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.

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.

Derbylove

www.nataliedee.com

I just read this great article on derbylife.com. It's written by Bane-Ana, who just days ago I saw play on a compilation team - the East Coast Irregulars (as Bane-ana on Skates, that is) against Harm City Homicide in Baltimore, MD. The Hellions also shared a locker room with his team (New York Shock Exchange's Coney Island Freak Show) at Empire Skate Showdown, so I then knew what he looked like sans banana suit.

Of course I'd seen Bane from afar at Regional Playoffs and on DNN, but most recently I had the pleasure of chatting with him post-bout and at the parking-lot-PBR-after-party on Sunday night. He's really just terrific, and his words in this article complete solidify my positive opinion of him.

If you love derby, then check out Bane-Ana's article on Derbylife.com: Compensation.

Men's Derby: recruitment night next week

I was going to blog about Capital District Men's Roller Derby recruitment night, but it looks like it has been postponed to Wednesday, April 20. CDMRD, who is currently undefeated, is looking for a few good men to fill their ranks.

Find our how you can play Mens Roller Derby in the Capital District.

Date
Wednesday, April 20 · 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location
Washington Ave Armory
195 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY

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.

Great Derby Social 2011 - Recap

Photo by Knockout.

As I mentioned in the February events post, there was a roller derby social in February up in Enfield, NH. The Great Derby Social was just that - a time to meet or reconnect with derby people in the northeast. Most of the leagues that were there were from New Hampshire and Vermont. The Hellions and the Utica Roller Girls represented New York! There were also a few leagues from Massachusetts.

Disharmony, Knockout, and I headed up to New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon (February 12). It was a nice drive; it did start snowing when we arrived, though! We blew in around 5pm - by that point things were well under way so we hauled in our stuff, set up "camp" at one of the snack bar booths, and checked out the scene.

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!

East Coast Extravaganza

This weekend I was in Philadelphia checking out East Coast Extravaganza (ECE).  This three-day tournament is sponsored by the Philly Roller Girls.  According to the website, there were 900+ skaters in 47 bouts.  The main attractions were the WFTDA sanctioned bouts, which were played by teams who are part of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.  The Gotham Girls played on Boston; Maine (we played their B-team last month!) took on the Dominion Derby Girls from Virginia Beach; Providence, RI, played girls from Minnesota (arguably the best game of the weekend!), and sooo many more games.  Roller derby is a national sport, and this tournament is one way teams from across the country can get together and play each other to figure out their nation rankings.

There were also plenty of "challenge bouts" (basically pick-up games) that anyone could skate in if they registered as a skater.  Silly me didn't get my act together until the last minute, so I missed out on this!  Definitely next year!  What's fun about challenge bouts is that you can sign up to play on a team with some sort of theme, and you're pretty much matched with girls you've never skated with before, as you all sign up to skate for a team remotely.  There was a men's derby challenge bout which was great because there were lots of people at ECE who had never seen men's derby.  We are spoiled here in the north east!

So anyway, I went down to Philly with Eloda and Ida.  We spent Friday afternoon in Philly, saw Reading Terminal Market (same place as Reading Railroad from Monopoly!!) and took a double decker bus tour around town.  Then we headed over to the Sportsplex to check out the action.  We watched the Gotham Girls play Windy City (from Chicago).  Gotham is currently ranked #1 nationally  and Windy City is ranked #9.  It was a good bout.  Both teams played exceptionally, but Gotham is just outta control. They won the game 191 - 50.  Still, it was was so fun to watch - all of the girls had so much energy and were very limber.

I hope to blog about some other games and experiences from the rest of the weekend soon.  Can't wait until next year!

Couldn't make it to Philly this weekend?  Check out some of the bouts on Derby News Network: http://www.derbynewsnetwork.com/live/archive  They were broadcasting bouts all day on Saturday and Sunday.  Host a post-ECE derby watching party and perhaps play the DNN Drinking Game!  I definitely recommend Provide vs. Minnesota!  Such a close game.

Men's Derby

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending three roller derby bouts. On Saturday I traveled to Old Bethpage, Long Island to see a double header: the Long Island Roller Rebels (LIRR) vs. Pioneer Valley's Western Mass Destruction, which followed a game of men's derby featuring the New York Shock Exchange (NYSE) based out of NYC vs. Pioneer's Valley's The Dirty Dozen, based out of Northampton, MA This was my first time seeing men's derby. Today I will be blogging about that, and later this week I'll write about LIRR v. PVRD and the amazing bout I saw on Sunday. 


I am not sure how many men's teams there are in the United Sates, but the eastern US is lucky to have a solid and growing base of men's derby. In fact, the NYSE and the Dirty Dozen are among the top men's teams in the country. Other local teams of note are the Connecticut Death Quads and the up-and-coming Albany Men's Roller Derby team! 


But for now, my initial impressions: When I first pondered the idea of men's derby, I imagined (with great gender bias, obviously) football on rollerskates. I thought the men would be knocking each other out left and right with little regard for safety (their own or others!) I probably could not have been more wrong. Men's derby leagues, at least the ones I am aware of, play by the same set of rules as women's teams (generally WFTDA 4.0). Instead of going (pardon the phrase) balls out, they played a very strategical game. In comparison to women's derby I have seen, I observed that the men played in somewhat of a tighter formation, and in order for their jammer to get through the pack of blockers, they really had to bounce their way through every time; it was somewhat like watching a pinball machine. I just remembered that alloveralbany had a post about men's derby recently. The article quotes a skater, Museknückle, saying, 

"if women's roller derby is like NASCAR, then men's derby is more like demolition derby". 

I would interpret this to mean that women's roller derby is fast-paced, has a sizable fan base, and the skaters have the endurance it takes to skate through an entire game and come out victoriously. Men's derby :: demolition derby could mean that they might look like a motley crew, but underneath their rusty outer shell is some fine engine work that can power through the nastiest machines on the track. Anyone else want to weigh in on that? (If you disagree, remember, I've only seen one game, but I can't wait to see more!)


By the way, Albany Men's Roller Derby has a recruiting event coming up. Join them at Rollarama in Schenectady at 4:30pm on May 2nd. Check them out on facebook for more information. I promise I will write more about men's derby after I am able to do some more research on it (including my thoughts in response to this comment).