Rollers turn it on over Easter

The Low Down Derby Throw Down met its climax on the Springvale Stadium court with two teams of All-Stars battling it out on Sunday night.

The exhibition game was the highlight of the Easter Weekend after four days of seminars and training sessions at the stadium for more than 100 skaters and officials from across the country.

A scrimmage was held on Friday night to choose the 28 players to take part in the All-Star game, with five members of the local River City Rollers club making the cut.

Playing in black, Galloway's Stampede included Roxy Vegas, Empailer and Sophie O'Path in their ranks, while Charolai's Charge had Fairy Zilla and Mel-icious Mayhem.

In the end, a late comeback by the Stampede was not enough to prevent a 204-178 loss.

"If we played another two to three jams they could have caught up, but it's all relative," said Mayhem, aka Melanie McGhie.

About 500 fans took in the spectacle.

The teams also included some of the American skaters who had travelled over from the US to run the teaching classes over the weekend.

McGhie said they hope to make the throw down an annual event which will grow in numbers.

The River City Rollers will now compare notes from the weekend before going into a private training camp with national coach Stacey Roper (aka Pieces of Hate).