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WATCH: Red Deer Roller Derby Jr. Invitational is a big smash

Nuclear Free League hosts third competition for skaters around Alberta
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JUNIOR COMPETITION - Level Three Roller Derby skaters get physical as they race around the track. Full contact adult rules are permetted at this level. About 80 roller-skaters in the under 18 division came from across the province this weekend to compete in the Red Deer Nuclear Free Roller Derby League’s third annual Jr. Invitational.

Around 80 junior roller-skaters came from across the province this weekend to compete in the Red Deer Nuclear Free Roller Derby League’s third annual Jr. Invitational at Springbrook Multiplex.

Skaters register as individuals, so when they arrive they are assigned a team at random: black or white.

“It’s a really good challenge for them to skate with people they haven’t before, they have to adjust on the fly and it amplifies their skills,” said Jordan Thesen, better known as Gypsy Jo, head of training for the league.

The level one game was neck-and-neck until the last jam when the underdogs pulled ahead. The white team scraped a win by one point. The black team took the level two game in a 50-point spread.

The final score for the level three game was 229-225 for the white. The game ended in a 201 tie, but when the score is tied the league does an extra jam, the jam goes the entire two-minutes and whoever scores the most points in that time wins.

“It was very exciting! In my five years of skating, I have never seen an overtime jam!” said Thesen.