Catching up on bout recaps: HoTRD vs Utica Roller Girls 4/23/11

On Saturday, April 23 we shipped out to Utica, NY to take on the Utica Roller Girls. I was excited about this bout as I was selected to be the captain, and we also had three brand new players on the track: Explosive Echo, Lehman Smothers, and Naughtia Nitrous! It's crazy - I can't remember derby WITHOUT these girls now!

Back (L to R): Coach Doc Hazard, Explosive Echo, Mathundra Storm, Lehman Smothers,
Delinquent Dollie, Disharmony, Torya Anewone, Con-tagious, Sweet Madness,
Valerie Valkyrie, Coach Kitty P, Coach Hanna Solo Front (L to R): Deadlie Mercury, Spam Ghetti-ho's, Nymph O'Maniac, Naughtia Nitrous,
Baby Nuclear (as mascot!), Short Temper

Captains meeting. Photo by Janelle Rodriguez Photography

Look at all those lovely women!! I love bouts with new girls. URG also fielded several new players. Being the captain was an interesting experience. As captain, you have the special privilege of being able to (respectfully) address the referees (believe me, they only want to deal with one or two screaming/upset players, not a whole team).

The final score of the game was 162 Hellions – 69 Utica Rollergirls. I'm sorry I remember more details of the game...but here are a few more pictures:

Disharmony and Explosive Echo build a nice wall on the inside line, while URG's offense attemps to create a whole for
their jammer, Jenerator.  Photo by Janelle Rodriguez Photography

Hellions build a three person wall in the front.  Photo by Janelle Rodriguez Photography

HoTRD jammer Naughtia Nitrous neck-and-neck with URG's jammer, as Torya Anewone looks to do something about that...Photo by Janelle Rodriguez Photography

Bout in Utica this weekend

This weekend we''re traveling to Utica to take on the Utica Rollergirls! My first bout ever was against this team -- just about 11 months ago.  And ... exciting news ... I will be the Team Captain for this game!  Sweet!  The Hellions switch up team captains for different games.
My Grandma and brother live in Utica, so I'll be heading up in the morning to Utica for a family visit.

Utica Rollergirls Season Opener

Saturday April 23rd

Utica Rollergirls vs Hellions of Troy

Doors @ 6:30pm; Whistle @ 7:00pm

New Hartford Rec Center 4 Mill St New Hartford

Tickets $10 at door, under 5 free, $5 ages 6-12.

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.