Pistoleras wrap up perfect 5-0 season, as fan base builds
Don’t let the funny names and makeup fool you — the women of roller derby don’t hold back on the track
An entertaining – but still highly competitive – show was put on by the Penticton Pistoleras roller derby squad Saturday. Squad members wear matching blue tops, but after that the ladies are creative with their appearance.
Some have glitter shining from their shorts, and some have their faces decorated. That is part of their personas.
Yet those involved insist that’s where the embellishment ends, as the games bone-jarring hits and spills of the matches are as real you can get.
“It’s all competitive,” says coach Monika Adrian, also known as Tron.
“The community of Penticton has been really supportive of our league. They just love it. There’s no show. I mean, they are entertained, but it’s all sports.”
“We’re highly competitive,” confirms Melodie Lapina, known as Blair Block. “None of it is fake. And apparently it's entertaining.”
The crowd loved the action between the Pistoleras and Smoke’ Laces of Vancouver during the Roller Derby Ruckus at the Penticton Curling Club. They reacted to big hits and cheered on the home side when they made a good play.
That kind of response tells Melody Rempel, known as Bliss-Krieg, that they have an amazing audience.
The more the audience gets wound up, the more the Pistoleras are going to give it their best.
“It’s going to be a better game for them as well as a better game for us,” says BlissKrieg, who sports a blue lightning bolt on her face.
Blair Block loves seeing the crowd, especially some experiencing it for the first time, getting into the action. “It fires me up,” she says. The Pistoleras agreed a few years ago that they wanted to be more competitive. Since then they have set up matches outside of the Okanagan to achieve that goal, but have also put in the work.
Many train several times during the week, which includes doing fitness work. That has also helped them avoid serious injuries.
The team put in the time to be ready for the Smokin’ Laces, which was evident in a 180-92 win, giving them a perfect 5-0 record for the season. Last year they were undefeated in three games.
Blair Block says it was an awesome match that was the culmination of all the stuff they have practised over the course of the season.
“Just coming together really great. It was super intense,” says Block, who played in the World Cup of Roller Derby with Team Philippines this year.
“The other team was pretty hard-hitting. Lots of really hard hits.”