Chicago Invitational: LA Edges Out Rocky 113-108 for $10,000
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Rocky pivot Psycho Babble works on LA jammer Laguna Beyatch. Photo: Steve Stearns. -
Rocky Mountain jammer DeRanged looks for a path through LADD's Haught Wheels (right) and Mickispeedia (left). Photo: Steve Stearns. -
Photo: Steve Stearns.
VILLA PARK, IL -- In an extremely closely matched prize bout with 9 lead changes and 3 ties, Rocky Mountain and LA took it all the way to the wire. For the second time in two days, Rocky Mountain found themselves going into the last jam of the game with a tie score in a powerjam situation -- but this time, it was their opponents with the upper hand. LA's Chargin' Tina broke a 108-108 tie on the last jam to give LA the win and the $10,000 purse from the Kitten Traxx Chicago Invitational, 113-108.
Rocky held an early lead -- though much smaller than they'd had against Gotham on Friday -- and once again lost key players DeRanged, Psycho Babble and Amanda Jamitinya to foulouts near the end of the bout, though it wasn't quite as debilitating as LA also lost their own V Lee, Mickispeedia, Tough Soles and Iron Maiven in the fourth quarter.
In the first quarter, it momentarily looked like Rocky Mountain had the solid upper hand. LA only scored once in the opening 9 jams, leaving Rocky Mountain up 22-4 after ten minutes; the Rocky lead peaked at 32-10 with thirty seconds left on the quarter clock. That 22 point advantage ended up being the largest lead for either team throughout the game; Laguna Beyatch used a power jam topped off with a nice apex jump to pull down a much needed 13-0 to close the quarter at 32-23 Rocky Mountain.
RMRG's lead swung between 1 and 13 points for most of the second quarter, but LA finally took the lead for the first time with 1:40 left in the half, as it was again Laguna Beyatch on a key jam as she put jukes on Bob Loblaw and Amanda Jaminitya to take a 4-0 that put LA up 53-52. However, AJ took the star next on a powerjam and got 5-0 of her own to put Rocky in the lead again at halftime, 57-53.
In the second half, things got even more heated -- the largest lead for either team during the last 30 minutes was 11 points. On the fourth jam of the third quarter, LA's Laguna Beyatch continued being at the center of swing moments as she put up a 10-0 powerjam with another apex jump that got LA ahead 65-62. About six minutes later, a hectic five-jam sequence saw Rocky and LA trade the lead, tie at 71-71, and then trade the lead once more. That ended with Rocky up 79-75; two jams later the third quarter ended at 79-78, still favoring Rocky.
The fourth quarter foulouts started hitting LA first, as V. Lee was gone after two jams. LA's Cris Affliction put her team in front with a 4-0 over Fiona Grapple, but Rocky's Amanda Jamitinya took 7-0 with the help of a 4-2 Rocky Mountain pack and Rocky Mountain was up 92-85 with about 10 minutes to play.
LA lost another player in Mickispeedia there, but LA won the next two and went up 95-92 with 8 to play. After a scoreless jam, Rocky Mountain suffered a major blow when DeRanged fouled out; Rocky wouldn't lead the game again.
That didn't mean they wouldn't almost win, though. With the score 103-96 LA and Rocky Mountain's Psycho Babble on an unopposed jam, she rolled through for a 7-0 that tied the game at 103-103 with 3:12 left -- though she fouled out, along with LA's Tough Soles, on that jam.
As it turned out, that was the first of four consecutive powerjams to end the game. Raven Seaward took 5-0 for LA next but ended in the box; Rocky Mountain's Amanda Jamitinya fouled out on that one. Next up, Fiona Grapple answered with a 5-0 of her own on powerjam, leaving the score at 108-108 with under a minute left on the clock -- and LA's Iron Maiven on her way to the locker room on a foulout.
It came down to LA's Chargin' Tina unopposed on the jammer line facing a 3-3 pack, with one point essentially worth $10,000. She carefully waited for her moment on the opening pass and then blasted through the inside corner to make it through on her scoring pass -- and wisely waited out the clock rather than going for more. As soon as the period clock hit 0, she called it off and began the celebrating for LA, who got both the purse and revenge on the first WFTDA team that had managed to best them on the bank.
Comments
Time to get SERIOUS about penalties
This game was brilliant. The officiating was outstanding. So glad I got to watch it live.
That said, when your team's penalties go from costing you nothing to costing you SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS, then this sh*t just got serious.
Congratulations to the Los Angeles Derby Dolls for pulling off a tremendous victory. Enjoy your 10 Gs.
Interesting point
I've been a proponent of forcing the skaters to skate better for a some time now, and I used to think the way to do that was to increase the punishment for infractions. You make a good point though. Put cash on the line. That might be the incentive necessary to get skaters to skate better*.
*By better I mean that right now skaters are more willing to take the risk of getting a penalty if they believe it has a high probability of paying off (they land the hit, or get past the blocker or whatever). There are some extremely competitive skaters that still do all those amazing things but only go to the box once or twice in a given bout. I would love it if all skaters raised the bar up to that level of play. Unfortunately, I think it is very difficult to make a change that would affect that given the current structure of rules modification. How much of WFTDA do you think is willing to vote "yeah, we need stricter rules". Hence liking the money level of motivation.
They're getting there...
Unfortunately, I think it is very difficult to make a change that would affect that given the current structure of rules modification. How much of WFTDA do you think is willing to vote "yeah, we need stricter rules".
Well, they sort of have been moving that way verrrrrrrry slowly:
WFTDA 1.0 (2006): No rules about fouling out.
WFTDA 2.1 / 2.1.1 (2007): Skaters could foul out of a half if they committed 4 majors, but could still commit unlimited minors. They could return to the game in the second if they fouled out of the first half.
WFTDA 3.0/3.1 (2008): Skaters could foul out of a half if they committed 4 majors OR 16 minors OR went to the box 5 times in the half. They could return to the game in the second if they fouled out of the first half.
WFTDA 4.0 (2009): Realizing how unbelievably ridiculous the 3.0/3.1 foulout rules were, the WFTDA simplifies it to 5 box trips per half. Skaters could still return to the game in the second if they fouled out of the first.
WFTDA May 2010 (current ruleset): A skater fouls out from the game for 7 accumulated penalty turns in the penalty box in a game.
The BT2011 ruleset we played under was slightly stricter than the WFTDA one, as skaters fouled out for 6 penalty turns.
When the WFTDA was working on the current ruleset, I was supporting making the foulout trigger 5 box trips (like college basketball). However, that was when I was a ref and not a bench coach, and I'm not sure I like that trigger so much anymore :)
1.0 Blatant disregard for the rules
While there was no foul out in 1.0... if I remember correctly...
Committing any major penalty 3 times would cause the skater to be removed from the game.
Almost right...
Under 1.0:
"6.4.1.2. Expulsion: Blatant Disregard for the Rules - Skaters who are penalized 3 times for the same major offense will be dismissed from the remainder of the period."
On the other hand, hardly anything was considered a major penalty back in those days of yore:
"6.2.2.2 The following infractions are considered major penalties:
6.2.2.2.1 Gross unsports-lady-like conduct
6.2.2.2.2 Illegal interference in gameplay by skaters not involved in the jam
6.2.2.2.3 Deliberate and excessive insubordination to a referee
6.2.2.2.4 Fighting
6.2.2.2.5 Any form of illegal blocking which is deemed a serious threat to other skaters, such as blocks falling above the shoulders or below the hips
6.2.2.2.6 Disregard of the rules (demonstrated by repeated minor penalties)"
And that was IT for the definition of major penalties. Considering that games were 3 periods long back then, you could theoretically get in 8 different fights through the game and still be playing in the last jam (assuming you didn't break the fighting "rules of engagement," which is a whole other story).
I feel like maybe there should be a 1.0 game at the next Rollercon just to see what would happen. Or maybe not.
Fouling out at 5 penalty minutes
That's all that needs to be done.
oh simplicity...
*By better I mean that right now skaters are more willing to take the risk of getting a penalty if they believe it has a high probability of paying off (they land the hit, or get past the blocker or whatever). There are some extremely competitive skaters that still do all those amazing things but only go to the box once or twice in a given bout. I would love it if all skaters raised the bar up to that level of play.
N8, I don't think you have it figured out as well.
as a skater...
as a skater, a year or so ago, i was not supportive of a measure to strangle the game by cutting penalties down to 5 minutes/box trips. i thought that going from 10 to 5 was entirely too big of a jump. i was supportive of a gradual movement toward that goal though. i thought that cutting it that quickly would have a choking effect on the game. cutting fouls down to 7 would be less restrictive, yet encourage a cleaner game than the 10 minutes in the game.
that's not entirely worked for every team obviously, but many teams have figured out the equation that having more people on the track = win. many teams have striven to play cleaner just because having 4 skaters on the track makes it a lot more difficult for a good jammer to get through. you can't hold back a bonnie thunders with only 2 people on the track, no matter who it is. you can have a *much* better chance with 4.
maybe, just maybe it's time to actually consider 5 box trips now. (this is coming from a skater who is a big klutz and is aggressive and goes to the box a lot. lookout now!)
Sorry but I completely disagree
I have been skating since August of 2004 and it irritates me to no end when people brush off penalties as a simple "skaters just need to be cleaner." I can tell you that I am now in 2011 a much cleaner and better skater than I have ever been in the past, but because the rules continue to get more ridiculous I am also now spending more time in the penalty box.
Sure, there are many rules that completely make sense and help keep our game safe. But there are plenty of nitpicky rules on the books that I don't believe are making it safe (or fun for that matter which is the ONLY reason I want to be in this sport at all).
I would LOVE to see our sport get rid of minors and only call penalties on things that are actually effecting the game. I can tell you that 2011 was the first year where I have seriously considered quitting because the game itself is pretty shitty to play these days.
Here's a fan who 100% agrees with Winona
From a fan perspective, the constant whistle and the ticky-tack nature of some penalties is really annoying to watch. One egregious example from the Gotham-RMRG game: A GG jammer was penalized (I think) for trying to call off the jam while not completely upright. Gotham challenged the ruling, which led to about a ten-minute delay while the refs huddled to figure it out. All over an action which didn't affect safety and which (IMO) should be handled by just having the jammer ref ignore the attempt.
What penalty?
A jammer can call off the jam upright, on one knee, on her back, in bounds, out of bounds... anything except on her way to the penalty box.
banked
N8- the post is in reference to friday's banked bout, not the previous saturday's wftda bout.
Ah
Oops, I should have realized that. Forgot what thread this was in.
:D
I think we agree on some things
And probably disagree on others.
There are definitely a lot of box trips due to things that people didn't go to the box for in the past. For example, Champs saw a butt load of clockwise block minors and majors due to all of the rugby starts. There are also lots of things going on with split/no packs and out of play penalties and so on.
Some things like that I probably wouldn't include in "skaters need to skate better". I would be happy with cleaning up the rules in ways that keep play fair but reduce the frequency of trips for things that are less about skate skill.
I would not immediately agree on impact is what needs to determine level of penalty. First of all, it means that a skater's skill is inversely proportional to how likely she is to draw a penalty: a poor skater will fall to a smaller action whereas a better skater will stay upright or not even accrue a minor.
Another example, I think any use of forearms should be illegal. Many skaters are good at skating, but still get lots of forearms and elbows because they're still sloppy skaters. These are the kinds of infractions I want to see enforced more. The no minors bout at ECDX saw skaters grabbing opponents' arms and pulling them (and leaving nasty bruises) because there wasn't enough impact to call a penalty, so I'm extremely wary of the last version of no minors I saw. That kind of no minors is not something I think is good for derby.
As is my standard metric, there are stats out there (well... not publicly available anywhere, but they exist). What if I told you that a team at Champs had one of their top jammers taking a trip to the box an average of 1.44 times per bout while skating in an average 14.75 jams per bout (regionals and champs included)? It's not just possible, there are already skaters doing it. I want to see entire teams doing that (like MNRG did against Charm).
I welcome all other suggestions for encouraging that kind of behavior.
Roller Skating is a constant
Roller Skating is a constant balancing act, add full contact and there's no way that All forearm contact should be illegal, and it's not because they're "sloppy skaters". I really don't agree with your pretentious assumptions and its these instances where i'm thankful that it is the skaters that dictate the rules.
Speaking as a fan, i found
Speaking as a fan, i found that, by the end of the weekend, i began to enjoy the attrition of foul-outs at the ends of the games. It seemed like an important part of the overall rhythm of the game. I found this interesting, because i would have assumed i would have hated the fact that key players would be gone during the most critical junctures of the bouts, but i didn't. I liked it. Go figure.
I also enjoy the attrition at
I also enjoy the attrition at the end of a game, where all the chickens come home to roost and the consequences of an entire game add up. It also increases the importance of good bench and penalty management. That is an art form of its own, as Demanda proved in the LADD/Rocky game. The ejections for Rocky at the end of that game were much less severe in their game impact than they were in the Gotham/Rocky game.
The reason I think foul outs are fan friendly, is because it tests the strength of the whole team, and it's when the skaters who aren't run as often get to show their stuff and be the heroes or learn what they need to work on.
Some penalties have not kept up with the times
In talking about encouraging skaters to skate better and cleaner, I think there's a problem area in the definition of penalties at the expert skater level in today's game.
The penalty I'm talking about is: back blocking. Flat out, if a skater in front initiates a rearward block, there should no longer be a back blocking call. If she compresses her legs and extends them to position her center of gravity rearward, she is the initiator.
I'm also inclined to say that contact between the waist and legs should be removed from the definition of "back" in calling back blocks. Hitting a low skating booty, should be like running into low brick wall at the top level of skating, and when I see that called as a back block, it's insulting to my intelligence.
That is a move a skater should execute at their own risk, and should be an allowed part of the engagement zone.
I think this would reduce penalty box trips from what is essentially some of the best game play we see.
I see the consequences of that rule change all as improvements to the game. With a terrifying adjustment period for leagues who aren't at the top tier.
We all know which skaters can take an Atomatrix or Deranged speed impact in a booty block. Isn't that the level of skill we want the sport to strive for? At least at the upper division level of both banked and flat?
And it's impossible to present a booty block unless your shoulders are way forward and your knees are way bent. If a skater is skating upright enough to make contact with their shoulders to waist the likely first contact zone, their legs won't be bent enough to juke with the jammer. A wall of upright skaters would risk the jammer doing a c-cut and a shoulder to shoulder block would knock the whole wall down like dominoes. There are lots of interesting trade-offs in strategy vs risk, and none of them seem more dangerous than what is allowed today.
It would also encourage skaters to be a lot more attentive to looking behind when there's an approaching jammer.
And if that kind of rule was written, it would also have to anticipate skaters suddenly straightening up to "draw contact" with the shoulder to waist after first contact with the booty.
The way back blocking calls are made now, I think it is encouraging tactics that suck the life out of the game. I'm sorry, but knocking down Atom, Tannibal, Deranged, Psycho, Echo, AJ, and all of the other skaters of their skill level who are in that low booty block position, should be something you get a ribbon for, not a penalty. And every ambitious skater is striving for that kind of skill level.
Penalty Nuance
Ok, Booty back blocking assuming the blocker initiates backward motion toward a jammer seems fair.
Hitting between the waist and the legs? Does that include "baseball slides" or falls into the backs of blocker legs? e.g. Rocky jammer UJBB's slide into the back of Gotham blocker legs in their Continental Divide bout and getting a 9-10 spare; I see that as a potential injury risk and something that I believe should continue to be penalized. Or are we talking about jammer contact from say the waist to the upper back legs? If little or no impact caused to a blocker then sure, let it go.
Hey, we all know what a booty
Hey, we all know what a booty is when we see it. Legally defining that engagement zone is something for greater minds than mine. The area generally surrounding the gluteus maximus muscles? That's a pretty specific technical definition.
1000 words
Xena Paradox found and shared this picture of Loretta Scars from Charm City at Champs. Seemed very appropriate.
Mean booty block and a face to match
Not really adding anything to the discussion, but loved the picture.
DIVISIONS!
Divisions, divisions, divisions. Create divisions in play and remove minors from upper level game play.
And what Holly says above is THEE truth:
"Roller Skating is a constant balancing act, add full contact and there's no way that All forearm contact should be illegal, and it's not because they're "sloppy skaters"."