Rocky Mountain and San Diego Face Off on the Bank

By Kali Katt aka Nicole Gochmanosky, Last updated Fri Mar 25 2011 4:16pm

Republished with permission from Examiner.com

SAN DIEGO, CA -- This Saturday, two roller derby worlds clash when the San Diego Derby Dolls’ Wildfires face the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls’ 5280 Fight Club on the banked track in San Diego. Both teams are champions in their own right. Last November, Rocky Mountain won the 2010 WFTDA Championships, upsetting the 2009 champion Oly Rollers; meanwhile, San Diego has won the Battle on the Bank, the banked track national championships, the past two years in a row.

This bout will be streamed live on DNN courtesy of Vince Wheel and the San Diego Derby Dolls. Coverage starts at 7pm Pacific (10pm Eastern) on Saturday, March 26. On Friday, March 25, Derbydeeds.com & DNN present a special livestream of a closed scrimmage between Rocky Mountain and the L.A. Ri-ettes; that scrimmage starts at 7:30pm Pacific (10:30pm Eastern).

The Wildfires (previously San Diego’s flat track all-stars, but now officially both their banked and flat track all-star team) remain the only non-WFTDA team to have held a DNN power ranking, hovering in the teens for most of the last two years. They debuted on DNN’s Power Rankings at #17 in May 2009 after a 6 point loss to then #13 Duke City. The Wildfires climbed to #14 in August 2009, dropped to #22 by the end of that year, climbed back to #14 in May 2010, but dropped back down to #20 at the end of last year.

Currently the Wildfires have dropped off the most recent DNN Power Rankings, with no flat-track action since early September 2010 and some notable roster changes since then. San Diego Derby Doll founder Bonnie D. Stroir left the league to pursue roller derby coaching full time, and last year's captain Dahmernatrix is currently overseas teaching English in Georgia.  This will be the Wildfires' first opportunity to gauge their teamwork without those two key players.

Rocky Mountain, meanwhile, rose to #1 on DNN's Power Rankings after winning the 2010 Western Regional tournament in October – climbing all the way from #17 in 2009. A handful of Fight Club’s skaters have some banked track experience - De Ranged, Psychobabble and Amanda Jamitinya – and the team has been studying up on banked track rules.

RMRG spokeswoman PJ "Dangerous Leigh A'zon" Shields explains that “we have every confidence that if any flat track team on the planet can suddenly switch to an entirely different surface, it is RMRG's 5280 Fight Club. We expect they will come home telling us how much fun they had.”

Helping the Fight Club make their transition from flat to banked, the LA Derby Dolls’ will host the traveling team Friday night for a closed banked track scrimmage against the LA Derby Dolls’ Ri-Ettes in LA. In the past few months, LA has defeated WFTDA's Windy City and Gotham in banked track play, two teams that won their respective WFTDA regions in 2010.

Whatever happens Saturday in San Diego, a flat-track rematch is already scheduled between The Fight Club and the Wildfires for October 1 in Denver.

9 Amanda Jamitinya // 86 Assaultin' Pepa // 37 Bob Loblaw // 3 Catholic Cruel Girl // 27 DeRanged // 1972 Ecko // 31 Fiona Grapple // 202 Frida Beater // 21 Psycho Babble // 88 She Who Cannot Be Named // 7423 Triple Shot Misto // 0 Urrk'n Jerk'n as Booty Blockya // 8 Winona Fighter // 52 Whipity Pow  

619 Bo Toxic // 7 Slamurai // 360 Isabelle Ringer // 80% Lemon Drop // 11 Anna Nuthathang // 88 Kiki DiAzz // 7&7 Kung Pow Tina // 68 Redrum // OB Noxious // 99 Trish the Dish // 22 Ivanna S. Pankin // 9 Some Brero // 19 Steely Jan // 1221 Punk N. Da'Trunk