With no official RCR bouts scheduled this weekend, I thought I’d wait to post my coverage of the WOJ vs. Detroit bout so you crazy derby fanatics could obsess over last weekend’s action and reminisce about your own experiences (provided you didn’t get too wasted).
Last Friday, Feb. 4, the Wheels of Justice began its quest to get to Championships (from here on out known as “WOJ 2011 Domination”*) with a 197-75 rout of the Detroit Derby Girls.
It was great to see the WOJ skaters in action after a long break. Well, a long break for the fans. It’s been since mid-October that we’ve seen any all-star action on the track. For the skaters, though, there was only a short break and then it was back to skating and off-skates training with Get Fit. For the 11 WOJ skaters who decided to go travel team-only (WTF?! check out the explanation here and here), I’m sure it was a relief to finally get out on the track and kick some ass.
The Wheels of Justice started off with a 5-0 lead in the first jam. It took a mere 15 seconds for Soulfearic Acid to get lead jammer and get on her way to scoring points. Interestingly (at least to me) Cadillac started the bout donning the pivot cap and she continued to do so throughout the bout.**
White Flight jammed with amazing speed and agility against Detroit. (Photo by Sharkey)
In the four jammer rotation of Acid, White Flight, Scratcher in the Eye, and Sully Skullkicker, the ladies in purple were able to create a 60-1 lead over the Detroit Derby Girls halfway through the first half.
The WOJ blockers were able to create very effective walls against DDG and they did so using excellent communication with one another. With the impenetrable “Walls of Justice,” the Detroit jammers tried their hand at some jammer-on-jammer defense to at least try and slow down WOJ’s lightning-fast jammers, but when you’ve got White Flight sporting the star cap, jammer “D” just ain’t gonna cut it.
The Wheels of Justice also played amazing pack defense. The Detroit Derby Girls didn’t stand a chance against formidable blockers such as Blood Clottia, Napalm Beth, Mick Swagger, and Mobi-wan Kenobi. The Detroit skaters were getting knocked down left and right. And did you see Rhea DeRange?! Her positional blocking was exceptional. She continues to impress me with her versatility every time I see her play. I love watching her jam because she’s fast and knows how to navigate the pack, but her defense is so amazing–not many skaters can get past her.
And how about Mel Mangles?! In jam #13, she started out in the penalty box, and after serving her time she came out and sped up to the pack just in time to knock two DDG blockers out of play to create a hole for Acid to sneak through. Her timing was impeccable, and her hits were clean and hard.
The "Wall of Justice" in action. (Photo by Skippy Steve)
I think it’s safe to say WOJ could’ve handled Detroit with fewer than five skaters on the track (or perhaps I’m just shamelessly biased), and in fact they did so in several different jams. One jam in particular, jam #15 of the second half, stood out in my mind. At the start of the jam, Detroit had a 4-2 blocker advantage out on the track (two Wheels skaters were serving time in the penalty box), but the two WOJ blockers in play managed to contain DDG’s jammer, allowing the Wheels jammer to get out of the pack first and establish lead jammer. Of course, it helped that the jammer was White Flight. She is so quick and agile, and she uses her small size to her advantage when sneaking through holes in the opposing team’s pack defense.
There’s no denying that the Wheels of Justice is a talented team. Why else would they be ranked fourth in the West Region and fifth in the nation? But West Region teams beware. The ladies in purple are out for justice this season. No more are the days of getting screwed over by the WFTDA’s whacked out playoff structure.*** They are back with a vengeance, and they’re going to win every moment it takes get to the Western Regional Tournament and kick ass so they can advance to the Championship Tournament and bring home that beautiful Hydra Trophy.
Catch the Wheels of Justice in action at the Wild West Showdown in Bremerton, WA, on March 4-6, or sign up for the next WOJ monthly boot camp on Feb. 26 to learn tips, tricks, and skills from the best.
*”WOJ 2011 Domination” is a term I saw on Ravel Thread’s Facebook page. (Psst! They’re selling shirts with the WOJ 2011 Domination Schedule on them!)
**The only reason I found the idea of Cadi playing the pivot position interesting is because in a post on the RCR forum in which I questioned why Wreck Deckard didn’t jam more often for WOJ, Cadi explained that Wreck is a valuable blocker and that Wreck is much better at blocking than she is. Also, my friend reminded me during the bout that Cadi wearing the pivot cap means the star can be passed to her (see WFTDA’s Rule 3.5 for explanation) at any point in the jam, which makes sense to me, because Cadi wasn’t in the jammer rotation until toward the end of the first half.
***By whacked out I mean unfair. WFTDA’s current playoff structure is based on the four regions within the nation, and those regions are very unbalanced in terms of team skill level. It’s no question that the West is the best, and many of the teams within that region could handily beat teams from the other regions. The West region is strong, and kick-ass teams that deserve to be playing at Championships, like WOJ, get shafted because of a crappy playoff structure. Case in point: WOJ’s post-regional tournament ass-whooping of a win against North Central #1 seed, Windy City, weeks before Windy headed to the Championship tournament.
NICE Recap! That “1″ point Detroit got the in 2nd jam looked like it came from someone swallowing their whistle, to me. How long does it take before the Jammer ref notices Whitey is calling it? Without that one, D would have been scoreless for 8 jams.