Sour Smash Roller Derby Bout

Dianne and I capped off our visit to Louisville yesterday (more on other activities in a future post) by attending the Sour Smash event at the Kentucky Expo Center where the Derby City Roller Girls hosted the Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls. We thought, and rightly so, that the BBRG would need a couple more people in the crowd cheering for them. It was a good match with the BBRG beating DCRG by a score of 106 to 41!

The Black-n-Bluegrass Roller Girls took the lead on the first jam and never looked back. They easily adapted to the faster surface and the pack was moving fairly fast. The photo above and right shows BBRG jammer EMolition and DCRG jammer Envy Miyoni. The first period was a bit strange in that there were several zero/zero jams. At face value, that isn’t out of the realm of possibility. It was just the way the jams were called off that was strange – sometimes the DCRG lead jammer was ahead and in the open and called off the jam without even trying to get one or two points before the BBRG jammer could catch the pack. There were some tough blockers on the DCRG team – of particular note was Sk8 Ninja who dished out many hard blocks. The photo at right shows Morgue Ann le Slayer going down after a hit from Sk8 Ninja. Despite the DCRG blocking, there were several jams where the BBRG scored 4 or 5 and DCRG had zero. EMolition, Roseanne Scarr, and Morgue Ann le Slayer were rotating as jammers and at the end of the first period BBRG was ahead by 28 to 13. The photo below shows everyone looking at Roseanne to either block or help her.



The second period was generally more of the same, with a lot of tough blocking. The BBRG had a great rotation of blockers including the Hurt sisters, Hot T. Molly, and Buckhead Betty. There were a couple jams when the BBRG pack was less well organized and not able to help their jammer as well as they could, but in general there was good teamwork and excellent defense! The photo at the right shows Juwana Hurt putting the hurt on a DCRG jammer. The photo below shows the defense on both sides as Morgue Ann gets hit as Buckhead Betty dishes out a hit. At the end of the second period BBRG had opened up their lead and the score was 55-25 in their favor.



The third period saw several other BBRG skaters wearing the jammer star to get more experience and score some points. I probably will miss some folks, but Jewel B. Hurt, Aine Ass, and Hellaina Havoc all got lead jammer status. I think those additions to the jammer rotation helped spread the workload and allowed BBRG to widen their lead even more. The BBRG defense was also tough -- as shown by the Hurt sisters slowing up Envy Miyoni at right. The DCRG fought hard the entire way and they were dishing out their fair share of hard blocks. I haven’t travelled to very many away derby events, but the DCRG crowd has to be one of the most vocal that I’ve heard. It makes for an exciting derby event and must help motivate the DCRG skaters.

The Derby City folks know how to put on a fun derby event. The Kentucky Expo Center is a nice venue (although parking is $6) and they have a solid, clear sound system that made it easy to hear the announcers. The announcers were good and helped to whip the crowd into D-C R-G chants periodically. I’m not convinced about music playing during the jams, but their DJ did a great job picking tunes to add to the excitement.

During the breaks between periods, several of the BBRG folks came over to say hi. That was nice, but I wasn’t sure how well received that would be in the middle of a sea of DCRG fans :^) After the match, Dianne and I were able to talk to several of the BBRG skaters. Special thanks to Buckhead Betty and to Morgue Ann le Slayer for coming up and introducing themselves to Dianne and me. Dianne got a photo of me with Juwana Hurt (above) who had several great hits during the evening. We also got to talk with EMolition and Dianne got a photo of me with her too. It was exciting to see EMolition back in competition and she certainly posted quite a few points for BBRG. We met and talked with BBRG fan T.J., who can’t wait for BBRG to get WFTDA status and take on the Cincinnati Rollergirls in the future. We’re fortunate to have a couple derby teams in the area and there should be some exciting local derby action to see! Finally, we also got to talk with Skinny Minnie who unfortunately did a number on one of her fingers that was really swelling up fast. Hope you are doing ok.

I posted quite a few photos from the bout in a Flickr set that you can see here. There are a couple nice series of photos taken in rapid succession that shows the action unfolding. In particular I liked this series (first, second, and third) showing a sandwich block on Morgue Ann le Slayer that works out well due to some quick thinking in the pack -- and this series (first, second, and third) showing a failed attempt to slow Roseanne Scarr.

Congratulations to all the BBRG team on a big win to finish the season!

CRG and DCRG Spring Fling

Last night I went to Louisville to see the Spring Fling roller derby bout between the Derby City Roller Girls and the Cincinnati Rollergirls at the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center. It was a blow out (in fact the last name of CRG skater #32 Flavors comes to mind) with the CRG team scoring 181 compared to DCRG's 41.

This was a very different bout than the last CRG match in Indy a couple weeks ago where the pack was skating extremely fast. The DCRG pack had a slower tempo. Although CRG was pushing the speed, they were attentive to the 20 foot rule and slowed as appropriate to keep the pack tight and organized. Even when slowed down, the CRG blockers still controlled the inside and in many jams completely stalled the DCRG jammers. The photo at the right shows Blu Bayou and Sista Sacralicious blocking the DCRG jammer Envy Myoni. All that with what seemed to be not too many folks in the penalty box. An amazing job from all the blockers as usual!

It was fun for me to watch, but not much fun for the DCRG folks. I thought their fans were really great and supportive. The place erupted when, I think in the second period, a DCRG skater got lead jammer status for the first time. The DCRG was simply up against a far superior team. The DCRG group was persistent and tried hard the entire match. I thought their jammers Envy Myoni and Sir Wheel were pretty good and put out a great effort. At the conclusion of one jam I saw Sir Wheel take off her helmet and she had a disgusted look on her face. Despite her effort, things just weren't coming together for them. This photo shows Ruff'n the Passer blocking Sir Wheel.

As with the Indy bout, Sadistic Sadie, Hannah Barbaric, and Roseanne Scarr were doing most of the jamming duty. However, Sk8r-Kinney, Ruff'n the Passer, and Killian Destroy also got to wear the jammer star. It was nice to see them all zipping around the track. I lost track of how many grand slams they all had. The photo here shows Hannah Barbaric pulling on the jersey of Sk8r-Kinney to give her a little boost to get out of the pack and start her sprint.


The Cincinnati part of the crowd was pretty small. Where was the cow bell? Thanks to Juwana, I had a trackside seat with the CRG spectators and friends and got to meet and chat with a few folks including Jewel B. Hurt and Professor Murder. After the match I was able to meet Hannah Barbaric and, since Dianne is half way across the planet, Miss Print was kind enough to take a photo of us with Lamb Chop. I haven't seen a Lamb Chop puppet for years!

I put a few photos below. There are more to see in my Flickr set that you can see here. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger view and the captions.

If you haven't been able to catch the first two away matches, take advantage of the first CRG home bout coming up this Saturday at the Cincinnati Gardens. We're fortunate to have a very good WFTDA team in our backyard. It should be a fun time! Also, it's a double header so it'll be the first time seeing the Silent Lambs skate in 2008. Be there to cheer on all the ewes!

Killian Destroy, Sk8r-Kinney, and Roseanne Scarr.


Sk8r-Kinney about to pass the jammer star to Sadistic Sadie.


Envy Myoni and Hannah Barbaric sprinting.


Roseanne Scarr racing ahead of Sir Wheel.


I like this photo of June with the Cleaver going for a hit on Envy Myoni. It is the first of a series of three. See the others here and here.


My favorite series is this triptych showing one of the DCRG pivots trying to stop Sadistic Sadie (like that's going to happen). It's a nice series showing how she goes low and scoots around the blocker. In the background you can see Hannah Barbaric and Arche Enemy controlling the inside to stop the DCRG jammer. A great example of the CRG teamwork. It's a little hard to see this small, but you can see a larger version on black by clicking here or view the original here.