While they didn’t return home with a win from westerns, the Deathbridge Derby Dames have returned with a different outlook in the sport of roller derby.

“I think we all came away from westerns with a new understanding for the game and new goals to improve our own play,” says team captain Lindsey Skakum, aka Dream Whip.

The second annual tournament, featuring the top 8 teams in western Canada was held in Nelson, BC and hosted by West Kootenay Women’s Roller Derby League.

The Dames faced Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars on Friday. Ranked second in Canada and seeded first for the tournament, the Dames knew their work was cut out for them.

“Our goal was to score some points, execute our plays and fight until the very end and we did all that!” says Skakum.

Terminal City dominated the match right from the start, leading 209-13 at the half. The Dames managed to gain more points in the second half despite losing two players from their already short roster, Dawn Roper, aka Hellvetica Bold, and Molly Elliott, aka Lili Von Schtopp, to injury. Deathbridge pushed the score to a 37-403 final.

Saturday’s bout had the Dames facing fifth seed Oil City Derby Girls of Edmonton. Playing with 11 of a possible 14 skaters, Deathbridge was the first to put points on the board, but wasn’t able to maintain a lead with the score 42-130 for Oil City at the half. A hard-hitting game from both sides, in the end Deathbridge was not able to bridge the score gap. Final was 96-204 for Oil City.

“We may have been out-skilled this weekend but one thing we were constantly complemented on was our work ethic and heart. That is something I am very proud of,” says Skakum.

Tournament team MVP Abigail Garratt, aka Preacher’s Slaughter, shares Skakum’s sentiment. “It was a fun learning experience to play with the elite of Canadian roller derby,” says Garratt.

The western final featured Terminal City Roller Girls facing the host league’s all-star team, the Kootenay Kannibelles with Terminal City winning 159-75. Terminal City and the Kannibelles will represent at the national roller derby tournament later this season.