Feature Preview: Team MASTR @ Team Bionic

By Clark Kent, Last updated Fri Aug 24 2012 8:33pm

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- It's super team against super team: Team Bionic, currently ranked #1 in the Banked Rank, will be taking on the Midwest All-Star Track Rollers (Team MASTR) in Colorado Springs on August 25. This will be Team Bionic's third home bout. 

Team Bionic currently holds a record of 3-0. Their most recent victory was against the Tilted Thunder Rail Birds from Seattle, Wash.

This bout will be streamed live courtesy of Team Bionic. Action begins at 7pm Mountain time on Saturday, August 25.

With a large pool of female flat and banked track skaters that have a wide range of skill levels, the team has yet to repeat the same roster. 

Fan favorites Psycho Babble, Amanda Jamitinya and Ecko will not be participating in this upcoming bout, while four skaters will be having their first experience as members of Team Bionic: Fifi Nomenon from Angel City Derby Girls (who also skated banked track with the LA Derby Dolls for several years), Kiki UrHaz from Arizona Roller Derby, Pickin Scabs from the Colorado Academy of Hard Knocks and Stella Italiana from Des Moines Derby Dames. Stella Italiana, formerly a star jammer with the Oly Rollers, is a new and powerful edition to the team. Atomatrix, who was one of DNN's 2011 Most Valuable Jammers, will be returning to the banked track; Team USA's captain for the Blood & Thunder Roller Derby World Cup, Joy Collision, is also on the roster.



Relatively quiet in their activities until now, Team MASTR is another super team comprised of skaters from the Midwest or who have ties with the Midwest, organized by Kansas City announcer Raucous Ron. Unlike Team Bionic, Team MASTR gathers to play on both flat and banked track and has a pool of over 50 skaters, both men and women -- though only the women will be playing in this one.

The team has played one co-ed and one women's bout so far, both in-league exhibitions on Memorial Day weekend (Stella Italiana, now on Bionic, played in that event). For this weekend, Team MASTR's roster of 14 and 2 alternates includes members from Team Bionic's northern neighbors Rocky Mountain and Castle Rock. Assaultin' Pepa and Sweet Mary Pain from RMRG and Screamin Evil from Castle Rock 'n' Rollers will be playing, and there are many other familiar names on the roster, one being Wild Cherri from Atlanta who was a part of Gotham's victory at the 2011 WFTDA Championships.

Many of KCRW's veteran skaters are also on MASTR, including key blockers Bruz-Her, Slay-Ya and Annie Maul Xcelerator, a former member of KCRW and a star jammer who helped lead KCRW to victory in the first WFTDA Nationals in 2007, is returning to derby after four years. This time, she represents the Kansas City Banked Beauties and Team MASTR.


It is difficult to predict either team's performance since the rosters change for each game. In February, Team Bionic defeated banked track powerhouse team, the L.A. Derby Dolls Ri-ettes, which contributed largely to Team Bionic's obtaining of #1 in the Banked Rank. But they defeated the far less experienced Tilted Thunder Rail Birds by a smaller margin than anticipated. TTRB finished the first half leading 79-66, but in the end, Bionic won 175-106, which indicates that the skill range in their rosters allows for unpredictable outcomes. Team MASTR has yet to play a different team. 



The Banked Rank currently labels Team Bionic as “the team to try and beat.” Although little is known about Team MASTR, the strong roster suggests a good possibility of MASTR taking the win against the undefeated Team Bionic. Who better to try and beat a super team than another super team? The only thing certain at this point is that there will be a lot of talent gathered in one place. 


Team Bionic: 0 Kiki Urhaz (Arizona) // 3 Atomatrix (Oly) // 12 Parker Colorado (Colorado Academy of Hard Knocks) // 30 Stella Italiana // 67 Helen Wheels (Rocky Mountain) // 90 Elektra Highvoltage (Tucson) // 95 Tyra Shanks (Angel City) // 108 Fifi Nomenon (Angel City) // 151 MC SLAMMA (CAHK) // 360 Krissy Krash (Angel City) // 462 Pickin Scabs (CAHK) // 747 Joy Collision (Oly) // 1031 Holly Ween (Northern Arizona) // 2ND Christy More Cowbell (Tall City)

Team MASTR: 5 Trauma (Kansas City Roller Warriors) // 6 Wild Cherri (Atlanta) // 7 Slay-Ya (Kansas City Banked Beauties) // 14 T-Pain (Oklahoma Victory Dolls) // 24 Bruz-Her (KCRW) // 34 Xcelerator (KCBB) // 35 Screamin' Evil (Castle Rock 'n' Rollers) // 47 Shady O'Dread (KCRW) // 69 JenATease // 86 Assaultin Pepa (Rocky Mountain) // 88 Lil V (Oklahoma City Outlaws) // 111 Annie Maul (KCRW) // 8979 Switchblade Siouxsie (Atlanta) // M80 Sweet Mary Pain (RMRG) // 11 Track Rat (KCRW) // 1111 Adderoller (CoMo)