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S E R V I N G TAY L OR , OL D F OR G E , MOOSIC & SURROUNDING AREAS TRIBOROBANNER.COM |AUGUST 1, 2019
An Old Forge resident was selected to receive a University of Scranton leadership award | PAGE 3
Scenes from the Old Forge Farmers Market | PAGE 10
On a roll
Area roller derby team competes in Ireland BY JOSH MCAULIFFE SPECIAL TO THE TRIBORO BANNER
ponents’ skill level. “Honestly, the Dublin team was Camaraderie is just as important as one of the greatest teams we’ve ever competition for the members of the played,” Ralston said. “Dublin Roller Low Rolling Deuces roller derby team. Derby ranks around 34 out of about Both figured prominently during the 3,000 teams in the world. I thought they team’s recent trip to Ireland to take were just going to cream us, and they on two of the Emerald Isle’s better did. We lost 290-56. But we thought it roller derby squads. It marked the first would be like 600-10.” international competition for the Low But the sportsmanship displayed by Rolling Deuces, which is part of the both Irish teams was exemplary, said Moosic-based Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Ralston, noting the Deuces joined the Roller Derby league and the B team Dublin squad for beers afterward at for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Roller Lucky’s Pub in downtown Dublin. Radicals. “They were the best sportsmen. HonNineteen of the team’s players, along estly, they were so welcoming. I want with friends and family members, to say I was surprised, but I wasn’t,” made the trip. On Saturday, June 29, Ralston said. “We brought them some they played Dublin Roller Derby’s B nice American delicacies, including team in the Irish capital, then traveled Cheese Whiz and Pop-Tarts.” to the town of Greystones to take on For the rest of the trip, the team got the East Coast Cyclones. a chance to engage in some serious “Roller derby is kind of like a family bonding time at various high-profile – they call it the roller derby communi- Dublin tourist spots, among them the ty. You can go to any part of the world Guinness Storehouse and Trinity Coland message a team, ‘Can I come prac- lege’s library. tice with you?’ And you’ll never get a In addition to Dublin, the team travno,” said Brandy Ralston, a member of eled to other picturesque parts of the the Deuces and the league’s president. country, including Connemara and the “We just wanted a team-bonding trip West Coast city of Galway. and a competition. And it was great.” And, there was even a visit to BelThe Deuces lost both games by a fast in Northern Ireland, where the wide margin, Ralston admitted. Which team visited a museum dedicated to wasn’t really a surprise, given their op- the popular television show “Game of Thrones,” which filmed extensively there. That stop was most fitting, considering a couple of the team’s trip fundraisers were “Game of Thrones” trivia nights. TS_CNG/TRIBORO/PAGES [T01] | 07/31/19
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The Low Rolling Deuces traveled to Ireland for a pair of matches. “I don’t think there was much we didn’t get to see,” Ralston said. Now back in the states, the team is already starting to plan next year’s trip to Florida. Meanwhile, the league is always looking for new players, Ralston said. On Sept. 8, it will hold tryouts at its facility at 4949 Birney Ave., Moosic.
“There’s always room for new skaters,” Ralston said. “We have a lot of fun. And, for a small team, we’ve accomplished a lot.” For more information on WilkesBarre/Scranton Roller Derby, visit the league’s Facebook page, or its website, wbsrollerderby.com, or email rollerradicals@gmail.com.