Roller derby bout this weekend

This Saturday we take on our friends, the Long Island Roller Rebels!  Going to the bout?  Say so on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/330452623705757/

Tickets are $10 in advance (I have tickets - hit me up!) and $12 at the door.  Or you can try to win tickets from our sponsor Nipper Town: http://www.nippertown.com/2012/07/17/win-free-tix-to-see-the-hellions-roller-derby-gals-on-saturday/

My Two Year Bout-aversary

I almost forgot - the bout I played in on May 12 against Rideau Valley was my two year anniversary of my first bout against the Utica Roller Girls (May 8, 2010).  In 2011 I bouted the same weekend (May 14), against Garden State.

November 2009 in Philly for 2009 Champs

I joined the Hellions in September 2009.  The first practice I showed up to was actually at Frear Park... it was right before we moved to Rollarama.  It was also the end of their season, and there were no bouts even scheduled until April 2010...it was 6 months before I could even think about playing in a game.

For those 6 months I trained and learned the game.  I watched a lot of roller derby and really fell in love after attending the 2010 WFTDA Championships in Philadelphia.  We didn't have the formal fresh meat training we have now.  Our league has grown a lot in the past 2.5 years.  Remember when I said we didn't bout for 6 months when I joined? Things somehow changed after that... from April 2010 to November 2011 we had at least one both every single month with the exception of two.  22 bouts and two tournaments in 18 months.)

It's also strange to think I've been the league manager for over a year, having been elected in early 2011 and now serving my second term.  I love being part of this growing league.  We earned our WFTDA Apprenticeship in October 2011 and we're working towards completing the requirements for full WFTDA membership. I will say that's our biggest accomplishment during my tenure with the league. Followed up by our third place finish at Empire Skate Showdown in September 2011.

I have personal goals and goals for the league...but on that subject, I'm not gonna talk about it, I'm gonna be about it.  Here's to another amazing year as a Hellion.

You Can't Hide That Hellions Pride - Albany Pride Parade and Festival 2012

We've participated in the Capital District Pride Parade and Event for the past couple years, but this was the first year I was able to personally attend. We had a bout in Connecticut the night before, but I dragged myself out of bed by 10am (haha) and headed to Washington Park (where I was lucky to snag a close parking spot). I met the girls and we set up our table, chairs, and tent.

There were so many fun and colorful people there. Note, telling a friend you're "by the people with the rainbows" is not a great way to describe your location.

Was someone from Roc City at the
Parade on Sunday?

I've marched in a lot of parades (I'm in a marching band, but that's another story), but this was one of the funnest. We saw our friends from WRPI's Homo Radio, and ended up marching behind a really friendly church group. The crowd was super fun.

About 10 Hellions were in our walking group, and we had three people skating: me, Epic, and Disharmony. We all skated the night before, and I want to give a shout out to Disharmony who was zooming around with awesome energy the whole parade. We joined hands and skating in circles at one point during the parade route. Jezibelle also pulled her daughter in a wagon and she passed out leis. 

Skating in the street was fun, except the cobblestones on Lark Street! I had to tip-toe over them on my toe stops. I may or may not have walked through the grass in my skates (wearing my outdoor wheels) at the end of the parade. I loved when we walked past the stage and they announced our name!

Darla Vader and me!  We love roller derby.

The rest of the day we spent at our tent talking to tons of wonderful and interesting people. Near the end of the day, the event MCs said it was time for parade awards, such as best float. I didn't even know they had awards. Suddenly... we heard "Best Walking Group in the Parade.... the Hellions of Troy!" WOW! Epic and I ran across the park to the stage to pick up the trophy - we were so excited! We got a trophy!! We are going to ask the owner of Rollarama if we can keep the trophy at the rink.

Capital Pride 2012: Best Walking Group

I got a little bit sunburned, but otherwise it was a really beautiful day to spending in Albany's Washington Park with the Hellions.

Thank you to Epic for organizing the Hellions to be involved with Pride this year!

Herculadies

We intro'd the Herculadies on the other blog, but I NEED to make mention of them here, too! The Herculadies are the Hellions' new "B Team". New girls are drafted to this team upon graduating their minimum skill requirements. This is the team we send out against newer leagues as well. Roller derby is a growing and growing sport, and of course we want to help other leagues grow too.

The "A Team" will continue to skate under the name "Hellions", but when you see a bout advertised as the "Herculadies", it'll still be your hometown HoTRD girls, just some newer faces. While I am currently playing on A Team rosters, I am occasionally also a backup/alternate for the Herculadies.  [Edit 12:30pm: one of the girls has a stomach bug today, looks like I'll be playing tonight after all!]

The captains are Con-tagious and Sick Puppy, who lead practice once every couple weeks. They're both fun, hysterical, and motivating - they are great leaders. Lil' Wheezy is one of the primary Herculadies pivots. Her skill level has exploded over the past couple months - she understands the game, is vocal on the track, and is a great team player. I love working with her at practice!

Con-tagious and Sick Puppy!

On June 2, the Herculadies played their first bout ever against Central New York's Wonderbrawlers. I played in Utica for my first game as well, so I am glad we've been able to keep up this semi tradition of debuting skaters with our friends from CNYRD. The Herculadies took the win at that bout (read some of their impressions here). Tonight they play their first home bout at Rollarama against Plattsburg Roller Derby's Lumber Jills. It's going to be a great game!

Herculadies!
Hair/makeup: Stiletto Salon || Photo; Dino Petrocelli

Hellions at Art Night tonight

Make sure to stop by Schenectady Art Night tonight in downtown Schenectady. We'll have a table inside Proctors (near the coffee place). Come say hello!

We should have pretty nice weather tonight - beautiful night for a stroll down Jay Street and around State Street!

Schenectady Art Night is the third Sunday of every month.

Hellions vs. CT RollerGirls - bout recap

Hellions with a hedgehog at CT in 2011

On Sunday, June 9 we made the trip out to Woodbridge, CT to take on CT RollerGirl's Stepford Stabotage, the league's WFTDA charter league who is ranked #15 in the WFTDA East Region. Last year we played CT's B Team, Yankee Brutals, where we took the win [Deadlie Mercury recapped this trip in this blog post: http://blog.timesunion.com/rollerderby/road-trips-derby-style/4083/]

We knew we would be in for a big challenge against the Sabotage, though. This season, as we play some big name WFTDA leagues, we're hoping to learn and grow as we make our way through the WFTDA Apprentice Program.

What do you do when you step on the track, knowing that this is not a game you're likely to win? Step 1: get excited anyway - it's time to play some roller derby!

Photo by dph photo

Step 2: Work together. I love this picture of Lehman Smothers and Lil' Wheezy holding back the CT jammer.  Lil' Wheezy stepped up from our B team this weekend to fill in on our short roster. She's a terrific team player.

Photo by dph photo

Step 3: jam like the wind!  I thought Kitty had an awesome game on Saturday!  I haven't seen her jam this well in a long time, and it was exhilarating to see her smile and get excited each time she returned to the bench.

Photo by dph photo

Step 4: Derby solidarity, win or lose.

Photo by dph photo

Cupcakes !

Thank you to the CT RollerGirls Stepford Sabotage for the challenging bout!  The final score was Sabotage 260 - Hellions 69.  Congratulations to Lehman Smothers, the MVP of the game!  Also a big shout out to B team players Sick Puppy, Lil Wheezy, and Punch of Grace who filled in our roster. Thanks to Betty, Darla, and Con-tagious for working merch and cheering us on, too!

Recruitment Night - plus, check out some practices

We have some recruitment events coming up next week.  As part of Sunday's recruitment night, you can watch us scrimmage the Hudson Valley Horrors.  Got plans for Father's Day already?  Come visit a practice on Monday (7pm) or Thursday (9pm) night.  Each night you'll have a chance to meet the skaters, ask questions, and learn what it takes to be a roller girl.  We're also recruiting referees, officials, and volunteers of both genders.
Interested in playing men's roller derby? Aw heck, stop by anyway and we'll hook you up with our friends from Capital District Men's Roller Derby. But maybe you also want to ref for us? ;)

Learn more about joining the Hellions here: http://www.hellionsoftroyrollerderby.com/join-us/

Ottawa Bout Recap (Part 2)

On Saturday evening of our Ottawa trip we headed to the bout. Although we played the Slaughter Daughters in 2009, there wasn't much we knew about them. Internet research revealed that the Slaughter Daughters were the 2011 Champions of the Canadian roller derby tournament Beast of the East. It also surfaced that two of their skaters, Semi Precious and Soul Rekker, were on Team Canada for the 2011 Roller Derby World Cup.  WHOA.

The Slaughter Daughters are part of Rideau Valley Roller Girls.

Our first few jams seemed to go well, but soon the Slaughter Daughters were able to take advantage of a big power jam. They had really good team work and their jammers were also very smart. It was still fun to play them. We were familiar with a lot of their strategy, but they were very adept at implementing it. I loved watching Knockout block Soul Rekker - they are both so good!  At one point when I was out blocking and KO was jamming, I saw her land a crazy apex jump.

Speaking of, Knockout earned MVP for this bout, along with Semi Precious.

The final score was Slaughter Daughters (Rideau Valley Roller Girls): 241 - Hellions of Troy: 74.

I do want to point out that I was said we didn't sing the national anthems before this bout. I've been to Canada/seen enough international bouts that I know most of the words!  Here is a link to a youtube video of O Canada: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwDvF0NtgdU to make up for it.

Check out our off-the-track Ottawa adventures in the blog post: http://hellionsoftroy.blogspot.com/2012/05/roadtrip-to-ottawa-on-canada-part-1.html

First time scrimmaging

During practice last week we had the opportunity to introduce some of our new girls to the basics of scrimmaging. They've been working on stops, falls, and basic hits .... so we thought it might be fun to throw them into some real action! Their WFTDA minimum skills test is also coming up soon!

Freshmeat girls Cricket* and June Bug* were eached "drafted" to a team, black and pink respectively. I wore pink that night, so I got to work with June Bug. There's a couple things you try to remember to tell people the first time they scrimmage:
+ If you get knocked out, come in behind the person who hit you out so you don't get a cut.
+ Work with a partner.
+ Stay on the line.
+ Watch for the jammers!

Cricket and June Bug lined up to jam - first time ever!

On our team we also moved June Bug from the inside line to working in the middle. At one point, we had them both jam! Here they are lined up on the jammer line. They actually both jammed a couple times and each got lead jammer at least once. I saw Cricket jump right over a downed skater and it was awesome!

June Bug - Lead Jammer!!

Cricket looks to take the inside line to race ahead of the pack!

When you practice jumping as a freshmeat, it can be awkward because you're not really jumping out of necessity, you're just jumping over 3 inch orange cones to prove you can do it. We don't always practice jumping at the same speeds we actually play at. So I was very impressed when the time came to jump over a whole person (a lot bigger than a little 3 inch cone), she did it without a doubt. We were all like "YAYYYYYYYYYY that was awesome" and she just looked at us with a "what did I even just do?" This actually happened to me during my first bout.

That's one of the best parts of your first scrimmage. You don't even know how good you are and we can barely express how proud and impressed we are by all your hard work.

*the theme of this quarter's fresh meat class is "edible insects" and includes other names such as 'Centipede' and 'Locust'.

Bout Recap: HoTRD vs. the Killah Bees

Hellions vs Killah Bees in 2011.

On Saturday, April 28 we hosted the Killah Bees of Providence Roller Derby.  We first met the Bees last year in one of our only bouts which we suffered a loss in 2011.  It was actually our greatest defeat of 2011 - a final score of Bees 211 - Hellions 59.  They were the first team we faced that consistently employed the strategy of taking a knee at the jammer line.
If implemented properly, this strategy immediately starts jam, releasing the jammers as soon as the refs are able to blow their whistles.

We were excited to host the Bees again to see how we would fair.

The beginning of the game was tough.  The Bees opened up with a huge 24-0 jam.  We didn't score for the first five jams, until Pork Slap took 8 points in jam 6.  We were getting our groove, but by the end of the first period, we were down 62-112.

In the locker room, we talked about their strategy and what we needed to do to react.  We recognized their tactics and discussed counter-strategy. We knew it would take teamwork.

Our refocusing at halftime worked.  We inched up in points.  Five jams into period two, Shockratease had an amazing 25 point power jam, which closed the gap even further.  It was so exciting!  Soon, after a couple strong jams from Pork Slap and Shockratease again, we finally took the lead.  We were so close to sweet victory, but the Bees weren't ready to give up.  A 20 point power jam for the Bees gave them back the lead, and they refused to give it up again.  The last 5 minutes of the bout were very exciting as both teams fought for points.

In the end, the Killah Bees won the bout with a score of 177 Bees - 169 HoT.  Only 8 points!  In roller derby, that's practically a tie!  Not bad after losing to them by over 150 points last year.  It was one of our best games so far this year.  Thank you Bees for the amazing game!

Hellions of Troy vs. Killah Bees 4.28.12