On Saturday I took photos at the Fresh and the Furious: GTA Drift, in Toronto. It’s a roller derby tournament set up to allow fresh meat (newer skaters) and rookie teams a chance to skate against players of a similar level.

There were 14 teams competing through a ranking round then knock-out stages, across two tracks in next-door venues. Bouts were 20 minutes right up til the finals.

A lot of derby in one day if you’re used to single bouts and the occasional double-header. It flew by though, and before I knew it Montreal’s Smash Squad (who had a superhero mascot) had come out on top. Worthy winners: one of their jammers, Saucisse, was absolutely belting through the pack.

Photo-wise, the lighting was about ten times better than most sports halls in the UK (no yellow lights!) so I was happy to get a lot more shots of pack action and impacts.

It was an ace day, and a great introduction to roller derby in Toronto. More to come, hopefully!  

See the full set on Flick here.