Carnival Carnage hit Kingston with a smash on Saturday and the city is still reeling. The air was so hot and sticky in the Memorial Centre that our St. John’s volunteers saw a couple of people for heat exhaustion, but the heat didn’t stop hundreds of fans from cheering on four great teams in two show-stopping bouts. There were tricycle races, there were jugglers, there was pivot line dancing, and there were fifty-six players out for victory.

The first bout was the second installment in Kingston’s hometown rivalry this season, with the Skateful Dead facing off against the Rogue Warriors. The Dead were down a couple of players but have developed some impressive new jammer talent in their recent drafts, notably (B)Lackey(e) and Boney L’Ass. These jammers faced some fierce blocking, particularly against Glitter Bomb‘s “Wall of Death” (Flaming Hips, Box Punch, Cat O’Clysm, and AmandaTory Sentence). Both teams showcased truly impressive positional blocking and awesome hits. The Rogues started with a solid lead, but the Dead staged a comeback with a couple of mighty power jams. Both teams were able to stay mostly out of the penalty box in the second half — a new accomplishment for the Rogues — and the Rogues managed to hold onto their lead against a skilled Dead defense, taking the bout 158 to 105. The next time these two teams meet will be at our season closer, Back to Cruel 3 on September 8, and you can bet the Dead will be there with a full roster and a thirst for revenge. You can also see the Skateful Dead take on the Capital City Derby Dolls on Saturday, August 18, at the Memorial Centre at our next bout, Dead Reckoning. Don’t miss it!

The second bout featured our A Team, the Disloyalists, against the highly ranked and experienced Riot Squad from Rideau Valley Roller Girls in Ottawa. We knew this was going to be a challenge; the Riot Squad has competed all over Ontario and elsewhere and has achieved huge success in competitive tournaments like Montreal’s Beast of the East. And as the game started, our fears were confirmed: the Disloyalists took the lead briefly, only to have it snatched and widened by the talented, hard-hitting Riot Squad. The second half was a different story. Everyone was showing signs of exhaustion from the heat, but the crowd gave our jammers the energy they needed, and Luci Fleur and LaVallee of the Dolls both brought the fans to their feet with huge power jams, lapping the pack over and over to run the score to almost a tie. The Riot Squad held onto their lead with a death grip, though, eventually pulling the win from the Disloyalists’ grasp with a final score of 164-132. These two teams will meet again in a rematch in Ottawa next weekend, however, so if you’re feeling like a road trip or are going to be in the area, you should check it out because these teams are a great match.

All four teams played flat-out at Carnival Carnage, and the crowd’s energy was as sizzling as the venue. The entertainment was pretty hard to beat — thank you, Swamp Ward Orchestra, Queen’s Jugglers, poi spinnners, and volunteer tricycle racers! There are so many other people who helped make the night one for the history books — announcer Dr. Sneaks, Snide Photography, St. John’s Ambulance, our fantastic team of NSOs and refs, just to name a few, but most importantly: Our fans are the greatest. Thanks for coming!