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.

Congratulations to Capital District Men's Roller Derby on winning their first ever bout!

Last weekend, CDMRD became the new sweethearts of the Capital Region. The boys switched out of their stripes to roll in their own game:

Broller Derby

Dangle Derby

Merby

Men's Roller Derby

A Ladd Insane jamming, Roarshock blocking, the Fox as Pivot, and Wellen Dowd
Photo by Walter Romero

Several of the men on the team are also Hellions referees: The Fox, Massacre, Hart Attack, A Ladd Insane, and Roarshock. Many of the other men also got their start as referees...I've seen Wellen Dowd at Albany All Stars bouts since I can remember.

I love men's derby. My second post on this blog was actually about men's derby. There are not too many men's derby teams in the world, but it's slowly gaining popularity.  An interesting statistic from the recently released WFTDA 2011Demographic Survey:

Current female skaters show a greater support for men’s roller derby than those not involved in the sport. Twenty-eight percent of skaters support men’s roller derby at least on an equal level as women’s roller derby, significantly more than the thirteen percent of fans who express equal or greater support for men’s roller derby.

When it comes to Men's Roller Derby, I say don't knock it 'til you try it. After watching the CDMRD's Capital District Trauma Authority (CDTA) take on the Utica's Quadfathers this weekend, I think many fans who came in skeptical left thrilled by the action they witnessed.

I was about 10 minutes late to the bout because I had driven down and back to Long Island that morning for a scrimmage with the Hellions. When I walked into the Armory, CDTA was winning 24 - 1.  I couldn't believe me eyes. I quickly found the rest of the Hellions who came to cheer and proceeded to scream my head off for the next hour.

The seemingly untouchable Die-Lon. Photo by Walter Romero.

Die-Lon bench coaching our December
bout. It's all good! Photo by
Walter Romero.

The hits were big and the pace was fast.  CDTA was great about making way for their own jammers. Also, Wellen Dowd, who ended up earning MVP, really shined with his clear knowledge of the game and he actually really kicked ass in terms of play, especially hitting.

Die-Lon, of the Quadfathers, acted as the antagonist of the bout in the eyes of the local crowd...CDTA's fans cringed when they saw Die-Lon lay on the big hits, and cheered when CDTA managed to dodge his strikes. This dynamic further lifted the boys in blue from the Capital District into the hearts of their fans. A quick note about Die-Lon, though. He's a great guy and an incredible skater who knows the game. He actually benched for the Hellions "Nice" team back in December for our "Naughty vs Nice" intraleague bout. Haters gonna hate; skaters gonna skate.

The final score of the game was 110 CDTA - 77 Quadfathers.

Read a great blog post by CDTA jammer Johnny Malice over on the TU Roller Derby blog and a recap of the game from the perspective of the Quadfathers on their blog.

CNYRD Announces Season Schedule

Our friendly roller derby neighbors straight down I-90, Central New York Roller Derby (CNYRD) have announced their 2011 season schedule, which you can view after the jump.

First ACRD Mixed Scrimmage

On Saturday, October 2, Shockratease, Mr. T and I headed out to Syracuse for the new monthly open scrimmage hosted by Assault City Roller Derby.  Girls from Utica, Assault City, Rochester, and Central New York were there, plus a good handful of refs and NSOs from the area.  I've met some of these girls before through games, scrimmages, and tournaments before, so it was nice to reconnect and also make some new friends.

ACRD practice space.

ACRD practices in a retail space literally in a mall.  Their space was just big enough, and they had some mattresses on the wall in key places where clearance is tight. I did collide with one a couple times, which was actually kinda fun, haha. We had a few people peek in through the entrance into the mall - but official spectators were not allowed due to space limitations.  I can't imagine what people were thinking when they peered in and saw 30 girls in fishnets skating in circles.


ACRD did a really great job organizing the event.  Teams from all over the upstate/central area were invited and I thought we had a pretty good turnout.  It was a mixed scrimmage, so we all lined up in order of perceived skill level and were assigned either black or white. I ended up being on a team with mostly Utica Roller Girls and a few CNY girls, so that was nice.  Shock was on the other team, but she got to play with Blaze from ACRD (who I mentioned in my recap of the CNY vs. ACRD bout).  She's not quite as scary in person as she seems on the rink (again, I mean that in a good way!) but she is seriously an awesome skater and a great proponent of roller derby.

First ACRD mixed scrimmage.  Photo by Pete Rodriguez.

Happiest place on Earth.

The two teams were very evenly matched.  I didn't jam, but I did get a chance to play pivot a couple times.  It was cool to work with different girls and everyone was really nice about sharing tips and tricks.  Pied Viper was on the opposite team (I also wrote about her in the CNY/ACRD recap) - she was kicking butt as jammer but I managed to stop her maybe once or twice.  Wooo!  This scrimmage was great because I got to play with girls who I've admired from off the rink before.  I had a lot of fun.  Thank you Assault City!


And of course ... no trip out to central NY is complete with out a stop at FasTrac.  Can't wait until next month!

CNY vs Assault City - 9/19/10

On Sunday, September 19 I made the trip out to Rome to catch Central New York Roller Derby's (CNYRD) last bout of the season.  They were up against Assault City, hailing from Syracuse, for a battle of the "315".  The Hellions actually played both these teams at Empire Skate Showdown (they both beat us), so I especially wanted to take some notes.

One player that really stuck out to me immediately was CNY's Moody Obsession.  Built like a blocker, CNY had her in to jam quite a few times and it seemed like she was able to earn lead jammer more often than not.  She was also very stable - Assault City laid some good hits on her, but she remained on her feet.  And when she wasn't jamming, she was on the track kicking butt as a blocker.  Dang.

Going into the second period, CNYRD was ahead 77 to 32.  Assault City came back in aggressively; Blaze, one of AC's scariest (I mean that in a good way) jammers, earned a power jam and scored 8 points before getting knocked down by the ever pleasant yet extremely dangerous Slay West.

Both teams had impressive pack control, especially when it counted the most.  At another point Assault City found themselves in another power jam situation, and you could tell that CNY was working hard to speed up the pack, but at the same time, Assault City was working on keeping it slow, basically creating a net effect.  Later on, CNY's Farmer's Slaughter found herself in a power jam, but was not able to break through Assault City's strong pack until there were 20 seconds left in the jam.

My favorite player to watch that game, personally, was Pied Viper.  And not so much as a jammer (although she rocked), but as a hard hitting blocker.  WOW!  This girl totally has the idea of swooping in perpendicularly and turning her body at just the right second to execute some perfectly timed hits.

For the last jam, CNY put in Lady Die Mentia to jam.  (Blockers as jammers... I think I have figured out their secret weapon!)  But really, Lady Die bulldozed through the pack, earning lead jammer.  I think she scored a few points but was ultimately sent to the penalty box (I missed what for, though).  Assault City was able to pick up a few more points before the jam clock ran out.  CNY won the game, 146 - 66.

One final comment on the game as whole: it's quite clear that these two teams are very friendly with each other.  There was great display of derby-sisterhood which also makes me happy as a spectator.  Great game and nice job, ladies!

Our Cup Runneth Over!

Guest post by Flexi Wheeler



On September 4th the Hellions traveled -- en masse in a chartered Yankee Trails bus -- down to Old Bethpage for the first ever, all-New York State, roller derby tournament.  This tournament was organized and hosted by the Long Island Roller Rebels who invited every league in the state, with eight leagues accepting the invitation to play, including:  Albany All Stars, Assault City of Syracuse, Central New York, Gotham Girls of NYC, Hudson Valley Horrors, Ithaca League of Women Rollers and of course ourselves and Long Island.



We went down to the tournament with a roster of 20 players of varying experience, from a single 3 year veteran (uh, that’s me), to two players who had not yet ever bouted!  The bulk of our players were evenly divided between girls who had just finished their second season and girls who had just finished their first season.  Because we knew we were the most junior league entered in the tournament, we expected to be challenged and to learn a lot.  It was anybody’s guess what it would be like when we got down there but our entire league was excited to be a part of this tournament.  Our coaching staff made it very clear that, in true Hellions spirit, we would be playing every member of our roster in at least one bout.  We believe that building a strong league and promoting ideals of fair play will eventually lead to athletic dominance as we support our players at every stage of their development.



When we arrived at the tournament, I was personally overwhelmed by the realization that I knew so many other players.  It was like a big derby reunion for me, and a wonderful networking opportunity for all of our newer girls.  Typically, we play a single team at a time and expect to see other players we’ve met on the track before, but to see everyone all at once was really awesome.  You begin to feel like the roller derby community is huge as you looked around and saw sooooo many familiar faces yet, at the same time, you realize it’s small and intimate because you know all these people by name.  And, the relationships!  Positively incestuous!!!  Players that used to be on one team but now on another.  Players that are also refs (refs that are also players?).  Leagues that arose as offshoots of other leagues.  The same themes play out over and over all over the derby world, and a tournament of this size – biggish yet smallish – brings that realization in to focus.  I’ve had the good fortune to have played alongside, or against, many of the players on each of the leagues who were there.



I don’t know if anyone reading this wants the detailed blow-by-blow of all the scores for the myriad of bouts played over the course of that very long Saturday but I’ll assume you’re interested in how the Hellions did.  Fair assumption if you are reading this!  

Photo by Sean Patrick Hale

Our first bout of the tournament was against Central New York.  We had played CNY out in Rome, NY at the beginning of our 2010 season so it was a real pleasure meeting up with them again.  The Clubbers, as they are known, came out victorious, beating us 63-43 in the half-hour bout.  The Clubbers were in especially great spirits, having just received word in the prior week that they had been admitted to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (roller derby’s national governing body) as a full member league, having fulfilled the terms of the apprentice program.  There was a lot of congratulating going on as this is a big achievement.

In our second bout we faced off against our good friends, The Hudson Valley Horrors.  Seeing some of those familiar faces reminded me of a brutally hot summer day back in 2007 when I played in my first ever exhibition bout and where members of the Horrors were there to help out.  I realized I’ve known some of these ladies for 3 years now.  We have recently begun working more closely with the Horrors, scheduling regular scrimmages between our two teams and it’s an arrangement we’re all stoked about.  The Horrors emerged the winners with a final score of 83-43.


Our final bout was against the Assault City girls.  Those of us who know them haven’t seen them in quite some time because we have not played them since our last season (2009) at Frear Park in Troy.  I will always fondly recall my first opportunity to play Assault City, back in the spring of 2008, as the bout where I first found my hitting mojo.  This was our closest bout yet we still suffered a last defeat, losing 62-52. 

At the end of the day, the tournament awarded MVPs to each team and consoled the 8^th place team (uh, that’d be us!) with a bandaged bruised apple trophy.  We all got to play some derby, mingle with our derby comrades, and watch some amazing derby too; for excitement, you just couldn’t beat the final championship game between the All Stars and Gotham’s Wall Street Traitors.  Gotham’s derby dominance is legendary, having been in existence for 7 years and national champions several times.  With only an 8 player roster, Albany gave the Traitors an incredible run for their money, eventually taking second place overall.  It was a helluva way to spend a Saturday and Long Island deserves generous accolades for such a successful event.



It’s not always the big victories but sometimes a series of little victories along the way that keep you on track to your goals.  We held our own against more established leagues, we played all of our players, we never lost by more than 40 points and nor did anyone hold us to under 40 points.  And we had FUN.  And we saw our friends.  If that glass ain’t at least half full, I don’t know what is!  Our foremost league goal is to have the Hellions gain entrance in to the WFTDA apprentice program so that we can continue to grow our league, promote the sport of roller derby and eventually find ourselves playing the sport we love at the regional and national levels. Hey, anything is possible when you put your mind to it and you have the collective force of 60 dedicated individuals---HELL YEAH, HELLIONS!!!

Deadlie Mercury's First Bout

Guest post by rookie skater, Deadlie Mercury!  Deadlie skated in her first bout with the Hellions against Central New York on September 4, 2010 at the Empire Skate Showdown.




I don't think one person can say that their first bout experience is the same as another. There are always different extenuating circumstances.


When the roster was first announced in July for the Empire Skate Showdown this past weekend, I had little expectations of being on it. And my instincts proved correct, my name was not on the list. I was a little disappointed, but I knew I had JUST passed minimums and coaching was still not sure of what I could really do (neither was I to be honest). But it was better not to look at it as a setback, but as motivation to work harder and really push myself. I began attending men's derby practice so I could get derby in 3 times a week as opposed to just 2. It was at the men's practice 2 weeks ago where I got my first (minor) derby injury, twisting my knee when I fell wrong. I didn't go to the doctors, cause I'm so tough (or maybe just stubborn?), but it definitely called for lots of RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). For like, the past 2 weeks.


Well, just my luck: The next night is the Hellions practice and I tell our coach that I'm taking it easy that night because of my “boo-boo” and he asks me if I would like to play in the tournament. Um... HECK YES! But this called for some serious pushing of myself while not hurting my knee anymore in the process.


I was successful in this and was so focused on feeling better that this whole 'first bout' thing didn't hit me until the Thursday night practice 2 days before ESS. All the rostered skaters got together with coaching and we discussed strategy and the basic run of the days events. When I stopped to really listen to what was being said, it hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh geeze... this is for realz!”  I then worried about everything. I was worried that I wouldn't look cute enough for crying out loud! I had so much anxiety I dreamt that I missed half the tournament and really pissed off the rest of my team and then somewhere in there it turned into a softball game. Yeah, dreams are weird.

Holding the line like a good newbie.

So comes the day of ESS, and what an awesome day it was! I'm lucky to have tons of wonderful friends in NYC to house me that weekend so I wouldn't have to wake up at the rear end of dawn in order to catch the bus (yeah, something else I have to worry about? I'd rather not). But wow, the tournament was an amazing experience all in itself. To see these other teams that were so experienced and to share it with derby girls from across the state was really something special. I had a running joke with my friends that I better get there on time because knowing my luck I'll be in the first bout. We laughed since I didn't think there was any way I could've been put on that roster. So guess who was hit with another surprise when our coach Beefcake said my name for the first roster. It was really time to focus. 


I was  little nervous but honestly, I can't express how supportive my team is. Everyone just looked at me with smiles and said “You can do it Deadlie.”. Until we grouped up at our bench, everything felt so surreal to me, as if it wasn't really happening. When we had our Hellions pre-bout-group-pump-up-chant I felt so pleased. I really felt like I had made it and I felt like I could own myself as a player. 

Introducing Deadlie Mercury and
Delinquent Dollie!

I only went out 3 times but only fell once out of those 3 times (of course within 10 seconds of the first jam I was in). I held the line like a good newbie and helped build walls with my teammates. We only lost by 20 points which, in roller derby terms, is still anyone's game. I think it was the best way for me to experience playing in a real bout for the first time and to feel confident in my skills finally. And I'm sure that not too many derby girls get to say they had their first bout experience at a state-wide tournament. *Insert shoutout- Except for my teammate Dollie. Yeah first timers!*

Kids

I really like the song "Kids" by MGMT.  It's so catchy.  And the first time I heard it was at a Weezer concert last year when they covered it.  Double love.  To me this song is about enjoying yourself by finding clarity in a situation.

I even got to speak briefly with the
Wall Street Traitor's own Ginger Snap.

We played three games on Saturday.  I wasn't on the roster for the first game, but played in the second and third.  After we lost the first (Central New York 63 over HoTRD 43) and second game (Hudson Valley Horrors 83 over HoTRD 43) I was feeling kind of blue.  Of course I always try to look on the brightside: it was a great day of derby, we had two new girls on the roster, Deadlie Mercury and Delinquen Dollie, and a whole bunch of non-rostered league members came down to cheer us on.  I had also spent the day talking to various girls on other teams and even got to warm up with the New York Shock Exchange (mens derby team!).  And, I got to jam during the Hudson Valley bout - I even made lead jammer and scored a couple points.

Flexi gives the team a pep talk before our
last bout of the day.  Photo by Sean Hale.

So there were a lot of positives about the day, but after all, we were playing in a tournament.  And now we were in the running for 7th or 8th place.  At that point, it was time to remember that I was there to have fun, and play my best.  Flexi, who had to take herself off the roster after getting injured in the first game, gave us a pep talk.  That's when I found my clarity and focused on playing a good game, and being happy no matter the outcome.


As we started the bout, the DJ started playing "Kids".  To me, it was perfect.

 Control yourself. 

Take only what you need from it.

Great game, new friends

Also, before I looked up these lyrics, I always thought the line was "enjoy yourself" instead of "control yourself."  And I was enjoying myself.  I was enjoying playing derby and watching my teammates go give it their all against Assault City.  It was a close game, with Assault City pulling ahead by 10 points at the end (62 over 52).  That was the end of the tournament for us, but at least my mind was clear beforehand.  Now it was time to get off my skates and watch the final bouts, including the championship!