Eagerly anticipated by derby fans to the point that the bout sold out in record time, you could feel the tension in the room as the returning champions Suffra Jets and first time finalists Ultraviolent Femmes took to the track to decide who would be our top team for the 2009-10 season.

It seemed good for the Femmes from the first jam - with Vagablonde going up against Poison Arrow on the Jammer line and Kamikaze Kitten and Ninjette working together to hold back Stefanie Mainey in the back Vagablonde powered through to lead jammer putting 4 on the board for the Femmes and 0 for the Jets. The lead didn’t last long, with the Suffra Jets equalizing in the second jam and then, following some trademark Stefanie Mainey blocking at the back in the third jam holding the Femmes scoreless, the score leapt to 4-17.

The balance of power swung back steadily as the Femmes chipped away at the lead. At one point, Kamikaze Kitten gained lead jammer but hung back to positionally block Jets jammer Grievous Bodily Charm, holding her for just long enough for GBC to be sucked back into the pack and for Kami to slam on the accelerator for a 4-0 jam. At this point it became clear that Stefanie Mainey would be a fixed feature of the Jet-pack having been on in every single jam thus far. The Femmes capitalized on a rare Stef-free pack for one jam to close the gap ever more steadily; and in the following jam Vagablonde executed one of her trademark leaps past through the Jets’ defense bringing the score back to only a 2 point difference at 22-20. The score continued to creep up in tiny increments from with both teams, with highly defensive play and a great deal of tactical jamming.

The first significant gap opened up when Stefanie Mainey lined up against The Bowmanator; Stef easily gaining lead jammer status, Kamikaze Kitten and Mouchete both being boxed and a huge hit from Dot Slash on the Bowmanator. Stef made jamming look easy as she took ten points to the Bowmanator’s 0, taking the score to 30/26. The Femmes continued to try to chip away at the score difference, but disaster struck in the last jam of the period with The Bexorcist stepping up to Jam against Kami and three UF blockers being sent to the box. With Mouchete and Vagablonde already in there, Missyle Elliot was waved on, but the damage was done with The Bexorcist gaining a double grand slam for 10 points, closing out the first half with the scoreboard reading 49 - 29 to the Jets, the biggest score difference of the game so far.  In roller derby, however, 20 points is barely a strong lead.

The Femmes came out with defense to the max in the second period with the first 3 jams remaining scoreless following highly tactical jamming. The fourth jam saw both jammers go to the box in quick succession, with no real powerjam advantage to either team and following a full 2 minutes with 6 points clocked up for both Grievous and Kami taking the score to 54 - 34.

It looked like the Femmes might have an advantage when Stefanie Mainey was boxed, but following a HUGE hit from Sinister Mary Clarence on Jets’ jammer Grievous she too was boxed along with Snoop Dodge, while Grievous called it scoring 4 to Kami’s 0. With Stef in the box, the Jets delayed the start of the next jam to run down the clock, dawdling behind the line and not moving until the ‘no pack’ call was heard, and taking advantage of the confusion, Poison Arrow swept through to claim Lead Jammer for a  9 - 0 jam. With the score line at 63 - 34 for the Jets half way through the second period their lead was starting to look daunting. The Femmes are known for their tenacity though, and continued to chip away at the Jets’ lead in the next jam scoring 3 to the Jets’ 0 as Vagablonde leapt past Bad Faith at the front to gain lead jammer and calling it off before Poison Arrow could reach the pack.

In the following jam Stefanie Mainey lined up next to Kamikaze Kitten with the crowd at fever pitch excitement to see this battle of the titans - but with a block to Kami before they hit the pack Stef was sent to the box, giving the Femmes a powerjam advantage which they exploited to the full. The Femmes brought the pack to a near standstill allowing Kami to rack up a triple grand slam of 15 points. With Stef back on track and still to complete her first pass the 2 minutes ended with the scoreline at 63 – 60, and the crowd holding their breath!

The Femmes’ luck ended there, with the Jets answering over the next 2 jams with their own 15-0 scorelines after a powerjam situation and with only Ninjette on the track after multiple boxings of the Femmes’ blockers. The Suffra Jets consolidated their now 30 point lead with a string of low scoring but effective jams, consistently gaining lead jammer and only allowing the Femmes to gain one or two points. A chance came for the Femmes when Stef took a break from blocking in one jam - with Poison Arrow firmly trapped behind a powerful defensive wall of Lola and Metallikat the Femmes took the score to 97 - 72  with less than 2 minutes remaining on the clock - a not unassailable lead for the Jets. Stefanie Mainey lined up to jam against Vagablonde, who gained lead jammer and grabbed 4 points and called it off, but not before Stef had snuck in 2 points of her own, leaving the scoreboard at 99 - 76 with less than a minute on the clock.

The Suffra Jets lost The Bexorcist as she fouled out after 7 trips to the box as Stefanie Mainey lined up for the final jam of the game against Kamikaze Kitten. Stef began by slowly positionally blocking Kami, a move not at all popular with the crowd! In an attempt to escape Kamikaze Kitten cut track and was sent to the box - miming a ‘boo hoo’ to the crowd as she goes and receiving huge cheers in return. The Femmes did their best to hold Stef in the back, but following a boxing for Ninjette Stef escaped and called it after one lap with the final score of 107 - 76, and the Suffra Jets once again queens of the track and taking the title of 2010 London Rollergirls season champions.

Written by May B. Twisted