Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Recruitment Night: Sunday March 25

Seriously, how fun is this poster?
One of our newest skaters, Anya Tailgate had a great time at our recent photoshoot, and we thought it was the perfect image for what it means to be a Hellion.  We love fun. And we're looking for new members to help our fantastic league grow.

We are recruiting skaters, referees, and volunteers. All skaters are female (but if you're a dude, check out Capital District Mens Roller Derby who we love working with!)... but we welcome both men and women to referee and/or volunteer with us.

For more information, check out our website:
http://www.hellionsoftroyrollerderby.com/join-us/

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Win tickets to our bout this weekend from AllOverAlbany.com

You can win a pair of tickets to our bout this weekend from our friends at AllOverAlbany.com

Head over to their website to check out their contest. Who will be the lucky winner?  St. Patrick's Day is coming up after all!

http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2012/03/12/win-tickets-to-the-hellions-of-troy-roller-derby

Sunday, March 11, 2012

2012 Home Season Opener: March 17

Our next home game is this Saturday, March 17! We take on the ladies from Assault City (Syracuse, NY).  Please come cheer us on as we rock our 2012 Home Season opener!

Tickets are $12 at the door; $10 in advance, $3 for kids 12 and under.  And kids LOVE roller derby.
**Special: Deep Derby Discount: tickets are only $5 for people from other area roller derby teams. Skaters, newbies, and refs!

Going to the bout?  Say so on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/204486019659083/

Looking for advance tickets? Buy 'em here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/232875


Thursday, March 8, 2012

How to sign up for East Coast Derby Extravaganza (I think)

Something about Yahoo! Groups makes me want to just close my internet browser and give up. I attended East Coast Derby Extravaganza in 2010, but not as a skater. I checked out the registration process in the past, but didn't really take a good look at it... because like I said.... Yahoo... So here's a step-by-step how to which I'm writing as I sign up myself!

What is ECDX?
East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECDX) is a large-scale women's flat track roller derby event featuring a weekend full of competition with teams from across the US and Canada.  The event is hosted by the Philly Roller Girls.
Two rinks will feature full-length, sanctioned WFTDA bouts, while one additional rink will host half-hour challenge bouts between travel teams not participating in WFTDA action, as well as home teams and Extravaganza-special teams composed of players from across the derby world.


Challenge bouts!
If you're not on the roster of a WFTDA league that plans to participate in a sanctioned bout at ECDX, you can register as an individual skater and sign up for a special compilation team composed of other derby players.

Not every challenge team that is created earns a spot at ECDX.  Out of all the proposed teams, only a select few are chosen via a lottery.  That's why it's a good idea to sign up for a few different teams, so you have a better chance of playing.

That's where Yahoo Groups come in... so I'm here to walk you through that process.


But first - registering for the event...
Visit the ECDX registration webpage to read the details on this weekend.  ECDX is hosted by the Philly Roller Girls and takes place in Feasterville, PA.
http://www.phillyrollerderby.com/ecdx

On the right, click "Register To Skate".  It's $40 for Individual Registration.  I think the price might change as the event gets closer?  I am not sure.  I think $40 is a super awesome bargain for three days of bouts and skating!

Then you need to fill out your information, including your insurance number.
If you don't know your insurance number, you should contact your league's administrator [and if you're a Hellion, you can contact me or Flame Rollher!]

OK.  So you've filled all that out and submitted your PayPal payment.  SWEET!  Now you wanna check out the Challenge Teams!

Register for the ecextravaganza Yahoo Group. Joining this group does not mean that you are registered for ECDX!


When you are accepted to the group, make sure you check your preferred email settings.  Some people post A LOT to the group, and unless you sign up for a digest, you'll get tons of emails. But maybe you like getting tons of emails. I do.

More on Challenge Bouts and Teams
The easiest way to view existing teams is to check out the Database, which is on the left side of the website... then make sure you select "Challenge Teams 2012".

From here, you'll see a whole bunch of teams that you can sign up for. One of the columns is "Team Yahoo Group", which you'll want to visit and join the group of the team you are interested in participating in.  That's right - you have to join the general ECDX Yahoo Group, and the Yahoo Group of all the teams you want to sign up for -- cRaZy!  But not really.  It's actually pretty decently organized.

Getting on the team roster
So you joined the Yahoo Group for ... for example, Angry Birds vs Angry Pigs. As you saw in the ECDX team database, the Pigs team is still looking for players.  Again, look for Database on the right menu and you'll be able to Add a Record of your information, usually including your derby name and number.

It looks like some teams have different ways of picking their rosters.  Some are first come, first serve.  Some have a wait list (I mean, we can't ALL be on team Honey Badger!) Some give preference to skaters who have been on that roster in past years. Some might be done via lottery.

Here are the Challenge Teams I am hoping to earn a spot on and which I hope get picked in the lottery!

Take all these instructions with a grain of salt, after all, I am writing this "how to" but it's actually just my first year signing up as a skater!

Explore the general ECDX Yahoo Group.  You'll learn a lot of information, but you'll probably also have to sift through a bunch of random posts - boo. Remember, the Team Database is your friend!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Recap: Hellions vs. Suburbia Roller Derby

Shockratease wrote an awesome recap of this bout over on the Times Union derby blog so make sure you check it out: http://blog.timesunion.com/rollerderby/hellions-of-troy-take-on-suburban-brawl/5793/

Also check out Suburbia's bout recap: http://suburbiarollerderby.com/news

Long story short, we played Suburbia on February 25 and lost 250-75, but we gained a lot of insight on what we need to work on as we head into our 2012 season. Suburbia Roller Derby is ranked #12 in the WFTDA East Region.

Despite losing, overall we had a really great time down in Yonkers on Saturday.  First of all, check out this awesome welcome basket!

They wrote us a nice welcome note in that tiger card. I put one of the cupcake stickers on my helmet.

We got to the bout a little early, so we hung out in the locker room area and changed our wheels.  Val temp-sewed Trixie's number to a jersey.

Short Temper, Lehman Smothers, and Valerie Valkyrie doing some pre-bout maintenance.
Another awesome thing about the event was that Yonkers is pretty close to a few other leagues, so we had friends come out and cheer for awesome derby that night.  It seemed like half of the Long Island Roller Rebels were sitting behind our bench the first period. I also saw people from Gotham, the Shock Exchange, Hudson Valley, and New Jersey. It was a great crowd - I think the event even sold out.

Thanks for the cheers!
LIRR and Bane-ana watching the derby action.
Photo by Manish Gosalia
Thank you Suburbia for the awesome time this past weekend!

Photo by Manish Gosalia