I broke my truck

Well, one of the trucks of my skate. During practice. I thought I was doomed to skate in rentals for the next couple weeks, but then Massacre happened to have an extra truck. Tossing it at me, he said, undo the bolt, take off the truck, and put the new one on the same way.

Wut?

Check out this diagram of a skate that I found at quadskating.com.  Lets just say that 24 hours ago, I did not know anything about parts 2 - 6.  Not many numbers, but really - look at all those parts!

After removing the broken truck (simply taking a skate took to bolt #2) it was actually very easy to switch it out.

Why did my truck break? I suspect because it's been over two years since I got my skates, and apparently trucks matched for this plate are notorious for breaking.  Anyway - no matter really...because I'm in the process of ordering new skates!  But that's another blog for another day.

Lesson: don't fear your skates! Don't be afraid to take them apart if something is wrong.  I even waited over a year before changing my wheels for the first time... sheesh! No worries.  As Miranda Wrights says: Roller skates, the friends beneath your feet.

Happy skating!

Hello Denver

Packing last minute.

This isn't a total derby update, just a little post about my first day in Denver, the day before the 2011 WFTDA Championship Tournament started.

The second weekend in November I attended the 2011 WFTDA Championships in Denver, CO.  Even though I got my tickets to Championships back in August, this was kind of a fly by the seat of my pants trip. I wasn't 100% sure I was going to get my time off from work approved, so I put off buying plane tickets as long as possible. I thought I might not get to go period.

I also wasn't sure where I was going to stay.  Everything came together barely three weeks before the tournament - it turned out Jonny Malice of Capital District Trauma Authority was moving out to Denver November 1 -- taking the "long" way there but arriving just days before Championships, so he invited me to stay with him for the weekend.  Putting that one thing in place ended up being a catalyst, because two days later my time off from work was approved and by the end of the weekend I had my plane tickets booked.

So fast forward.  I flew out Thursday morning. It was my first time flying solo but I did a good job catching all my flights and finding the right gates.  I love looking out airplane windows. I always try to look for baseball fields. Here's a shot of Colorado at the beginning of our descent into Denver. No baseball diamonds, but lots of squares.

Malice picked me up from the airport and we grabbed some lunch with his dad who, who made the road trip out with him (he flew back to Albany on Friday morning). It was really important to me to get to Denver a day before the tournament started because I knew I wanted to see at least a little of the city and they surrounding area.

Luckily, we found the perfect place to check out that afternoon: Red Rocks Amphitheater and Park. The Amphitheater is amazing. There were a lot of people exercising on the stairs, and we saw some other derby people checking it out, too. I heard Gotham flew out to Denver a week early - I wonder if they did any training there? It also reminded me of Roarshock, who is also praising plyometrics.

The Amphitheater is build right into the mountain. We were there at sunset and it was so beautiful. There was a hiking trail (a little over 1 mile) so we checked that out, too. Here's some pictures:

This is at the top of the amphitheater. That's Denver in the distance.
My scarf blowing in the wind haha.

Red Rocks!

On the trail.

After the hike we headed to Boulder to have dinner and take a walk around. Boulder reminds me of Burlington, VT. At the bar where we had dinner there was football games on every TV - not just NFL but also college.  It appears Boulder is kind of a big college football area. We also saw a quick segment about Championships on the TV?? I think it was a news interview. Exciting!!

The weather all weekend was perfect. It was 60 degrees and sunny every day.

So that concludes my first day in Denver. I do plan to write more about my trip - and of course the tournament - so tune in for that. I am so happy that I was able to go after all!

MRDA Champs

If you are keeping track at home, you will notice that I traveled to Baltimore three times in the span of a month (August into September) and in October I found myself rolling down 87 thrice for adventures in NYC/Long Island - the Gotham Boot Camp, CDTA vs NYSE, and on October 22 - Men's Roller Derby Association (MRDA) Championships. The event took place at Skate Safe America (also LIRR's venue) and was hosted by the New York Shock Exchange.

New York Shock Exchange

My second post ever on this blog was about men's roller derby. Since then I've come to appreciate it more and more. I definitely see some differences between the way men and women play, but I like watching both.

MRDA Champs featured six teams from around the United States:
Dallas Deception (Texas)
Magic City (somewhere in Florida)
St. Louis Gatekeeper (Missouri)
Puget Sound (Seattle area)
Pioneer Valley (Western Mass)
New York Shock Exchange.

woohoo, PVRD!

PVRD is my favorite MRDA team. Ever since I saw them last year, I've been all about the mustaches.  I also love the Shock Exchange, cause hell yeah New York! Plus they're all super awesome. Side note: CDTA is obviously my favorite not-yet-MRDA team.


The other four leagues I didn't know much about.  Dallas?  Texas has roller derby, that's cool.  St. Louis? The guys with beards. Also, where the heck is St. Louis? Puget Sound = Quadzilla.  Magic City? wow... those are some ridiculous names on that roster.

So that's what I was working with going into the tournament.

It was a solid event of all-day derby - there were 8 full length men's bout, plus one women's bout in the middle to break things up.  I hung out mostly with the dudes from CDTA and there was also a bunch of people from the Utica Quadfathers there and Central New York players there.

Capital District Trauma Authority
Roarshock, Jonny Malice, Massacre, Wellen Dowd, and Museknuckle

Being the top two ranked teams, St. Louis and NYSE had a first round by. NYSE ended up playing Magic City in the first game, and the score was a lot closer than I expected.

Grambo from CNY volunteering at
MRDA.

Magic City is ridiculous.  I mean that in a mostly good way, although at first I was not sure how I felt about them. Rumor had it that most of their skaters have a background in jam skating. They definitely had some fancy footwork. Overall, NYSE played a tighter game strategy-wise and were able to take the win. Check out the Derby News Network recap here. There's a comment which is a bit critical of NYSE's strategy that won them the game, but heck - that is the way derby is played these days. It's just playing smart based on the rules of the game.  Anyway, the first picture on that article where Magic City (green) is facing reverse direction pretty much sums up the whole game.  It was an exciting game to watch.

PVRD had a tough first game against Puget Sound, who are a powerhouse in the west. After losing to them, they played Dallas Deception, which was a little bit closer.

The best game of the day, in my opinion, was Magic City vs. St. Louis. Two teams I knew little about going into it, but I think this bout exemplified some of the best men's derby has to offer. The two teams were very well matched game and I decided I just really like to watch Magic City skate.
If you watch any videos of the bouts from MRDA Champs, I definitely recommend Magic City vs St. Louis.

These are just my basic impressions from Champs.  If you want some real stats based, unbiased recaps you should check out DNN here, here, here, here, and here.

I attended a Gotham Girls Boot Camp and lived to tell the tale

Another goal I had for 2011 was #4. Attend at least one bootcamp hosted by another league. On October 1, I got my chance! I attended a Gotham Girls Game Strategy Camp and got to skate my tail off for 5 hours, plus a lunch break in the interesting area surrounding their warehouse.  So much sweet graffiti. NYC <3. Roarshock, Eloda, and Doc attended off skates and took notes.

The boot camp started off with some off-skates jogging, jumping, and skipping around the track.  I saw Gotham do this as part of their warm up at Eastern Regionals. Then we did some dynamic stretching, which felt really good! I felt so warmed up and ready to move. (Two days later would be a different story, when I was pretty much unable to move.)

It was a good mix of skating and talking about strategy. I learned some interesting stuff about how to work in a better wall, the importance of being able to stop quickly, and I even had an "aha!" moment when doing a jammer drill.  I also kinda figured out how to almost do a hockey stop.

It was kinda awkward for me at first being the player who brought three coaches with her to the clinic, but in the end I was really glad. Some girls there were the only representatives from their league, so during strategy talks they were also fussing to take good notes. My advice to anyone attending a boot camp: bring an off skates person to take notes for you! The other thing that was bad at first was when I was working on a drill that I wasn't doing it right, I occasionally heard hey Short, you need to get down wayyyy lower!  Ahh, all eyes on Short Temper >:(  But then when I was practicing hockey stops and sometimes even getting them right I wanted to be like Roarshock, Roarshock, did you see what I did, DID YOU SEE???


Another one of our coaches, Hanna Solo, attended the jammer bootcamp a couple weeks ago. Between her and the rest of our coaching staff we've already done a bunch of new drills, and I think offskates warmups are going to become a regular part of Thursday practice. I am starting to recover quicker from them ^_^.  I really do like the offskates warm up drills Gotham showed us though, because it really does make me feel warmed up and ready to skate, more than any other drill I've done before.

Bout recap: CDTA vs. NYSE. October 8, 2011

The weekend of Saturday, October 8 I headed down to Long Island with Massacre for the Capital District Trauma Authority's bout against the New York Shock Exchange brand new B-Team: the Dow Jones Average, featuring saucy players such as everybody's favorite Jimmy Rage as well as Bane-Ana-on-Skates, or as Wellen's mom put it, "Oh that 1B player - he's so out of control - he's dangerous!" In only the voice a mother could have when a scruffy lad is beating up on her seven-foot-tall son's teammates.

NYSE took the lead early in the game with a 29 point jam by Starsky. I should back up and state that NYSE, as a League, has been a dominant force in men's derby for years. This bout was to be a learning experience for CDTA. And to be fair, there were a few A (B+?) players on NYSE's roster.

Let me get some numbers out of the way: the final score was 194-91, and Roarshock scored 49 of those points and was voted MVP. All of CDTA's jammers had to fight hard for their points, though - Roarshock, Jonny Malice, and Up End Atom faced solid and disciplined walls from the Dow Jones.

The time I tried roller derby refereeing

Me and Luci D. Dream.

A couple weeks ago we hosted a Sunday night "meat grinder" scrimmage for our newer girls and who took on the Hudson Valley Horrors' newbies. Veteran skaters were invited to watch, NSO, or just help out in some way... I figured this would be a great night to try refereeing!

In the beginning of the year, I talked about my roller goals for 2011.  Goal #10: Start learning how to referee.

A quick note: I was thinking of making my ref name "Bad Temper" instead of Short Temper.. hmm? huh? huh? hahaha.

And holy cow there is so much to learn! On Sunday I played worked functioned (?) as an outside pack ref (OPR).  I learned how to rotate around the outside of the track with the other two (three total) OPRs. I never paid much attention to how OPRs rotate around the track, but trying it myself was enlightening.

So, first I had to get the rotation down, then next was learning where to look in the pack. As you skate along with the pack on the outside, first they are approaching you, so you watch the front; then they catch up to you so you watch the middle; then as you end your half track rotation (slowing down) you watch the back of the pack.  AND, if there's a jammer in the pack, you really got watch them cause who knows what hijinx they will try to pull.  I should know.

There's SO MUCH to pay attention to when you are refing.  It was so hard for me to spot penalties, but I did make one call - I think it was a major cut.  I called it out at the same exact time as Luci D. Dream, who I was shadowing. But yeah - it's like my brain was working a lot slower than my eyes, and  my mouth was working even slower.  If I though I saw a penalty, first I would have to think - ok, was that really a penalty? Then I would have to remember who to call it correct - *whistle* Color - Number - Penalty *MAJOR*... which is just so many steps and words and ahhh. By the time I thought I was ready to call something, it was like 20 seconds later - too little too late.  And then if it's a minor penalty there's no whistle, just color/number/penalty ... and by the time I thought I was ready to shout something out, another ref would've already called it.  Then there's remembering to alert the penalty board person of the minor penalty you caught.

Sorry - that was probably a lot of rubbish to people who don't know anything about derby, but I hope any refs reading this will either sympathize with my plight or at least get a laugh.

Notice the spine of the book is barely cracked. >.>

I would love to try refing again and want to learn more and more.  I'm def on the look out for opportunities!  It's time again for me to whip out my rule book - it's been a while since I went through it...and now I can look at it from a ref perspective too. Speaking of all this too - Flexi Wheeler recently jumped into the fray of refing too.

Special thank you to Luci D. Dream for letting me shadow her during the scrimmage.  She was an awesome teacher and gave me a great beginner run down.

Lastly, a request for all you refs out there: I don't want to seem like just another n00b player trying to figure out refing.  Do you have any recommendations for attacking the rules? Where should I focus most first? Sometimes I sneak around the public area of zebrahuddle.com - but jeez, some of that sh*t is over my head. I also just started poking around the WFTDA Officiating section -- wow!  Resources and information I never knew existed.

WFTDA Apprentice League!!!

We did it! We were accepted to the Women's Flat Track Derby Associate as an apprentice league! This has been our goal since our inception an my personal focus for the past year as the application coordinator. I did tons of research, met a lot of people, did a lot of traveling, and worked hard with my amazing team to show the derby world that the Hellions kick ass. And with the proper guidance, we'll be even more amazing.

On Thursday, October 27, 2011, the WTFDA announced this quarter's group of accepted leagues:
http://wftda.com/news/apprentice-leagues-october-2011

From the WFTDA website, the Apprenctice Program is

Designed to act as a WFTDA 101 tutorial, the Apprentice Program matches new leagues with an established WFTDA mentor, who guides her apprentice through WFTDA processes and requirements, and offers advice about league-specific issues. The curriculum can include everything from league formation to how to become ranked and qualify for WFTDA-sponsored tournaments. Upon completion of the program, apprentice leagues will have the knowledge and league recommendations to apply for full WFTDA membership.

A long road led us to where we are today. I want to say thank you to the following who helped and inspired us along the way:

The Long Island Roller Rebels - you've always inspired us. Thank you for visiting us for a fun practice night. Thank you for the scrimmage opportunities. And thank you for hosting the Empire Skate Showdown, which gave us a chance to shine this year.





Central New York Roller Derby - the team we admire, and strive to be like. We learned so much from you this year and love working with you. We saw how much you grew as a league since being accepted as a full WFTDA member last year. We want to follow in your footsteps!

Our officials - We would not be the well-rounded league we are without The "Argue-nots", our refereeing and non-skating officials staff. Many of them are on the path to become Certified WFTDA referees. Our acceptance into the WFTDA Apprentice Program will help them with this cause because we'll be bouting more WFTDA leagues ourselves (for them to officiate!)  It's a great relationship.  Our officials are also amazing representatives of the Hellions, as they travel pretty much more than anyone to attend and volunteer at away bouts - seemingly every weekend.  We love you Team Zebra!  Thank you for spreading the good name and good nature of the Hellions!

Our announcers - Ida Feltersnatch and Eloda Sarcasm.  These two women are the reason I have such an awesome appreciate for WFTDA in the first place.  They brought me on my first derby road trip to the 2009 Championships, a derby experience I'll never forget and one that shaped my attitude about being part of the larger derby community.  Ida and Eloda call in to the Derby Deeds early and often to keep people on top of our adventures - of which we have so many.  And like Team Zebra, Ida and Eloda are constant travelers, always spreading the good word of the Hellions.  Oh, and by the way - they BOTH became AFTDA Certified this year.  Like the all the Hellions and the refs, they want to be part of their great organizations in the field of roller derby.

Thank you to all the WFTDA Leagues we bouted in 2011 - Queen City, Green Mountain, Providence, Garden State, Montreal, Connecticut, Roc City, Maine, Hudson Valley and of course our match up against Gotham's Wall Street Traitors at Empire Skate Showdown.  We learned something new every game - either from on the track or off the track at the after party. ;)

And of course, thank you from ME to all my amazing league. Team work makes the dream work. We did it!

The Hellions after our bout in Montreal this past summer.  Look at that strategically placed WFTDA banner.
It was meant to be!

I thought 2011 was the year of the Hellions - but the best is yet to come!

Light Up the Night

One of our new skaters, Zandy I. Candy, is a Peer Educator at the Russell Sage College, which is sponsoring a "Light Up the Night" even on Thursday October 27th from 6:00pm - 7:00pm on the Troy campus.

Basically it's a sexual assault awareness march through downtown Troy; it's very similar to Take Back the Night and Toronto's "Slut Walk".

The main idea is that one can wear whatever they like, wherever they like and not be afraid of being sexually assaulted. It's a very casual event. Some Hellions will be in attendance, dressing however they want.  Join us looking bold as we march through the streets of Troy. The event starts on the corner of First Street and Division Street in Downtown Troy.
Here's the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203870306347394

Fresh Meat Graduates: October 2011

Earlier this month we had three new fresh meat graduate our training program, plus one veteran skater who took some time off and did a little time in our training program to get back up to speed on her skills. Congratulations Basa, Zander, Morticia Von Glitznglass, and Chickpea of the Sea!
We've already got the girls working hard - we've thrown 'em right into our "big girl track" practices and they are strutting their stuff! Scrimmaging with vets is always tough the first few weeks, but they are finding their way through.  Looking good girls!

If you are interested in joining the Hellions of Troy, check out our website or email hellionsrecruitment@gmail.com.

Final bout of 2011: November 5

We've got just one more bout for this year until we roll into our off season! Hellions of Troy vs. our good friends, the Hudson Valley Horrors!

Check out the event on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=235494946505343

Zombie carnival, walk, and prom this Saturday

Did you know that the Hellions are a major partner in planning the zombie events put on by WAMC? We'll be there in force this year and hope to see you there too!

The event kicks off with a Friday night gala with food, film, and the Dead Divas (famous stars of stage and screen), plus a performance of (possibly) the first ever choral presentation of the gay undead as the Capital Pride Singers present a selection of your favorite undead songs.

Pre-Zombie Walk 2010.  Photo by Knockout.

Zombie Carnival
Saturday starts off with the first ever Upstate New York Zombie Carnival all day before the Walk, starting at noon. There will be zombie carnival games: try your luck at the Zombie body part toss, place your bets on the Zombie wheel of death, and cast a line in the Zombie duck pond where every ones a winner. Zombie vendors will be present with the latest in undead fashion and makeup.


Zombie Walk
The walk steps off at 6pm from the Linda (339 Central Avenue). Get there beforehand to get your makeup done, hear the rules of the walk, and for photo ops, of course! This year's course is a loop starting and ending at the Linda. Following the walk will be a brain eating contest, followed by the start of Zombie Prom!


Zombie Prom
Immediately following the walk, join us for a night of dancing, food, and drinks. The cost is $10 and this year's Zombie Prom is 18+. Come in costume - will you be crowned this year's Zombie King or Queen?

More info:
Wamcarts event page: http://www.wamcarts.org/event_details.php?id=140
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154128441347494

Catch live streaming derby this weekend

Not of the Hellions, unfortunately (although you can check out this DNN archive of our match against Montreal from this past summer)...but it's the final weekend of WFTDA Playoffs - North Central Region edition.

My favorite North Central team? The Minnesota Roller Girls! I caught them once East Coast Extravaganza. I love 'em! I have one of their stickers on my helmet >:) BTW, they have two skaters heading to Toronto in December to represent USA Roller Derby at the Roller Derby World Cup!

Starting at 9am Eastern, you can catch the action at http://derbyaccess.com/.
(At 1pm Eastern, make sure to catch Bout 4: #3 Minnesota RollerGirls vs #6 Mad Rollin’ Dolls!)It's the best roller derby the North Central region has to offer. Check it out, so you can estimate how teams will faceoff against the other regions at Championships in November (including New York's own Gotham Girls).

You can also stream the video on your iPhone. (The derby access link above can be used on any other mobile phone though). I've watched some of the games on my phone (when I was on the road), and the quality is great.

Lastly, Derby News Network is providing supplemental live coverage throughout the event. Happy viewing everyone!

Next Recruitment Night: October 9, 2011

I didn't get to really participate in a fresh meat program. Sure, I was considered "fresh meat for the standard three months" but my training was very trial-by-fire.  But I ain't complaining, and it just demonstrates the fact how much our league has grown in the past two years since I joined.

The Hellions have developed a fresh meat training program where we teach new skaters the ropes from the ground up. Based on the WFTDA Minimum Skills Requirements, we teach our new recruits everything about skating roller derby, including:

• how to fall down safely
• how to stop
• how to give a hit
• how to take a hit
• perfecting a derby-style stride

Haven't strapped on skates in a couple years?  Maybe more like a decade or two?  No problem.  The ability to skate comes right back to you.

Come check out the Hellions this Sunday night at Rollarama Skating Center (2710 Hamburg Street, Schenectady) at 7pm. Email hellionsrecruitment@gmail.com if you have questions in advance.

Looking for local groups to join us at our charity bout

We are looking for local organizations to help us underwrite our upcoming charity bout to support breast cancer awareness and research. Like minded organizations can buy/sponsor a "jam" (The game of roller derby is composed of a series of 2 minute jams organized into two 30 minute halves).
We'll make an announcement during the bout similar to "this jam is sponsored by XYZ organization!"

Local organizations are also invited to have a table to provide materials on your organization. You do not have to be an underwriter to have a table at this bout, as long as your organization supports the theme of our event.

Are you another local organization who is hosting a breast cancer awareness event? We'd love to work on a collaboration with you, too!

The event will not be your standard roller derby bout but rather will be an exciting intraleague event in which the rules and ways of play will be determined by the spectators. Along with collecting donations at the door, we will also be inviting audience members to donate a small amount to control the game (e.g., $1 buys your favorite team a point, $3 allows you to put a player in the penalty box, etc.), making it a fun interactive experience.

All profits raised will be donated to TruJoy, a local organization dedicated to raising breast cancer awareness within the Capital Region, and The Avon Breast Cancer Walk. Our announcer Heidi Davis AKA Eloda Sarcasm has walked for the past four years (NYC, Boston, Chicago and Houston) and will do so again on September 22-23, 2012 in Santa Barbara, CA.

We are reaching out to community organizations that may be interested in attending this event and supporting our efforts to raise funds for breast cancer research. Like many of you, this is something that has touched members of our league on a personal level, and we are working hard to promote this cause and let others know what they can do to participate.

We are also looking for local organizations to donate items to be raffled or "auctioned" off during the event.

If you are interested in attending, underwriting, donating, collaborating, or tabling, please contact:
Baby Nuclear at hellionsboutproduction@gmail.com 
and/or
Delinquent Dollie at hellionssponsorship@gmail.com
for more information.

Grand opening of Wheels and Gears Skate Shop today

Kyle Austin - aka Collyde - is hosting the grand opening of Wheels and Gears, the new derby and skate shop today in down Troy. Massacre and I stopped by last night during Troy Night Out to say hello and wish him well. Massacre also made the first purchase ever in the new shop!

Collyde actually started his business in January 2011, however the storefront is a new development. Over the past year, he's been a traveling roadshow of derby gear and supplies, tabling at our bouts as well as traveling out to Central New York for Central New York Roller Derby bouts - he's a sponsor for our leagues as well as the Utica Rollergirls and the Green Mountain Derby Dames. He's interested in working with other leagues - both near and far, so definitely reach out to him to find out about sponsorship.

Collyde doesn't just have derby gear, he can also hook you up with skateboarding and bicycle gear.

Besides the business, Collyde has been involved with roller derby for almost as long as the Hellions have existed. While talking with him last night, he told me he got involved with derby about 5 months after the Hellions started, which would be early 2009. Collyde has occasionally officiated our bouts and has been around in other volunteer capacities as well. Now he's here to support our league and others by providing a local place to buy derby gear.

While we were in the store last night, Collyde and his daughters were getting busy for their big opening day. (BTW, Collyde says he is accepting applications for employees, although his daughters said they'd be happy to work for gummi worms"). He did have time to show us around the space, and like I said, Massacre made the first purchase at the store.

Like most buildings in downtown Troy, the space has some unique features. The inside has some punk-y exposed brick, and Collyde is also working on bringing out the subtle features of the various moldings. He did some paint work to bring out a molded design on the wall. Check it out -- it's very "Troy".

Collyde's business knowledge of the derby world's needs is growing. I like to shop around, but from my research, I've found that his prices are comparable with places I might order from online. Now that there's a local shop, derby girls (and guys) can get what they need right away.

Collyde and Massacre talking about bearings.

Another cool feature Collyde added to the store: an old fashioned cash register.

Collyde administering his first transaction.

Mmm, Beirut.

Check out the grand opening of Wheels and Gears today, October 1, 2011, in downtown Troy. Tomorrow's store hours are 1:00pm - 8:00pm. By the way, the shop is right next to Beirut Restaurant - yum! Collyde told me proximity to Beirut may have been a contributing factor to picking his location. Sounds and tastes good to me.

WHEELS AND GEARS

186 RIVER ST.

TROY, NY 12180

What I'm doing today...

Gotham Girls Roller Derby bootcamp!
Headed down to NYC ... NOW!

Six hours of roller derby training with New York's (and the Eastern Region's) finest.

Central New York Roller Derby announces 2012 season

CNYRD announced their 2012 season this week!  Check out their season here: http://cnyrollerderby.blogspot.com/2011/09/2012-save-dates.html

CNYRD, out of Rome, NY, achieved full WFTDA member status in 2010 - t we are hoping to follow their footsteps!  HoT has played CNYRD several times, and we also do the occasional scrimmage swap. We <3 them... time to start planning some roadtrips to beautiful central New York.

Mark your calendars: upcoming charity bout - October 15

More information is coming soon (believe me, I'll dedicate a whole blog post to it!) but I want to point you all in the direction of the Facebook event for our upcoming Charity Bout on October 15 to get the initial details NOW.

Skate for a Cure: Hellions of Troy Roller Derby Charity Bout 
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161897177231506

This won't be your average roller derby bout. With Hellions on both teams, on the fly rule changes, and every few jams skated by our derby brothers of Capital District Men's Roller Derby - fans are in for a rowdy night of awesome roller derby and charity.  Proceeds from the bout will support breast cancer research and awareness.

Catching up on bout recaps: Hurricanes vs. Earthquakes 8/27/11

So... we were supposed to have an epic game against the Boston Derby Dames Boston B-Party... but then Hurricane Irene decided to ruin our party!  Due to impending weather circumstances, Boston was unable to travel to our location on August 27 ... so we had to make due somehow.  It was too late to cancel the bout. So, in a matter of hours, we pulled together two intraleague teams (with help from 5 other local derby players) and the concept of “Team Hurricane” vs. “Team Earthquake” was born.

Team Hurricane in black; Team Earthquake in pink. Photo by Space Chalky

Me in front of the White House. I ended my
vacation early to make this bout happen.
Kinda...not really. Dumb hurricane.

I wasn't actually rostered to play in the Boston bout, as Massacre and I were on vacation in Washington, DC and Baltimore that week for some baseball and roller derby. However, due to Irene, that weekend's baseball games were cancelled, so we decided to head back up to Albany a day earlier.

"Cool," I thought… "we'll be able to catch the Hellions play tonight!" 

Little did I know we would watch from the track. While I was riding back up to Albany in the car, I communicated with Baby Nuclear, our bout production manager, and Doc Hazard, one of our coaches. They were two people who really made this bout happen! The first phone call began with "we have a situation" and the last simple text message I received about an hour from Rollarama was "I think we're all set! Wear pink!"

The hurricane poured on us the whole ride back up to Albany…until exit 25, for beautiful Schenectady, NY where the sun was actually still shining. A good sign.

With solid rosters for both teams, Doc Hazard bench coached Team Hurricane and Roarshock made his Hellions coaching debut with Team Earthquake. For the most part, Team Hurricane lead in points scored, but the point spread was never too wide. The game ended with a score of 141 Hurricanes - 121 Earthquakes. The hurricanes dominated that weekend.

Delinquent Dollie, Sally Mae Hurtyou, Pork Slap and
Pied Viper. Photo by Space Chalky.

Game MVPs were Delinquent Dollie and Pied Viper (of CNYRD).  Game Heavy Hitter awards went to Sally Mae Hurtyou and Pork Slap!
Special incredible thank you to the local skaters who filled in our rosters at the 11th hour: CNY's Slay West and Pied Viper; and AASRD's Sweet Dee Bacle and Betty Blitzkrieg. Also Trixie Firecracker! <3 <3 <3

Speaking of hurricane domination, surrounding areas suffered major floor damage that weekend. Parts of the Capital District and beyond were under water. A portion of profits from our bout on Saturday, September 24 against Maine Roller Derby as well as food and items donated by our fans was donated to local flood victims.

Capital District Trauma Authority vs. Pioneer Valley's Dirty Dozen

On Monday, September 5 I headed out to Northampton, MA with the Capital District Trauma Authority to catch a Pioneer Valley Roller Derby's mens/womens derby double header. Monday was Labor Day and also the final day of the 3 County Fair. CDTA took on PVRD's Dirty Dozen, while Granite State Roller Derby (New Hampshire) played PVRD's Western Mass Destruction.

I went to the fair and saw the unusual specimens that are men's roller derby players.  Ooh, ahh.

We arrived at the fair early, and noted that the bout would be taking place in hanger/barn-like structure. The floor was literally made of dirt. In the center of the large, wide open building was a layer of ply wood, with skate court laid over it. Always something new with roller derby!

The venue.

We spent some time walking around the fair before the boys went to warm up. I spent time checking out the baby animals and resisting the temptation to eat all fried food in sight.

This rabbit looks like a pivot.  and OMG - baby ducks!

<3

Doc Hazard bench coached for CDTA, so I sat and enjoyed the bout with Luci D. Dream, one of our refs, and Morticia VonGlitzngloss - Hellions skater and CDTA skater Hart Attack's girlfriend. I gotta be honest: the Dirty Dozen may just be my favorite men's derby league. I love the camouflage pants. I love their wily jammers. And Jurasskick Park (# 1993) is the freaking sweetest name ever. [I swear CDTA is a close second and maybe if Jurasskick Park transferred to CDTA that would tip the scale.]  The Dirty Dozen have been a force in men's derby for years, so it was a cool opportunity for CDTA to measure up. No one was expecting a win for CDTA, but the challenge was appreciated.

Massacre on the line vs. Jurasskick Park
I can't think of a comment that won't
get me in trouble.

Very often, although the Dirty Dozen would snag league jammer, CDTA jammers Gohan/Up End Atom, Johnny Malice, and Roarshock were able to break through the pack. It was exciting for me to watch Massacre pivot - he works hard to find a partner, recycle, and go for the hit. Massacre also got to jam a few times.

Hazmatt made his derby debut at this bout. He had a nice three person wall going at one point, and did not look like a total n00b during any part of the game, from what I saw anyway.

Johnny Rebel, Hazmatt, and Wellen Dowd form a nice three person wall.

The final score was PVRD 295 - CDTA 54. After playing one of the top mens teams in the country, congrats to (one of?) the newest in teams in New York on scoring just over 1 every 5 points, and holding PVRD under 300.

Bout Recap: Hellions vs. Maine Roller Derby's Calamity Janes

In front of a house of 300 fans, the Hellions continued their home winning streak on Saturday night coming out on top against Maine Roller Derby. This was a rematch from last summer, when we took a friendly beating (just kidding... kinda) in June 2010 when we traveled up to Portland.

Like I remembered from last year, Maine had heavy hits and played a very focused game. Our coach, Roarshock, commented how tight and organized their girls looked while they were warming up.

This year, for the Hellions, was another story. Coming off our high from our third place win at Empire Skate Showdown earlier this month, we were ready to take on Maine on Saturday.

But first we had a team effort to lay down the track! Setting up for a bout is a team effort.

Taping down the track boundaries before the bout. One layer of tape, one layer of rope, another
layer of tape. Short Temper, Disharmony, and Sick Puppy in the foreground. Photo by Space Chalky.

When we say this is a skater owned and operated league, we mean it!

Each team started off with a few good jams, and the team work on both teams was great. The Hellions began to pull ahead into the first period. At the half the score was 104 Hellions - 40 Maine.

Photo by Zack Zoll

Maine started the second period strong utilizing a one on one strategy, and had a few good jams which initially caught them up in points. The Hellions we able to adapt, but had to continue taking hard hits and face Maine's effective booty-blocking from A-Block and Cherry Clobber, a formidable two person wall. Maine also increased their jammer rotation to include REDdemption, a newer face to Janes - but you couldn't tell based on her determination to get through the pack.

Side note: I actually had the pleasure of meeting REDdemption the weekend before at Eastern Regional Playoffs. I sat with some Maine players and their fans during one bout. They were a super friendly bunch! Maine's all star team, the Port Authorities were the tenth seed last weekend at Playoffs. They faced some tough opponents, but they looked good doing it!

The game ended with a score of 201 Hellions - 109 Maine. Game MVPs were Baby Nuclear for HoTRD and REDdemption for Maine. Game Heavy Hitter Awards were presented to Kitty from HoTRD and Cherry Clobber from Maine.

Photo by Space Chalky

Mathundra Storm with her light saber.
Photo by Space Chalky

The Hellions also got a special treat during half time...!  Ed, the father of our announcer Eloda Sarcasm, present the league with some super awesome LIGHT SABERS as a "trophy" for coming in third place at Empire Skate Showdown.  It was awesome! And so super thoughtful of Ed! Ed is definitely one of the Hellions SUPER FANS.

This bout was cool for me because two of my sister and my mom were able to attend and cheer us on.  My best friends Rachel and Jen from high school where also there!  Ahhhh yay!!  My boss was also there with his wife and son. So awesome.

I got feedback from some people on my team that they think my sister Carol looks like my twin, if I had a twin in the 1980s. What do you think?!  And for the record, those are her natural curls - no fancy perms here.  Should I get a perm?

Carol and me at the after party.
Photo by Space Chalky

OK - that's all she wrote - for now!