I’ve got a fever. And the only prescription… is more DERBY! Our month-long wait will be justly rewarded this weekend with six bouts between some of the best all-star teams around. The Rat City Rollergirls (Seattle), the B.A.D. Girls (San Francisco), and the Gotham Girls (New York) will be making the trip to Rose City for the Hometown Throwdown tournament, happening at the Oaks Park hangar August 13-15. Are you ready to get your war cry on?
The biggest news for Rose City’s Wheels of Justice is the addition of three talented new skaters. The recent departures of Merciful Kate (injury), Licker*N*Split and ChestNutZ (retired from the league) left some holes in our all-star team’s defensive line-up. Enter formidable blockers Firecrotch and Shove Me Tender, and multi-talented Heidi-Go-Seek. These ladies busted their buns on our “B-level” travel team Axles of Annihilation and will be valuable additions to Wheels’ roster.
The Wheels of Justice are currently ranked #4 in the West and hold an impressive 6-2 record so far this year. Our only two losses were close battles between 2009 WFTDA Champion Oly (149-157 at the Wild West Showdown) and the Rocky Mountain Roller Girls (96-127 back in May). Since then we’ve picked up two more wins against Carolina (189-28, ouch) and Boston (87-61), both at the East Coast Extravaganza in Philadelphia in June. Our points average for the 8 games we’ve played so far is +45.5, which takes into account a close win against Philly (+2pts) and a few complete whompings (+127 against B.A.D., +161 against Carolina). But here’s something we haven’t talked about before: tournament performance. Since each team will be playing three games in as many days it’s important to note how a team handles the physical toll each bout takes on their strength and endurance. Rose City does well in tournament play- in the handful they’ve participated in over the years they’ve consistently had enough steam to keep tucking wins under their belts, even after difficult losses.
WoJ v B.A.D. at the Wild West Showdown
Rose City has met all three visiting teams on the track before. In fact, we are the only team to have played Gotham. That bout back in October ‘07 took place in the stuffy basement of a college gymnasium in Harlem, where the Wheels lost 129-86 in a tough battle. Only two ladies who skated for Wheels back then are still on the roster, Rhea DeRange and Firecrotch. That is, unless you count Wreck Deckard, who was playing for Gotham under the name Teradyktal at the time. Gotham’s roster, however, has remained relatively unchanged in the 5+ years they’ve been kicking butt and taking names. Our history with the Bay Area Derby Girls (aka B.A.D.) is a little juicier. They’ve been our closest rival for quite a while now, and although their current season has seen a lot of new talent and rebuilding, they used to be a pretty even match for Rose City. We lost to them twice in ‘08, 74-111 and 95-120, the latter being at the Western Regionals, where they knocked us out of the running. Last year we gave them a taste of their own axle grease, beating them 138-120 and 154-27. And if you’ve been around this season, you know the story between Rose City and Rat City (if not, read my bout preview from our Sibling Rivalry game last May). I’ll summarize: we’ve beaten them twice in two very exciting games (148-134, 124-105).
Speaking of Rat City, they hold the #5 spot in the West and are 5-3 for the year. This season they are averaging +27.375 points per game. Rose City hosted them at the Expo Center earlier this year, when we were treated to some really extraordinary derby. I doubt I will forget the indignant boos Anya Heels received after sending Scratcher in the Eye flying, or the icy jammer-line stare-down between Scratcher and Re-AnimateHer. Since we send them home with a loss they’ve added a win (128-120 to Texas) and two losses (107-144 to Rocky Mountain, 135-205 to Denver) to their record. Remember how I mentioned tournament play? Rat City is a bit of a mixed bag in that respect. During the early years they would come home with a few wins, or none at all, but they’ve since improved to more consistent results; at the Wild West Showdown this year they beat Tucson 270-55 and still had the energy to beat Philly (#2 in the East) 128-123. Rat City has never played Gotham, but they’ve clashed helmets with B.A.D. on four occasions and beat them every time (112-35, 93-88, 182-117, 115-103).
Despite B.A.D.’s rebuilding phase they are still holding the #6 spot in the West, and are 3-3 for the year. Even though we killed them at the Wild West Showdown they’ve shown marked improvement since then, turning out imposing wins against Sacred City (161-40) and Providence (234-65), and even put up a good fight against Philly (99-203). In addition to the loss they suffered at the hands of Rose City at the Wild West Showdown they lost to Rocky Mountain 17-195, but beat Pacific 254-31. In May they beat Sacred City 161-40 and grabbed another win at the East Coast Extravaganza against Providence (234-65) before losing to Philly 99-203. Thanks to several large wins B.A.D. is averaging +17.33 this year. When it comes to tournament play, they’re inconsistent. In the majority of tournaments they’ve played in they seem to get tired, typically losing their last game by a sizable margin. Like Rat City, B.A.D. has never played Gotham, and as I mentioned, is 2-2 against Rose City and 0-4 against Rat City. The Hometown Throwdown will see the return of Slaybia Majora to Portland, a former Heartless Heather.
Gotham v Duke City (photo by Brendan McMullen)
And now, Gotham. Where do I begin? They’ve held the #1 spot in the East for the last three quarters, although they were technically inactive last quarter. They are 4-0 for the year, and boast a +128.5 point average. Much more impressively, they have only lost 7 games ever. EVER. In the 5 years Gotham has been around they’ve played a total of 36 games. And they’ve lost 7 of them. TOTAL. Intimidated yet? Allow me to continue. Apart from three losses during their first year and one loss at the ‘07 East Coast Extravaganza, the only times Gotham has lost have been in WFTDA Championship games. In the ‘07 WFTDA National Championships Gotham lost to the eventual National Champions, the Kansas City Warriors. At the ’08 Eastern Regionals Gotham lost by a single measly point to Philly, whom they had just surpassed for the #1 East ranking. It may interest you to know that this loss to Philly snapped an eighteen-game winning streak by Gotham. And despite that loss they still went on to win the ’08 National Championship title. Lastly, at the ’09 National Championships they again lost to the eventual WFTDA National Champions, the Oly Rollers. So when Gotham is beaten, they are beaten by the best. Located in the media center of the nation, Gotham is literally the face of roller derby. In fact, new skaters take a press class where they learn to talk to the media and represent the culture of the sport. The majority of their skaters are seasoned veterans, 14 ladies have at years 4 years of experience. Gotham is home to well-known superstars like Suzy Hotrod, Kandy Kakes, and Beyonslay (who will not be playing due to a broken tibia/fibula). Powerhouse player Bonnie Thunders is the WFTDA Featured Skater for August, holds a record of 88 points in a single bout, and was the ’08 WFTDA National Championship Tournament MVP. Gotham steam-rolls the competition even in tournament play, and they clearly have the chops to keep on scoring through to the final whistle. Swede Hurt will be making her return to the Pacific Northwest after her transfer from Rat City, and Rose City’s Wreck Deckard will skate against her former teammates from Gotham.
So in case you couldn’t tell, this tournament is going to be an amazing display of athleticism and talent. The action starts Friday night at 7pm, with back-to-back bouts Gotham vs. B.A.D. and Rat City vs. Wheels of Justice. Saturday night will be B.A.D. vs Rat City and Wheels vs. Gotham, starting at 6pm. Sunday’s bouts will begin at 1pm with Gotham vs. Rat City and B.A.D. vs. Wheels. It’ll be a long haul but totally worth it, and I’ll be there as always, trying not to drool over all the awesomeness.
Click here for more info.
Axl Blows 50 // Blood Clottia 2U // Cadillac V8 // Firecrotch 16 // Heidi-Go-Seek 210 // Honey Hellfire 72 // JK Rolling 93 // Layla Smackdown 55 // Mel Mangles 5 // Mick U Cry 53 // Mobi-wan Kenobi 444 // Napalm Beth 74 // Rhea DeRange 357 // Scrappy Go Lucky 594 // Scratcher in the Eye 243 // Shove Me Tender 51 // Smack Ya Sideways 140 // Soulfearic Acid 20 // Sully Skullkicker 8 // Wreck Deckard 23
Anna Bollock 00 // B. Zerk 100 // Beatrix Slaughter 42 // Beyonslay 40 // Bonnie Thunders 340 // Carmen Monoxide 12 // Donna Matrix 2 // Em Dash – // Fisti Cuffs 241 // Ginger Snap 80 // Hard Anya 4 // Haulin Cass 10-4 // Hela Skelter 31 // Hyper Lynx 404 // Kandy Kakes 10 // OMG WTF 753 // Papierschnitt 8 1/2×11 // Steel Magnolia 61 // Suzy Hotrod 55 // Swede Hurt 46 // Sweet Sherry Pie 201
Anya Heels 6 // Carmen Getsome 12 // Drea the Slaya 5 // Georgia O’Grief 2 // Hardcora 247 // Ima Handful 19 // Jalapeño Business 22 // Juliet Bravo 76 // Katarina Whip 60 // Kamikaze Kim 00 // Nasty Trick 40 // Re-AnimateHer 31 // Rebel Belle 711 // Primp Daddy 73 // Sara Problem 26 // Shedonist 615 // Sirius Mischief 9 // Valtron 3000 // Wile E Peyote 21 // X-Khan 18
Aunti Christ 666 // Astronaughty C // Belle “Right” Hooks 1619 // BooYaYa 16 // Brawllen Angel 888 // Burly Bot 333 // Chantilly Mace 26 // Demanda Riot 0:00 // Frank N Hurter 73 // Friskie Meow 7 // Ivy Profane 100 // Jane Hammer 777 // Liza Machete 1 // Lusty Malice 4 // Nock Nock 32 // Slaybia Majora 0 // Sugar Pusher 170 // Trixie Pixie 360 // Velveteen Savage 1.618 // Windigo Jones 1491
