Whistler And Squamish’s Apex Pistols Vs Brick House Betties From Comox
WHISTLER, BC – For the fourth year in a row, the World Ski & Snowboard Festival (WSSF) will host an invitational roller derby bout at the Whistler Conference Centre. Splatterday Night Fever will see a first time competition that joins Whistler’s Black Diamond Betties and Squamish’s Sea to Sky Sirens together on one team, the Apex Pistols, and pits them against the undefeated Brick House Betties from Comox, Vancouver Island on April 9.
This year’s bout will be an epic display of fast-paced, full contact action. The Sea to Sky teams have banded together to form a super team of veterans, the Apex Pistols. No strangers to practicing together, the Black Diamond Betties and Sea to Sky Sirens have a history of being friends and competitors. With this inaugural pairing, their respective captains are more excited for a bout than ever before.
The Black Diamond Betties may be seeking to defend their untarnished WSSF title, but this time it’s more about representing the Sea to Sky Corridor together, and demolishing a known power player on the roller derby circuit.
“We are really excited to be bringing the roller derby event back to WSSF for the fourth year in a row,” says Sue Eckersley, Executive Director of the World Ski + Snowboard Festival. “The roller derby bout has become a fan favourite over the years. With Whistler and Squamish joining forces, this year’s bout is shaping up to have more guts and glory than we’ve ever seen on the track before.”
The bout’s track will be placed in the centre of the Sea to Sky Ballroom in the Whistler Conference Centre, with WSSF’s signature “Borg” setup (the hexagon of screens in the middle of the Ballroom for the duration of the Festival) hung for optimal viewing. Teams are stationed in the centre of the track while spectators watch from the outside, and there will be no fence between the players and fans so spectators, especially those sitting in the ringside seats, will have a crystal clear view of the action.
The annual bout is a fundraiser for the Sea to Sky roller derby teams, helping them fund team travel, training and gear.
Tickets to Splatterday Night Fever are now available for purchase on the World Ski & Snowboard Festival website. General admission is $15, with ringside seats available for spectators 19+ for $25. For more information, visit: http://wssf.com/Roller-Derby.
About the Teams
Whistler’s Black Diamond Betties were established in 2011 and are the undefeated champions at the roller derby bouts hosted by the World Ski & Snowboard Festival. Heading into their fifth season of competition, the Black Diamond Betties currently have 12 players on their team roster and are led by Team Captain, Lori O’Hare, also known as Princess Slayah.
Founded in 2008 by Shannon Handley also known as Mala Justed, the Sea to Sky Sirens bout in Squamish and throughout the province. Voted Squamish’s Best Female Sports Team in 2014, the players range from young women, to mothers, to hardworking professionals and have become a force to be reckoned with.
The Brick House Betties have been dishing out the hits 70’s style since they formed in the Comox Valley in August 2011. They’re a team of jive-talkin’ ladies who hustled through their best season last year. Co-Captains Manic Panic and Ruby Whipper are leading these funky ladies into killing it in 2016.
About Roller Derby
For those unfamiliar with flat track roller derby, it is a full contact sport played on quad style roller skates. Modern roller derby combines the athleticism of speed skating with the tactical difficulty of full contact blocking and checking.
At each bout, there are two periods which consist of an unlimited number of scoring sessions called Jams. During a Jam, one member from each team (called the Jammer), races counter-clockwise around the track to accrue one point for every opposing team member they pass. Four players from each team also skate on the track as a pack of Blockers. Blockers must simultaneously play offense and defense in an attempt to help their own Jammer through the pack and inhibit the opposing Jammer’s progress. Both Jammers and Blockers are allowed to check the opposing team, but illegal hits like elbowing will result in timed penalties.
Roller derby is one of the fastest growing women’s sports in the world and there are over 1,000 leagues across the globe – with more than 50,000 women playing roller derby internationally. BC alone has more than 20 roller derby leagues. Learn more about the sport in this video: youtu.be/P2W2b1WBmm4
To connect with the World Ski & Snowboard Festival online, Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, or download the mobile app called WSSF Live which is available for FREE in the App Store and Google Play Store for Apple and Android phones.