This weekend, The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls’ 5280 Fight Club traveled to Portland to take on the Wheels of Justice from the Rose City Rollers. These teams bouted in Denver last November with a close final score of FC 127, WJ 122. Though Fight Club won, the Wheels have secured a spot in the WFTDA rankings at #13 while FC is at #17 after Dust Devil and half a year of interleague bouting since their last match. Rose City’s team pulled ahead this time around, however, with a final score of 111 to FC’s 74.

The Pikes Peak Derby Dames opened their season at a new, bigger venue where their two home teams, the Candy Snipers and the Danger Dolls, met on the track. Last season the Snipers were undefeated, but both teams have faced significant changes in their rosters thanks to new players and many experienced skaters either out injured or retired. The Snipers ended the first period ahead with 66, the Dolls trailing with 45.

On the Snipers, Susie Q-T and Rolleene Thunda proved to be major point scorers, while The Swiss Missile more than held up her end of the blocking for the team. Kamilla BloodSpilla is also one of their hardest hitters, but she has proved recently to be a very well-rounded player with her jamming skills. The Dolls’ Sugrrr Rush fought to close the point gap, and blocker Fanny Fister acted as their most threatening line of defense. The Dolls grabbed the lead by the second period, putting the Snipers at 95, Dolls 99.

With many newcomers, Sock ‘n Roll Ruby for the Snipers looked to be a promising blocker while EckoGirl for the Dolls was a fearless jammer. With the score remaining close for rest of the bout, the Snipers were still able to pull ahead by the end, finishing with 156 points to the Dolls’ 152.

Friday, July 20th was the season opener for the Denver Roller Dolls, with home teams the Bad Apples and Green Barrettes facing off against one another. The first season for the Dolls ended with these two teams bouting in April, with the score staying close right up until the end where the Bad Apples took the victory. Both teams proved once again that they are an even match for one another - the end of the first period saw the Apples at 32, the Barrettes 31.

The Dolls as a league appear to be full of quite a number of agile and fast skaters, and they seem to have many good jammers. The Barrettes’ Angela Death proves to be incredibly fast and difficult to block, thanks to her quick moves and her wise decisions as to which way to go while in the pack. Disco-A-Gogo was also a major point scorer for the team. On the Apples, Jersey Trouble and Rockett both seemed to give the Barrettes a run for their money as jammers. By the second period, the Apples had racked up 61 points while the Barrettes barely grabbed the lead with 64.

With so many good jammers on both teams, it seemed that the blockers had a difficult task throughout the entirety of the bout. Friction Vixxxen proved to be one of the skaters most effective at holding back the opposing team’s jammers, and with so many point scorers on the roster a number of the speedier girls had to take to blocking for some of the jams. The Barrettes were able to hold onto their lead for the rest of the third period, ending the game with the Apples at 81, Barrettes 91.

DRD’s two home teams will face off once again in September, and it will be interesting to watch such an even-matched game once again.

Arizona Derby Dames’ championship home team bout in Phoenix, AZ.  For more info, visit www.azderbydames.com.

Arizona Derby Dames’ home team playoffs in Phoenix, AZ.  For more info, visit www.azderbydames.com.

Arizona Derby Dames’ home team playoffs in Phoenix, AZ.  for more info, visit www.azderbydames.com.

Arizona Derby Dames’ Lady Lux vs. Champion Women’s Hockey Team Excalibur.  Interleague bout in Phoenix, AZ.  For more info, visit www.azderbydames.com.

Arizona Derby Dames’ Coffin Draggers vs. Bombshells.  Home team bout in Pheonix, AZ.  For more info, visit www.azderbydames.com.

Denver Roller Dolls’ Bad Apples vs. Green Barrettes.  Home team bout in Denver, CO.  For more info, visit www.denverrollerdolls.org.

Washers

I recently let an employee at my favorite local skate shop look over my skates and mess around with them a little. After replacing my bearings, he suggested that I put a tiny washer inbetween each wheel and the axle nut. If you look at any decent pair of skates, there is a little knob where each inside bearing butts up against the truck (see picture).

The little knob makes sure that less of the bearing touches the truck, letting it spin easier. Theoretically the tiny washer on the other side would do the same thing - a lot of skateboards are put together this way, but I haven’t seen too many rollergirls trying it.

Spacers

Spacers go inside each wheel between the two bearings. With spacers in between your bearings, you can tighten the axle nut all the way down on your wheels thanks to the bearings being separated evenly. They also are supposed to prevent bearing from bending or getting dented.

Both washers and spacers should cost you pennies at most. I’ve never used spacers personally on roller skates, and their performance could be based on what type of wheels are used since the size and shape of the hub could differ.