Well, let's move away froom serious competition for a moment, and take a look at some fun stuff!
There is a review of "Xanadu" on DVD from the Washington Post, and just looking at the pictures jogs my foggy memory of seeing this when I was a kid, on TV - or was it at the drive-in with my sister?

I learned to roller skate at the local skating rink in Forest City, NC when I was about 4 or 5 years old. The building was turned into a dance hall/bar in later years, and the rink moved down the road, but I have memories of being 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 going to the skating rink on weekend afternoons, and sometimes in the evenings, to my older sister's chagrin as I tagged along. I remember skating under the disco ball, with the laser lights all over the wood floor (I think it was wood then) and learning to skate faster, go backwards, slalom, spin and dance on rented quad skates that at that time, were in good repair and were the only kind you could get.

I skated to "YMCA", "I wish they all could be Carolina girls" , "You dropped the bomb on me" , "Beat It" and all sorts of disco and early 80's tunes.

I skated every weekend until I was about 12 when for Christmas, what I wanted was my own pair of speed skates. By then I had skated at skating rinks in every city we had moved to across NC and was back in Forest City. the new skating rink was larger, with smooth concrete floors, and older girls would fly around on a speed track during a section of the nightly skate... and I wanted to do that. So off I went on my first pair of speed skates, white with pink wheels.

I got faster, but never had a friend that wanted to skate like me, and never thought to ask for help or a coach. So I learned by myself and loved it. Skating as fast as you can to Bon Jovi when you are 13 and "Shot through the Heart" is blaring is just awesome.

All night skates 7 PM to 7 AM were a trip, and I grew up on those skates. Once I skated down a one block steep hill on the street, I fell at the bottom when I panicked when I heard a car coming over the hill to intercept me (no way I was stopping at that speed) and I bounced and slid across the road backwards on my rear. The car did hit me, but only the wheels of my skates and it spun me around as it flew by, never braking, and my friends shrieked in horror from the grass beside the road. I dunno what happend when I got a car and turned 16 and started running around all teenage crazy... but my skates got put away and lost.

Now I have two pairs in a skate bag with all my roller derby gear, waiting for me to pick them back up and get back on wheels. For now, I am going to start concentrating on Derby Luv, and I'll be ready to train as a rookie fresh meat player in the fall to start over from scratch.

So for this weekend?
HCRG is hosting a charity event "Schoolyard Scramble". The entire league, names drawn out of a hat for instant team split up, and scrimmage! For info visit the website, or check your facebook and myspace for Hammer City Roller girls. I think this is a really fun idea, and I look forward to hearing if Jet Girl takes my advice and starts a game of Red Rover, Red Rover in the pack.

What games/events are you going to? Let me know and tell us about them! info @ derbyluv.com!

Labels: Derby Luv, Hammer City, HCRG, roller derby, roller rinks, roller skating

Let me tell ya, derby luvvers and rollergirls alike, I saw the most frustrating, surprising, longest derby game I have seen so far on Saturday night when I travelled from Hamilton ON to Toronto to see the HCRG travel team taking on the ToRD .

First off, everyone that's not been up to date on roller derby WFTDA news, or that has not yet switched their leagues over to the new (released in May 2008) 3.0 WFTDA rules and regs for flat track roller derby, get ready!

So let me tell you about the game. ToRD's CN Power surprised me. I've seen a few of the Toronto roller derby teams play, the Gore Gore Rollergirls played the Contrabanditas in Montreal in our first-ever exhibition game when we were newbs and the 'ditas won, but it was close.

The ToRD teams played at Beast of the East and were beaten by their opponents in the tournament 20 minute periods. But ToRd surprised everyone and had really gotten some of the best players from their 6 teams that did a great job, skated well, and traded some great hits. (I'll have some videos up on You Tube soon if there aren't any yet). For those that thought Toronto was a show league and not tough, just learned that it's not necessarily true.

As for the always hard-core, always top-notch skating HCRG, out of 14 players on their travel team, a note of inspiration here, 5 of them are Death Row Dames players, which is HCRG's newest team, and those players are all fresh meat rookies or have played less than one year. That is awesome!

Now, here's where it gets problematic. HCRG was playing under 2.1.1 rules, and found out that ToRD has already been into 3.0 rules as of the start of this season for them a week before the bout. Advantage ToRD. HCRG agreed to play under the new rules, but had only 2 refs in attendance (one being placed as an outside stats ref the whole game) and one good ref as bench manager/coach for the game.

You can chalk up some of the penalties to the rules, some to the hard-hitting playing, but the reffing at this game was super-tight. I saw calls that made it seem like we were turning roller derby into a non-contact sport. There were more jams with only 1 jammer (cause one was in the penalty box) than I've ever seen, and about three times, the packs were there, with NO jammers on the floor at all.

And per v 3.0 rules:

6.4.5 JAMMERLESS JAM
If both Jammers are in the penalty box at the start of a jam or are pulled mid-jam, the jam will end immediately. Both Jammers will turn over their helmet covers to alternate teammates on the track who will act as Jammers, and a new jam will start. The penalized Jammers in the box will re-enter play as Blockers once their penalties have been served.

Another jam had HCRG skating with a pivot and one blocker only, against a full CN Power pack. HCRG may have been disappointed, but even the CN Power team noticed the strict reffing. I have full respect for those that put on the stripes and ref us crazy derby girls voluntarily, but this was just crazy. One of the HCRG players fell, a CN Power skater tripped over her, and the HCRG took a penalty on that. I saw it, no intent to trip was made so what was the penalty for? I don't know, and at times, neither the audience nor the players knew what the penalties were called for or who on. Tough game for both leagues.

HCRG had players so clean they get through with NO penalties taking the penalty box and 3 player period expulsions (foul outs) through the game, including Carla Coma and Dicey, and I think it was Vicadoom but I was working merch with StapleHead for HCRG at one point and couldn't hear the announcer very well.

But not to cry, you live under the rules that are set, the refs that enforce them and skate your ass off, right? Well these team battled it out, for sure.

The score was tied several times, and the lead switched back and forth as HCRG would get ahead, and CN Power would catch up and surpass and at the end of the second period, the score was 61-61.

So it was close, vicious, and by the end of the third period, the HCRG Eh! team came through and had a 30 point advantage. CN Power did not give up, the refs relaxed and called a little less, and it was a good third period leaving the HCRG with only a 13 point lead, winning with 105-92.

Now what made the game long.... maybe I am spoiled from Montreal where beer goes with sports like coffee goes with the morning commute, but what is it in Ontario with the beer rooms?
I first saw it in Hamilton's arena when I and the 'Ditas took on the Steel Town Tank Girls in a double header event, but the beer sales/drinking was in a room with windows above the arena so you could see the game.

In Toronto, the room they can serve beer in has been turned into a albeit cutely decorated beer tavern with a video feed (no sound) of the game on a TV screen, but is so far from the arena floor that the ToRD is forced to add in 20 minute intermissions for fans to go get drinks between the periods (and there was sometimes a line up to get in, because the room has a capacity). For those of us that didn' t have time to play around ended up chugging what we could get our hands on, and going thirsty when there was no time to wait to go into the room. The crowd, compared to even lighter crowds in Montreal, wasn't quite as rowdy either. The arena is bigger though, so it could have been an optical illusion - I would love to hear some attendance numbers from the ToRD.

All in all, a successful event, a good game and a win for HCRG. Not a bad re-entry into roller derby after my relocation. I am excited to get back rollin'. ... Sunday I went to my first practice with HCRG, and after 3 months off skate (injury and then the move) I have a lot of little muscles I forgot about that are screaming today. I look forward to working more with the great Hamilton skaters and their great and nice coach to take my skills up the 4 notches I need to be a good HCRG player.... I'll get to watch them take on MTLRD July 12th, so I'll see my old league and my new league and will not know who to cheer for... LOL

take care and keep rollin!

Labels: bouts, HCRG, ToRD

So I am all settled into Hammer City (Hamilton) Ontario. I finally bumped into Staplehead, Hammer City Rollergirls' League President yesterday, and I may get to finally strap my skates back on for the first time since straining a calf muscle in late March or so. (Sunday for a 4 hour practice) - Yay! Skates! But I'm nervous a bit. I know two months is a long time off-skate, maybe I will suck and make a bad first impression... or maybe I'll be fine and then may feel bad if I can't work out a schedule to make the weekday practices... either way, I may be down trodden. I'll keep you posted as I try to revive my roller derby career now that my relocation is done.

In the meantime, I have not given up on roller derby at all, and I hope you haven't given up on Derby Luv. I have been perusing news, like this article that revisits "Hell On Wheels" at austin360.com and did you hear that The Death Row Dames in Hamilton won over Ottawa Roller Derby on May 24th? That's what I heard! And Saskatoon got it's first taste of roller derby when The Hell's Belles and Bridge City Bombshells played to a sold out crowd this past weekend.

I've talked to Hammer City folks, and hear there is a game coming up with the Steel Town Tank Girls vs The London Thrashers next week (jun 7). (more details when I have them). In Toronto, the TORD is playing on the same date, The Death Track Dolls take on the Bay Street Bruisers.

And there is "Skate Through This" a double header in Montreal on June 14th. Les Filles du Roi will be going up against Boston B-Party and La Racaille against the Charm City B-Team.
Also on the 14th: Calgary's CRDA Hellion Rebellion Travel Team vs. Victoria's Eves of Destruction, in Victoria, BC.

Lots of summer derby fun for everyone! Stay tuned, I'm back and ready to bring you some more roller derby news!

Labels: bouts, Derby Luv, Hammer City, MTLRD, roller derby