It’s tough to overstate how big a matchup this one will be. National champion Kansas City is traveling to Carolina’s picturesque Dorton Arena to defend their #1 ranking for the first time since winning it by knocking off the previous #1, Rat City, in the final bout of the Texas Shootout on September 30. Earlier on that same day, KCRW advanced to the title game by holding off a persistent attack by this very same Carolina team. Carolina was ahead for the majority of the first half in that bout, and although the momentum swung to Kansas City for the lion’s share of the game, Carolina reeled off a run at the very end that came up just a little short, leaving Kansas City with a hard-fought 116-108 victory. This time around, both teams will be equally fresh, but Carolina gets the home-court advantage — will it be enough to swing the outcome?

Kansas City brings out most of the same squad that rolled to victory in Austin, including the MVP of the Texas Shootout, the seemingly bionic Xcelerator. Along with Dust Devil breakout star Snot Rocket, Kansas City boasts quite possibly the deadliest one-two jammer punch in all of roller derby — and they still have Dominant Jean and Jade Lightning, no slouches themselves on the second line. In the pack, Bruz-Her, Patti Wackin and Princess Slay-Ya key a blocking squadron that is justifiably renowned for playing extremely smart and extremely hard, having bested the toughest competition in the land in Austin. The Roller Warriors will be without Xavia, though, who was a crucial element of their earlier defeat of Carolina. One other element that might be working against them is a little bit of rust. They’ve had no public bouts, interleague or intraleague, since their Shootout win — of course, given the magnitude of the competition they faced to get it, it’s tough to begrudge them a short vacation.

Carolina also took a little time off after Nationals, but they got back in action just two weeks ago, and they’re coming off a 74-45 home win against Bay Area on November 17th. Not surprisingly, the home team will be fielding their very best roster for this one, led by co-captains Princess America and Shirley Temper. Betty Rumble and Violent Femme, both of whom sat out the bout against Bay Area, will be back in uniform, and star jammer Denise Lightning is reportedly recovered from a minor injury sustained at the Texas Shootout.

Carolina loves to play a very defensive, low-scoring game, but Kansas City did a fairly good job of forcing them into their speed game at their Shootout battle — the Kansas City / Carolina bout there was the highest-scoring bout of the whole tournament, which is definitely not the way Carolina prefers to roll. It’s a hoary old sports cliche to say whoever controls the tempo of the game will win it, but it definitely applies here — lead jammer status is likely to be even more crucial in this matchup than most, as the Kansas City jammers have repeatedly shown they can turn a game entirely around in the course of a full-length jam.

1492 Princess America // 17 Ms. Anthrope the Mordant // 56 Shirley Temper // 223 Denise Lightning // 110 Kitty Crowbar // 73 Zella Lugosi // 13 Eva Lye // 11 Betty Rumble // 10 Militia // 37 Violet Femme // 1 Billy the Kid // 131 DVS // 999 Holly Wanna Crackya // Kelly Clocks’Em 212

244 Bruz-Her // 111 Annie Maul // 19 Rita Ploy // 911 Patti Wackin // XOXO Princess Slay-Ya // 59 Archie Lee // 999 Bad Omen // 11 Jessika Rabid // 1UP Missile Toes // 4 Snot Rocket // 34 Xcelerator // 007 Dee Claw // 816 Jade Lightning // XX Dominant Jean

Two weeks removed from a twelve point victory at the Dallas Derby Devils, RMRG’s 5280 Fight Club (WFTDA #19) tackles their biggest ranking challenge to date on Saturday evening, December 1, when they host the WFTDA East Region Champions, the Gotham Girls Roller Derby All-Stars (WFTDA #5).

Gotham’s All-Stars last skated in October, when they hosted a 43-point victory over the Rose City (Portland) Wheels of Justice (#15). Rocky Mountain has also fared well in inter-region contests, and can hang their hat on an October 33-point victory over a veteran Eastern power, Madison’s Mad Rollin Dolls (#9).

This bout is the last Denver will see of roller derby in 2007, and it also represents the final Gotham bout before New York hits its offseason. After a seven weeks on the shelf, can GGRD gather itself and push through the finish line for a big 2007 season finale, or will Gotham fall prey to the high altitude of the 5280 Fight Club?

Rocky Mountain is armed with a full roster for this bout, relying on super stars like Ida Hustler, She Who Cannot Be Named and Assaultin’ Pepa as well as snagging up a few alternates to round out the bench. It should be interesting to see if playing at home gives the defense-heavy Fight Club more options on the jammer line — in their recent away battle with Dallas, She Who and Frida Beater combined to run up a tremendous 76 of RMRG’s 89 total points.

Gotham brings to Denver only twelve of its skating weapons. Most notably, Rocky Mountain gets to dodge star Gotham jammer Bonnie Thunders, who will be staying home to nurse a minor knee injury; that reduces the notorious GGRD jamming quartet to a trio of Cheap Skate, Suzy Hotrod and Beatrix Slaughter, and may result in Gotham fielding some jammers with less recent interleague experience at the second line. However, the smaller roster also means that Rocky Mountain has to face a very experienced team; Gotham’s Surly Temple will be the only member of the 12 who did not play against Portland.

UPDATE:  Gotham rolls to victory, 113 to 48 (full recap to come).

Additional reporting: Anne Shank

80 Ginger Snap (captain) // 2 Donna Matrix // 7 Anne Phetamean // 141 Hard Anya // 2cents Cheap Skate // 241 Fisti Cuffs // Top 40 Beyonslay // 55 Suzy Hotrod // 60 Brigitte Barhot // 201 Sweet Sherry Pie // 42 Beatrix Slaughter // 99 Surly Temple

86 Assaultin’ Pepa (captain) // 500 Pinky 500 (captain) // 13 Anne Shank // ‘57 Annia LateHer // 3 Catholic Cruel Girl // 701 Dakota Dynamite // 18-3-202 Frida Beater // P1MP Ida Hustler // 480 Luscious Smacksome // 33 Madam MaimYa // 3014 Mama KiCass // 269 Penny Payne // 88 She Who Cannot Be Named // 8 Winona Fighter

16th-ranked Duke City takes on a daunting task this weekend, venturing deep into the heart of Texas to throw down against one of the most formidable teams in derby, the 3rd-ranked Texecutioners.

Duke City skaters have seen a fair amount of action recently, as the all-star Muencas Muertas traveled to Minneapolis on November 10 and managed to grind out a close win over Minnesota’s Rockits local team, 81 to 76. The following weekend, Duke City’s local team the Hobots lost a challenge of the Copper Queens, a local team from Tucson Roller Derby, 115-74. That bout proved unlucky for Duke City all-star Ooh La La, who suffered a broken collarbone that will keep her out of this bout against Texas. Other established Duke City all-stars who won’t be able to make the Texas game include jammers Death Ro and Kamikaze Kim, along with punishing blocker Doom Dee Doom.

Towering blocker Miss E Vil and returning Bullet Tooth Tracy are likely to be key players for Duke City in the pack. To fill in some of the offensive holes, Duke City may give usual blockers Dahmernatrix and Miss L. Command the jammer star a few times, and the dead dolls bring along two jammers making their interleague debut in a true trial-by-fire: Punchkin Pie and Betty Blastoff will be sharing time at the second line with veteran jammer Muffin.

This event also marks the final bout as a Duke City girl for Katie Chingas, who will be moving to San Antonio in the new year.

Texas is back in action for the first time since late September’s Texas Shootout, where they laid claim to their 3 ranking with a convincing 110-46 defeat of Carolina, but it’s unlikely that these particular sleeping giants will be logy from their time off. Texas’ all-star team has only lost to two teams in their three years of interleague bouting, and will be fielding an experienced lineup very similar to the Shootout squad. Rice Rocket, Bloody Mary and Cat Tastrophe all have the speed and agility to match up against any jammer in the sport, while the feared Derringer, the lanky Sparkle Plenty, and the relentless Muffin Tumble are just a few of the weapons that Texas has working for them in the pack.

UPDATE: Texas texecutionates, 158-36.

Belle Starr 1889 // Bloody Mary 40 // Cat Tastrophe XX // Curvette 76 // Dagger Deb 77 // Derringer .44 // Electra Blu 23 // Lady X-Treme X // Lady Stardust 51 // Muffin Tumble 28 // Rice Rocket 3e8 // Sparkle Plenty 00 // Trouble 10 // Cheap Trixie 41

Dahmernatrix 10001 // Punchkin Pie 1 Slice // Carson B. Demented 138 // Vixenator 11011 // Miss L. Command 11 // Cynder Block 6655321 // Miss E. Vil 55 // Cabbage Snatch Kid 5 // Katie Chingas 13 // Bullet Tooth Tracy 3 // Betty Blastoff 321 // Sabrosa 505 // Muffin 350

Here’s what’s happening this weekend in derby:

Events:

• Texas Rollergirls Boot Camp: Friday through Sunday in Austin, TX.
• Rage City Rollergirls Boot Camp: Saturday Noon - 6pm in Anchorage, AK.

On TV:

• Heartland Havoc Quarterfinal (taped 8/18/2007): Gotham Girls Roller Derby vs. Philly Roller Girls (MavTV, 11pm Sat, 1:30 am Sun, Noon and 5pm Mon)

Interleague bouts:

Saturday:

• (16) Duke City Derby @ (3) Texas Rollergirls
• (5) Gotham Girls Roller Derby @ (19) Rocky Mountain Rollergirls

Sunday:

• (1) Kansas City Roller Warriors @ (4) Carolina Rollergirls

Intraleague bouts:

Friday:

• Grand Raggidy Roller Girls: Blue Collar Broads vs. Roustabout Rollers

Saturday:

• Memphis Roller Derby: Angels of Death vs. Women of Mass Destruction, Legions of Doom vs. Priskilla Presleys
• North Star Roller Girls: Banger Sisters vs. Delta Delta Di, Violent Femmes vs. Kilmore Girls

Sunday:

• Seattle Derby Brats: Evil Angels vs. Poison Skid’les (junior derby)

To have your bout or event included in the DNN Weekly Roundup, email events@derbynewsnetwork.com with the details. Send final scores to scores@derbynewsnetwork.com.

If there’s one topic that rollergirls, fans, coaches and announcers of all backgrounds, religions, sexual persuasions and economic brackets can all agree on, it’s that roller derby referees need to get they damn heads out of they damn asses. Happily, this press release from down south, provided by Nigel Toughnails, seems to indicate that a movement is afoot to make sure that just because a given referee may have an ass, he or she does not necessarily have to have his or head inside it.

On November 17th, flat track derby referees from 5 states met in Raleigh, NC to learn about, and discuss all elements of derby reffing. Led by veteran east region referees Nigel Toughnails and Voodoo, the six hour clinic featured lecture-style knowledge sharing and discussion, scrimmage practice, and an intimate look at reffing for the Carolina Rollergirls vs. B.ay A.rea G.irls bout. Featured subject matter at the clinic included proper track setup, pre-bout communication, support staff coordination, presentation of WFTDA Rules Appendices B and C, and best practices for each reffing position.
 

After the knowledge sharing lectures, visiting referees got the opportunity to apply their new knowledge in a 90 minute scrimmage session played by Carolina skaters. Clinic attendees were also given a unique opportunity to sit in on B.ay A.rea G.irls/Carolina refs/captains meeting and and watch the featured bout and see much of the clinic material presented in practice. 19, Head Ref for the Bleeding Heartland Roller Girls, even took on a role as a skating ref in that bout.
 

In addition to learning new techniques and networking with other refs in the region, attendees got to take home packets with over 20 pages of forms, notes, and resources to take back to their leagues. Clinic organizers and attendees, alike, left the weekend with a great deal of confidence that inter-leagues in the region would be conducted with greatly increased consistency and organization.
 
 
 
Read the rest of this entry »

To make the most of their cross-country trip to Raleigh, the thirteenth-ranked B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls played back-to-back dates against some of the East Region’s most challenging leagues on the weekend of November 17th and 18th. Having come out of the previous night’s action on the losing end of a 74-45 decision to fourth-ranked Carolina Rollergirls, the Bay Area skaters took on the tenth-ranked Philly Roller Girls in a bout organized with the assistance of the ever-helpful Carolina Girls just 16 hours later. Carolina loaned the guest teams use of the Skate Ranch, one of CRG’s practice facilities, as well as refs and other staffing, thus allowing the out-of-towners to compete in a “hangover bout” to round out the weekend.

Though tempers flared and play may have become a bit sloppy at times, the general atmosphere and pace of the game would prove this to be a serious misnomer: the small audience of Philly and Bay Area fans who showed up - along with the local devotees of the sport at large - were treated to a fast-paced nail-biter of a bout that could easily have gone either way until its final seconds.

Read the rest of this entry »

Please realize, first and foremost, that I’m a week overdue on this assignment. I worked the bout in question, and was kept quite busy by the action on the track: as such my distinct recollections are few and far between. Though Carolina’s home stats team was kind enough to share some of their numbers with me between periods, I am still left with a lot of gaping and seemingly-unrecoverable memory lapses. Post-Thanksgiving food coma, hangover, and currently-in-progress beers may have negative effects upon brain power as well (further research is needed before this can be established as fact). In the meantime, gonzo journalism may be the only practical solution.

The following statements are true: 4th-ranked Carolina Rollergirls faced off against 13th-ranked B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls on the evening of November 17th at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, NC. Dorton is, without a doubt, the most attractive derby venue that this writer has ever laid eyes on. The building seems to have been designed with the same quasi-futuristic sensibilities in mind that elsewhere produced such contemporary structures as Disney’s Epcot Center - but with a much stronger eye for normalcy. The local folk will tell you that if you visit the arena at the right time of day during the right time of year, and the blue glass windows catch the sun just right, you’ll be treated to a spectacle that is nearly as beautiful as it is blinding.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s what’s happening this weekend in derby:

Tournaments:

• Fall Brawl Tournament: 9am - 9:30pm Saturday, hosted by the Fort Wayne Derby Girls. Double-elimination tournament featuring 8 teams from the upper midwest:
  • Mitten Kittens (DDG & GRRG mashup) (Detroit & Grand Rapids, MI)
  • Rockford Rage (Rockford, IL)
  • Cincinnati Rollergirls (Cincinnati, OH)
  • FWDG Flyin’ Squirrels travel b-team (Fort Wayne, IN)
  • GRRG Rebelles local team (Grand Rapids, MI)
  • Hammer City Roller Girls (Hamilton, ON)
  • FWDG Bomb Squad travel team (Fort Wayne, IN)
  • Chicago OUTFIT (Chicago, IL)

Events:

• Derby Thanksgiving Potluck and Pickup Scrimmage Social: 1pm - 5pm Saturday in Chino Hills, CA, hosted by the Prison City Derby Dames

On TV:

• Heartland Havoc Quarterfinal (taped 8/18/2007): Detroit Derby Girls vs. Minnesota RollerGirls (MavTV, 11pm Sat, 1:30 am Sun, Noon and 5pm Mon)

Interleague bouts:

Saturday:

• Wild Rose Challenge Cup: Calgary Roller Derby Association @ E-Ville Roller Derby

Intraleague bouts:

Saturday:

• Arch Rival Roller Girls: Smashinistas vs. M-80s (league championship)
• Oil City Derby Girls: Dirty Derby Dolls vs. Kryptkeepers

On Saturday, November 17th The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls traveled to Grand Prairie, Texas to take on the Dallas Derby Devils. These two teams were closely ranked in the current quarterly WFTDA rankings, with RMRG sitting at 19, while Dallas clocked in at 23. The last interleague challenge for the Dallas squad was an away loss to the Texas Rollergirls’ Hell Marys 92 to 50, while the RMRG Fight Club won big on the road against the Mad Rollin Dolls 131 to 98.

Defense was the name of the game, as both teams came off the benches swinging heavy. The biggest point differential in the half was early in the first period, where RMRG Fight Club took a mere 7-point lead at 12-5. The DDD All Stars would end the first 30 minutes on a high note, with a 1-point lead over RMRG, 38 to 37. A true barn-burner for the crowd, no doubt!

The second period saw some adjustments in defense to account for the dreaded effects of accrued penalties. The sin bin saw heavy traffic for both sides of this interleague challenge; rarely did either team have its full complement of blockers to work at full tilt. With the score tied at 41 at 26:30 in the second half, Dallas jammer Hot for Teacher was sent to the penalty box which allowed Rocky Mountain’s She Who Cannot Be Named to score 3 crucial grand slams, putting the RMRG into a strong lead over the DDD at 56-41. DDD did narrow the lead to 67-64 but were plagued with penalties, allowing the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls to be victorious: final score RMRG 89, DDD 73. Top jammers for Rocky Mountain were speedster Frida Beater with 47 pts, and She Who Cannot Be Named with 29. For Dallas, Anita Riot led her squad with 27 points, while Hot for Teacher contributed 18.

Both squads will be back in action soon, as Rocky Mountain Rollergirls 5280 Fight Club takes on Gotham Girls Roller Derby in Denver on December 1, while the Dallas Derby Devils’ All Stars take on the the #3 Texas Rollergirls’ Texecutioners Dec 8.

In the other match of the doubleheader, an ad-hoc Oklahoma Roller Derby Girls squad comprised of members of the Green Country Rollergirls of Tulsa and the Tornado Alley Rollergirls of Oklahoma City rolled to a 78-25 victory over Dallas’ newest home team, the Death Row Rumblers. The top scoring jammers for OKRD were Anomille with 40 and Short Circuit with 16, while the Death Row Rumblers were led by Strawberry Deathcake with 14 and Holy Tara with 6.

Additional reporting: Moose Ondaluce, Anne Shank

MORE COVERAGE: DNN contributor Moose Ondaluce covers the bout via podcast, interviewing RMRG’s Frieda Beater (who isn’t too shy about expressing her opinion of the reffing in her bout!), RMRG’s She Who Cannot Be Named, Death Row Rumblers’ coach Mother Goose, Death Row Rumblers’ star jammer Strawberry Deathcake, and OKRG’s Anomille. Phil Arnold also recaps the bout over at Roller Derby Is Sport.

Here’s an interesting bit of derby trivia from the flat-track’s third-oldest league, Tucson. Last Saturday, they held a doubleheader event where local team Iron Curtain faced off against visiting Orange County, winning a 77-34 decision. Don Bombshelter explains the significance of this victory over at Roller Derby Is Sport:

Going into this bout, the TRD Iron Curtain had a total record of 0-17, including two inter-league games with AZRD, and dating back to their first bout on Mothers Day 2004 against the Furious Truckstop Waitresses. To my knowledge, there are only 2 leagues that have been going as long as TRD. They are the Texas Rollergirls and Arizona Roller Derby. Neither of these leagues has a team that has been winless. Hence, the momentous occasion of the TRD Iron Curtain ending a record drought in Flat Track history.

Check out Bombshelter’s full recap here.