I have started writing bout previews and recaps over at Derby News Network, so go there to check them out.  This site is great because it is a very central location for info on bouts all over the place as well as other general roller derby news. I’m trying to write about all the Colorado bouts and anything else I may catch (unfortunately I missed the DRD season closer but I have a preview and recap for some RMRG games up right now).

I may post individual bout info over there from now on and use this site more as a general derby blog, but I guess I’ll see how it goes.  In the mean time, be sure to check DNN for scores and details on bouts around the country.

Just a quick rundown I wrote for our websites and bout programs, but I thought I should repost it here as well - this was one of the most exciting games I have seen, simply because Fight Club was able to keep the Mad Maxines SCORELESS for an entire period. I’ve never seen or heard of this in another bout. Plus there was a fight at the end and I don’t think in the year I’ve been playing I have been in a game with a fight in it (for better or for worse, haha).

September 8th brought the No Coast Derby Girls’ Mad Maxines from Lincoln, Nebraska to Denver to take on our own 5280 Fight Club on their home turf. These teams had never faced off before, and each side was ready to battle for national rankings as members of the WFTDA. Fight Club proved in the first period that they weren’t messing around, bringing air-tight defense down on the Maxines that prevented them from scoring a single point throughout the first 20 minutes – something practically unheard of in a sport with scores frequently reaching over 100 points in a single bout. The end of the period saw FC at 34, MM 0.

After the brutal beating Fight Club had served, the Mad Maxines desperately tried to up their game. Throwing in agile jammer Sylvia Bullet, the Lincoln girls were able to put a few numbers on the board, though not many. Second period put FC at 65, MM 9.

Though Fight Club’s blockers were putting the hurt on the Maxines up until half time, the third period was the jammers’ time to shine. Frida Beater, She Who Cannot Be Named and Olivia Cryin’ almost doubled the points for their team as the last 20 minutes counted down. With minutes left in the bout, Maxine pivot Juana Whippin and Fight Club blocker Annia LateHer got in a scuffle that ended with Fight Club’s coach, team manager, player Zoom Zoom Zetta and even a penalty timer getting ejected from the rest of the bout! Though the 5280 girls suddenly found themselves short, that didn’t prevent a 98-point spread – final score: FC 118, MM 20.

While it was rough on the track, RMRG loved having the Lincoln Ladies in town. Thank you to the No Coast Derby Girls, our volunteers, and all of our fans that made it out to this incredible bout!!

Wow, I’m behind in my recaps and writing in general, but I’ve been in and out of town a lot lately and trying to play catch up.

In the beginning of the month, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls took on Foco Girls Gone Derby at the Thunder in the Rockies, an annual motorcycle rally in Loveland, CO (right next to Ft. Collins, FGGD’s turf). Last year RMRG faced off against PPDD at the same event, but this year the Foco girls got a chance to prove their stuff close to home. Foco recently played one of RMRG’s home teams, the Sugar Kill Gang, and lost by only 5 points - this bout for Thunder in the Rockies was against a large majority of RMRG’s travel team members as well as quite a few alternates, since many of the regular players couldn’t make it to this particular bout. The first period showed RMRG far in the lead with 56 to Foco’s 15.

Foco looked to have a number of new players on their roster - after losing one of their top jammers, Slick Vick, to the Denver Roller Dolls, this defense-heavy team appeared in major need of some point scorers. Urrk’n Jerk’n as Booty Block Ya snagged the most points for her team by far, but even she is a staple as a blocker for Foco. Foco’s strength definitely lies in their hard hits and their ability as blockers to step in between opposing players and their own jammer just in time to interfere with defense, and these moves allowed them to play some catch up during the second period, with RMRG 82, Foco 64.

By the third period, RMRG was no where near ready to let Foco take the win. Ida Hustler stood out as a major player who both blocked well and jammed hard, especially with top jammer Frida Beater MIA during this particular bout. Smashbox was another jammer to be reckoned with, but she unfortunately took a hard fall in the third period and was taken to the ER due to a broken wrist. The final score saw RMRG at 136, Foco at 68.

While Foco played a great game and it was awesome to bout during the rally, one thing that really sticks out is the fact that Smashbox got injured. This is the third game in a row RMRG played at an expo-type venue, and the third game in which someone suffered a major injury (Rodeo Redd broke her ankle at Fat City and FWDG’s Devilyn Cide also broker her ankle at Taco John’s in Cheyenne). Fortunately Smashbox will only be in a cast for a short period of time and hopes to skate again soon. Hopefully this is the last injury we see for quite a while!

The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls‘ 5280 Fight Club took roller derby on the road this weekend to host the Ft. Wayne Derby Girls‘ Bomb Squad in Cheyenne, Wyoming on the 25th. RMRG’s regular home is the Bladium in Denver, but the Taco John’s Events Center asked the league to hold a bout there since there isn’t currently a league in the area. Ft. Wayne is another division three league in the WFTDA, so as of now they are unranked while RMRG sits at #17. Neither team held the home court advantage, though RMRG did hold a bout between their league’s teams at Taco John’s once before, and while Denver was technically the “home team,” there was no built up fan base or even many derby fans who were well aware of the rules. The first period put Fight Club well in the lead, with a score of FC 57, BS 14.

After Fight Club’s major domination of the first period, the Bomb Squad began to pick up the pace. Pushycat proved to be their top jammer while blocker Bang Bang Ladesh and pivot Rosemary’s Baby upped the defense. The Ft. Wayne Girls were able to gain 44 points in the second period to Fight Club’s 45, pushing the scores up to FC 102, BS 58.

The beginning of the third period took a turn for the worse on the Bomb Squad’s side, as Develyn Cyde suffered a severe break of one of her legs less than a minute into the period. While the skaters and audience were shook up, she remained incredibly calm as she waited to be taken off the track. I heard a rumor that she suffered two compound fractures and that it was pretty gnarly - hopefully a better update will come after she is treated and makes it back home safely.

After witnessing the accident and waiting for Develyn Cyde to be taken care of, the bout had to go on and each team was ready to finish what they had started. With Fight Club in the lead but a tougher fight from the Bomb Squad during the second period, it was clear that the Denver team needed to step up their game to maintain a solid win. Frida Beater, She Who Cannot Be Named and Olivia Kryin’ passed the jammer cap back and forth between the three of them and racked up the points while Pinky 500 got vicious and began knocking girls to the floor. Penny Payne, who is usually a jammer, traded in the star most of this game for a position as a blocker, and was able to stop many skaters in their tracks with her body blocking and keep them pinned behind her. The bout began to get ugly near the end when there were two ejections of Bomb Squad players - Pink Painther and Miss Jane Redrum - both for apparently for some sort of intentional tripping/skate kicking. The penalty box was full of skaters from both sides for most of the last 20 minutes, however. The final score - FC 164, BS 69.

The Ft. Wayne skaters put up a good fight, and they clearly have a number of talented players. I know myself and the rest of the league are wishing the best for Develyn Cide - hopefully she has a speedy recovery and is able to make it back home quickly.

The Denver Roller Dolls’ Mile High Club hosted the No Coast Derby Girls’ Mad Maxines from Lincoln on the 24th. No Coast is a WFTDA member league who is not yet ranked, while the DRD are in the process of applying for membership. Without either league in the rankings as of now it was difficult to determine which way the game may go, but the Mile High Club has played some impressive bouts recently, such as a match against one of Rat City’s home teams with an extremely close score. While the Maxines dominated the first jam of the period and scored the night’s first points, the Mile High Club immediately put a stop to that and gained a significant lead - 35 to the Maxines’ 18.

On the Mile High Club’s side, Friction VixXxen played a strong pivot and did a great job of either holding the Maxines back or knocking them to the ground, while Angela Death managed to snag a number of points. Rockett, who seems to usually play as a jammer, got some great blocks in, and Ro Chambeau proved to be a heavy contender in the point-scoring department on such a jammer-heavy league. The Mile High Club continued their strong lead through the second period - MHC 71, MM 38.

The Mad Maxines appeared to be a newer team, and their jammers looked to have a difficult time making it out of the pack, especially with some of Mile High Club’s stronger blockers up front. Busty St. Claire was a major point-scorer who was equipped with some good speed, and Sylvia Bullet was an extremely impressive blocker, going after Mile High jammers by herself a number of times and managing to knock them repeatedly to the floor. Sylvia isn’t your normal power blocker with her skinnier build, but her timing and her agility allowed her to get in some shattering hits on otherwise extremely stable skaters. The final score was Mile High Club 113, Mad Maxines 47.

No Coasts’ Mad Maxines are coming back to Denver to take on the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls on September 8th at the Bladium, and the Dolls’ next bout is later in the month on the 21st between their two home teams.

This was sent to me by Trigger Mortis of Assassination City Roller Derby in Dallas:

Assassination City Roller Derby presents DERBY ROYALE - Bout VI
——————–Beginning of transmission——————–

“Ask not what your derby can do for you, but what you can do for your derby.”

In the sixth bout of the season on Aug 19, Assassination City treated a packed house to a hard-hitting, jaw-dropping roller derby royale In the first bout of the evening, the appetite of the hungry crowd was whetted as the underdogs of La Revolucion, looking for their first win of the season, challenged last season’s champions, Lone Star Assassins, to a rematch. The entree (and dessert!) of the evening, however, was a fantastic tussle between ACRD’s newest team, the Bombshell Brigade and the undefeated menace The Deadly Kennedys.

The first bout between the Lone Star Assassins and La Revolucion began the evening with a bang. La Revolucion pulled out all the stops, catapulting half the team line-up into jammer positions at some point or another–Rota Fury, Apocalypse POW, Fairy Painful, Arsen Elle, Athena Monster, and tiny but “O. so tough” Jackie O. Nice Ass, and constantly planting in the pack their hard-to-get-around and impossible-to-move blockers Fatale Castro, Massey Graves and Trigger Mortis. The formula was sweet, but not triumphant against LSA’s killer strategies and nimble jammers like Kernal Angus, Terror PussieKat, rookie Wanda Whompya, Threata Garbo and Mia Hammer. Despite La Revolucion’s best efforts, the Lone Star Assassins rode off once again into the sunset (and into the championship bout) with the victory. Lone Star Assassins - 92. La Revolucion - 49.

The second bout of the evening between the seemingly sweet and sassy Bombshell Brigade and the haughty and intimidating Deadly Kennedys was filled with action and surprises. Killer blocker Mental Pause and newbie power blocker LuAnn Splatter went toe-stop to toe-stop with the twins of pain, Mistress of Mischief and Young Gunz. The DK’s all-star jammers Strawberry Deathcake, June Meat Cleaver and Muff Thumper got an unexpected run for their money from a fired up first-seasoner Herassiz Mine, first-gamer Jezebel Scathing, and an unstoppable Vanna Rockin’. Jammers from both teams hopped and weaved in and out of the pack at impossible angles and unfathomable speeds in an explosive display of athleticism that had every fan in the crowd out their chair with beers raised in the air. While the Bombshell Brigade ended their last game of the season with a newfound respect from the league and crowd alike, the Deadly Kennedys still emerged from the rumble undefeated, securing them a place on the track in the championship bout. Deadly Kennedys - 83. Bombshell Brigade - 53.
The final bout of the season, DERBY NEVER DIES, will find the Lone Star Assassins breathing down the necks of the Deadly Kennedys in a skate to the death. Who will come out the ultimate victors? Who will go home crying to Mommy? Who will crack and what madness will ensue when the title is on the line and everything is at stake?

The answers will be waiting for you on SEPT. 9, so BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW (before they’re all gone!) at ACDerby.com. Pack your cooler (BYOB-no glass), your thirst for cheap beer, sheer stockings and sheer pandemonium, and head on over to Texas Skatium at 2020 Rowlett Rd. in Garland. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $15 at the door, $10 in advance at ACDerby.com, CD World @ Mockingbird/Greenville, Pluckers, Dad’s Broadway Skateland, Absinthe Lounge, SkateBus SkateShop, Texas Skatium and DoubleWide Bar. Live soundtrack to this dirty duel played by GHOULTOWN and DJ Sista WhiteNoise. National anthem kickoff played by Shadow of the Spoonfed Tribe. (Benefiting YWCA of Garland)

Welcome to Assassination City….Watch your head.

——————–End of Transmission——————–

Thank you for the update, Trigger Mortis! If you ever want to send me a bout recap, an update on your league or info to post on the calendar, please email me at anneshank@rockymountainrollergirls.com.

The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls invited the Pikes Peak Derby Dames down to Littleton, CO (a suburb right outside of Denver) for an expo bout between the two leagues this weekend. Instead of 5280 Fight Club and the Slamazons, each leagues’ travel team, facing off once again, the two Colorado leagues decided to switch things up by creating mix-up rosters of skaters of all different skill levels. RMRG brought old schoolers Penny Payne, Rodeo Redd and Winona Fighter, as well as a number of girls who had never bouted or had only played one or two games. Pikes Peak was strong with Sugrrr Rush, Count Smacula, Susie Q-T and Kamilla Bloospilla, as well as a number of newer girls. The first period started with speed skater Sugrrr Rush racking up the points, leaving RMRG desperate to catch up. Laying on the defense, RMRG came close but ended the first 20 minutes at 22 to PPDD’s 26.

These leagues’ travel teams and home teams have faced off a number of times with RMRG always pulling ahead, but it was clear that tonight could easily be PPDD’s time to take the win. Sugrrr Rush consistently scored for her team with Susie Q-T and Kamilla helping to bring the points up. RMRG put up a good fight, but the mix-up roster seemed to keep the girls from working well together - with a number of new players and skaters from different home teams who had never played together, there appeared to be a struggle to come together as a unified force. With only seconds remaining at the end of period 2, Rodeo Redd took a nasty fall and was sprawled on the track with a severly broken ankle, in need of paramedics. After a stressful wait for Redd to be stabilized and taken to the hospital, the girls on both teams as well as the audience were clearly shaken. Down one of their most powerful blockers, RMRG was at 44 with PPDD significantly ahead at 79.

While most teams would be ready to throw in the towel after losing such a strong player and trailing by 35 points, RMRG is becoming famous for their comebacks. With the collective jamming of Winona Fighter, Penny Payne and Smashbox snagging over ten points in single jams - the greatest number being Smashbox with 13 in under two minutes - and blockers like Green Venom and Mama KiCass stepping up the defense, RMRG ended up ahead by one point with minutes left in the game. Battling back and forth for the lead, PPDD snuck ahead by three points with seconds left and only one jam remaining. Pikes Peak threw Sugrrr in, and while it was still anyone’s game, she was able to grab lead jammer and call it off immediately, ending the bout and insuring their victory.

While this bout was an expo and didn’t count for WFTDA ranking status, it was PPDD’s first win in an interleague match. The lineups were much different than the first time these leagues met last year with RMRG at 110, PPDD 33, but it is clear that the Pikes Peak girls have some formidable new players and some older skaters that have significantly stepped up their game.

A number of the girls will meet again in October, when RMRG’s home team the Sugar Kill Gang will take on PPDD’s Danger Dolls.

EDIT: Wow, I just looked back on this and realized I left out the MOST IMPORTANT part - the final score! PPDD 98, RMRG 95. Gah, I guess I got so caught up in thinking about how strategically Sugrrr played that I got ahead of myself. Sorry for the blatant sloppiness!

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.

Two of Colorado’s teams, Ft. Collins’ Foco Girls Gone Derby and Colorado Springs’ Pikes Peak Derby Dames faced off for the first time this past weekend on FGGD’s home turf. This was only the third bout for Foco, which currently has just one team, the Kung Fu Donnas. PPDD’s Slamazons is a more experienced team and a member of the WFTDA, but the roster seemed to have quite a few new players in the place of some MIA and injured skaters.

The Kung Fu Donnas is a blocker-heavy team, with players constantly knocking into both jammers and opposing blockers throughout the jam. Urrk’n Jer’n as Booty Block Ya, both a pivot and jammer with a speed skating background, made it difficult for anyone to get past her with her impressive agility and speed, while hard hitters like Laura Mangles Wilder delivered numerous blows. On the Slamazon’s side, Kamilla Bloodspilla and The Swiss Missile put up a good defense, and jammer Rolleene Thunda did a great job chasing down jammers when she wasn’t scoring points. By the end of the first period, the Slamazons were ahead with 44 while the Kung Fu Donnas trailed closely with 42.

Though Urrk’n sticks out as the Donnas’ best blocker, she is by far their best jammer as well - her speed allows her to catch up to the pack quickly and she is great at picking precisely where to go when surrounded by blockers to sneak by untouched. Slick Vick is also a notable jammer who helped the Donnas continue to keep the score close. The Slamazons’ Sugrrr Rush, Susie QT and Rolleene Thunda are all quick and agile jammers that managed to rack up the points for their team. Though the PPDD girls have an assortment of good jammers, they commonly play their hardest blockers such as Kamilla and The Swiss Missile as jammers. Both players seem to hold their own as point scorers, however. Throughout the bout the score was constantly switching from one team’s favor to the other and remained close until the end of the second period, where PPDD squeezed ahead with 89 as Foco followed with 88.

With a one-point difference, it was clear by the third period that this was anyone’s game. There seemed to be many time-outs called and a number of indiscretions regarding the points as the bout was coming to a close. As a spectator, there were definitely a few jams in which the score did not seem to accurately represent the number of points that should have been awarded, and there were also some issues regarding girls in the penalty box serving their time. The Donnas were able to pull through at the end, bringing the final score to FGGD 133, PPDD 121.

It is understandable that issues may have arisen with Ft. Collins being such a new team as far as the score keeping and penalty timing, since the staff likely had little prior experience. Regardless of these issues this would have been an extremely close game either way, and a rematch will definitely be just as much of a nail-biter.