by a small margin. The second we managed to eject the previous year’s winner, the Vicious Dishes, (of the Tri-City Roller Girls); and the third game we lost by a larger margin, but we can take a lot of things away from that loss.”

Slaughterberry Shortcake, Jammer/Blocker for Riot Squad notes that the bouts were “incredibly intense”, and over in the blink of eye. “We fought tooth and nail for all three games, and even though we didn’t advance to Sunday’s finals, we never lost our spirit.” Riot Squad Jammer, AustinTatious adds, “I feel the other teams expected very little of us but we proved them wrong.”

Our Slaughter Daughters faced off in the finals this year against La Racaille of Montreal Roller Derby, becoming the first team to have ever won Beast twice.

For blocker Semi Precious, winning Beast for a second time was bittersweet. “We knew going into the tournament that most of the home teams that were entered had their leagues’ travel members removed from their rosters. The Daughters, however, still have a large number of our travel team members on our roster. Our first win in 2011 was the best moment I have had in my derby career. This year’s win to me meant that the Daughters’ roster, which has had many of the original members of RVRG, needs to change to develop our league.”

Drunky Brewster, assistant Bench Coach for the Slaughter Daughters, adds, “I was thrilled that the Slaughter Daughters were matched up against La Racaille for the finals because everyone told us it would probably be the two of us in the end. They are a terrific team and I think it’s great for Montreal to have a home town team in the finals.” Noting this was her first Beast, CarnEdge, Slaughter Daughter Jammer says that playing Beast for the first time was a great experience but an exhausting one. “It was one of the best times I have had playing derby against non-RVRG members. There is so much going on and so many people around which made it really exciting!”

Beast itself is interesting in its particularly friendly and relaxed tone, which seems to be a common theme in roller derby tournaments – teams become fast friends and tournaments are a place to meet up with old friends and discover new ones. “Everyone mixes it up in roller derby but especially at Beast,” explains Sister Disaster, Co-Captain for the Slaughters Daughters. This year’s tournament was particularly important for her as she played in the first Beast, held in 2008. “The first game of that first tournament was my first game ever… It was the most positive derby experience in the sense that I got to meet and hang out with all kinds of derby players, as well as sit for two days straight and watch people playing derby. I learned so much and have participated every year since.”

Some tournament highlights:
“A special shout out to AustinTatious who skated an amazing Power Jam in someone else’s skates after her plate cracked.” ~ FrostBite Me  Co-Captain, Riot Squad

“I got my first bloody nose in a game after getting shouldered in the face by a Gore Gore Girl.” ~ Amanda Pummeler, Jammer, Slaughter Daughters

“My favourite game highlight was when The Warden failed to call off the final jam during our game against the Vicious Dishes. The game clock had run out but not the jam clock, which still had about a minute and change to go. Instead of tapping her hips, she threw up the devil horns, and then just as quickly realized her error and called the game.”
~ Slaughterberry Shortcake, Jammer, Riot Squad

“One of my favorite moments was when DDT (Jammer for the Slaughter Daughters) was struck down by a Death Track Doll and she sprung right back up and sprinted away. Another moment was at the end of the final game when our official score was calculated…and the crowd on the sidelines and from the stands rushed out to the track to congratulate both teams.” ~ CarnEdge, Jammer, Slaughter Daughters

“Every time I see Amanda Pummeler jam is a highlight for me. She blows my mind; so much power in such a little package. Also, playing against Melejuana (of La Racaille) in the final was a treat, her skills impressed me the most out of any player we faced in the tournament.” ~ Semi Precious, Blocker, Slaughter Daughters

Upcoming games:
May 18 – Vixens AWAY @ River City (Richmond, Virginia)
May 19 – Vixens AWAY @ Mother State (Richmond, Virginia)
May 25 – HOME BOUT: @ Barbara Ann Scott Arena