Eastern Regionals Recap

I was at Eastern Regionals pretty much all weekend.  I got there after the first two games on Friday and Saturday, but from then on it was non-stop roller derby.

My favorite teams of the weekend were Montreal, Steel City, and Charm City.  As I anticipated, Montreal seemed to be the sweetheart team of the weekend.  In their first game, they held their own against Boston, but it's not too much of a surprise that Boston took the win.  On Saturday, they lost by only 2 points to Carolina, which later that night one NSO described to me as a "comedy of errors."  Montreal ended up taking 7th place after a strong bout against Providence.

Steel City's Hurricane Heather jamming past out of play
blockers from Carolina.

The first game I caught on Friday was Steel City vs. Charm City, which was a terrific match.  Right off the bat they utilized "slow game" strategies, meaning once the jam whistle blew, nobody raced off the line, but instead held back - perhaps in an effort to intimidate the jammer.  Our league has done a little bit of this strategy, but Steel City has nailed it.  Throughout the weekend, their "steel curtain" was incredible.  Charm City, however, featured tough cookies such as Dolly Rocket and Joy Collision.  Dolly seemed almost villainous as she played with a serious scowl on her face and took out anyone in her way showing no mercy.  I won't completely buy into it though - I sat next to her grandparents during the first bout and when she came over to say hello to them I saw her genuinely smile.  Even though derby girls can be fierce on the track, off the track they're still human.

This game was a great way to warm us all up for the rest of the weekend - I think it was my favorite game of the tournament.  Even though I came into the weekend with my eye on Steel City (and kept it there the rest of the weekend - they ended up taking 5th place), I began rooting for Charm City as well.

Philly vs. Gotham.  Notice how some blockers started
closer to the jammer line.  Getting ready to execute the
"slow game" strategy.

This weekend I learned that during regional playoffs, the most important game isn't the last game for first or second place, but the one decides third and fourth.  Out of ten teams, only the top three teams advance to the Championships.  That meant the game to watch would be Charm City vs. Boston.  Last year, Boston, Philly, and Gotham were the top three.

The score was neck-and-neck for the first 45 minutes of the game, until Charm City started pulling ahead, kept their defense strong, and won the game by 34 points.  Wooo!  I don't believe Charm City has never gone to the Championships before, so there was much celebrating.  Advancing teams will be: Gotham, Philly, and Charm City.

Catch some good recaps on all the bouts from Derby News Network here: http://derbynewsnetwork.com/2010/09/eastern_region_playoffs_recaps

I learned some other interesting things and met some cool people this weekend, which I'll talk about in my next post.