52 in 52 updated

Round round get around I get around

Derby, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the USS midnight matinee – its mission – to boldly try once more for 52 in 52

Keep checking my Flickr site at Midnight Matinee for the latest Derby photos and more!

 

1. Saturday, June 1, 2013 – Queen City Roller Girls Championship – Devil Dollies vs. Nickel City Knockouts – Rainbow Rink – Buffalo, NY
2. Saturday, May 25, 2013 – Toronto Roller Derby semi-finals – Gore Gore Rollergirls vs. Smoke City Betties – D-VAS vs. South Simcoe – The Bunker – Parc Downsview Park, ONTARIO
3. Saturday, May 18, 2013 – Detroit Derby Girls championship 2012-13 – Detroit Pistoffs vs. Grand Prix Madonnas – Detroit, Michigan – Masonic Temple 
4. Saturday, May 11, 2013 – Queen City Roller Girls playoffs – Nickel City Knockouts vs. Alley Kats / Devil Dollies vs. Suicidal Saucies – Rainbow Rink, North Tonawanda, NY
5. Saturday, May 4, 2013 – DRRD 2013 Season Opener – Northumberland vs. DRRDy Farmers, Atom Smashers vs. Motor City Madames – Ajax, ONTARIO
6. Beast of the East – Friday, April 27 to Sunday, April 29, 2013 – Montreal, Quèbec
7. Sunday, April 21, 2013 – TORONTO JUNIOR ROLLER DERBY and TORONTO MEN’S ROLLER DERBY presents Fundraising Scirmmage – The Bunker, Toronto, ONTARIO
8. Saturday, April, 20, 2013 – Long Island vs. Lake Effect Furies / Devil Dollies vs. Suicidal Saucies – Queen City – Rainbow Rink, Tonawanda, NY – birhday weekend
9. Saturday, April 13, 2013 – Toronto Roller Derby 2013 presents Home Season Games 3 & 4 – Chicks Ahoy! vs. Smoke City Betties / Death Track Dolls vs. Gore Gore Roller-Girls
10. Sunday, April 7, 2013 – Big Hittin’ in Little Britain – Alliston Bombshell Battalion vs. Peterborough Jamazons / Lindsay vs. Northumberland – Peterborough, Ontario
11. Saturday, April 6, 2013 – Vicious Dishes vs. TKOs – TCRG season opener – New Hamburg, Ontario
12. Saturday, March 30, 2013 – Death Track Dolls vs. Timber Rollers / Thames Fatales vs. Luscious Lunch Ladies – Western Agriplex, London, Ontario
13. Sunday, March 24, 2013 – Quad City Chaos 2013 – in the books
14. Saturday, March 23, 2013 – Quad City Chaos 2013 – The Bunker, Parc Downsview Park, Ontario – done
15. Saturday, March 16, 2013 – first time on the road to photo Woodstock Warriors vs. DRRDy Farmers from Durham !
16. Sunday, March 10, 2013 – NCKO practice – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
17. Saturday, March 10, 2013 – Queen City Roller Girls presents “Bewitched” – Ice Ice Babies vs. Cereal Killers / Nickel City Knockouts vs. Alley Kats – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
18. Saturday, March 3, 2013 – Forest City Derby Girls presents Full Contact Derby – FCDG Plan B Activate vs. Vicious Dishes and Friends [Tri-City] / Forest City Timber Rollers vs. The Brute-Leggers [Royal City Roller Girls] – Western Agriplex, London, Ontario
19. Tuesday, February 26, 2013 – Durham vs. Bay Street Bruisers – Coachlite, Oshawa, Ontario
20. Sunday, February 24, 2013 – HCRG vs. Toronto Roller Derby – Caledon Fair, Caledon, Ontario
21. Saturday, February 23, 2013 – D-VAS vs. Tenacious B’s – Queensmount Arena, Kitchener, Ontario
22. Thursday, February 21, 2013 – Durham vs. Gore Gore Rollergirls – Coachline, Oshawa, Ontario
23. Tuesday, February 19, 2013 – Durham vs. D-VAS – Coachlite, Oshawa, Ontario
24. Sunday, February 17, 2013 – Alley Kats, Suicidal Saucies, NCKO practice – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
25. Saturday, February 16, 2013 – Queen City presents “Bewitched” – Ice Ice Babies vs. Cereal Killers / NCKO vs. Devil Dollies
26. Saturday, February 9, 2013 – Orangeville Pulp Affliction vs. Fergus Feims – Orangeville Fairgroundd, Orangeville, Ontario
27. Monday, February 4, 2013 – Los Coños vs. Rollergettes – Ancaster Fairgrounds, Ancaster, Ontario
28. Sunday, February 3, 2013 – Toronto Roller Derby presents…Toronto All-Star Roller Derby hosted training camp and WFTDA-rules officiating clinic – The Bunker, Toronto, Ontario
29. Sunday, February 3, 2013 – HCRG Eh! vs. Killamazoo Derby Darlins – Caledonia Fair, Caledon, Ontario
30. Saturday, February 2, 2013 – CN Power vs. Killamazoo Derby Darlins / Bay Street Bruisers vs. Killa Crew – The Bunker, Toronto, Ontario
31. Sunday, January 27, 2013 – NCKO practice – Rainbow Rink, Queen City / Buffalo, NY
32. Saturday, January 26, 2013 – Doin’ It Our Way – Lake Effect Furies vs. Rideau Valley Vixens / Alley Kats vs. Devil Dollies – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
33. Saturday, January 26, 2013 – Open Scrimmage hosted by Toronto Roller Derby TMNT vs Power Rangers! – The Bunker, Toronto, Ontario
34. Saturday, January 19, 2013 – Tri-City No Minors Bootcamp – New Hamburg Arena, New Hamburg, Ontario

 

DSC_8286_20130511_194328

DSC_8286_20130511_194328, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Suicidal Saucies

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DSC_6289_20130426_193114 Beast of the East

DSC_6289_20130426_193114, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Beast of the East CN Power vs. New Skids on the Block

Quel experience!

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RDPC 2012 – some nice news

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151843979680744

RDPC 2012

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Derby travel – round round get around I get around – 52 in 52

Round round get around I get around

Derby, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the USS midnight matinee – its mission – to boldly try once more for 52 in 52

• Saturday, June 1, 2013 – Queen City Roller Girls Championship – Devil Dollies vs. Nickel City Knockouts – Rainbow Rink – Buffalo, NY
• Saturday, May 25, 2013 – Toronto Roller Derby semi-finals – Gore Gore Rollergirls vs. Smoke City Betties – D-VAS vs. South Simcoe – The Bunker – Parc Downsview Park, ONTARIO
• Saturday, May 18, 2013 – Detroit Derby Girls championship 2012-13 – Detroit Pistoffs vs. Grand Prix Madonnas – Detroit, Michigan – Masonic Temple 
• Saturday, May 11, 2013 – Queen City Roller Girls playoffs – Nickel City Knockouts vs. Alley Kats / Devil Dollies vs. Suicidal Saucies – Rainbow Rink, North Tonawanda, NY
• Saturday, May 4, 2013 – DRRD 2013 Season Opener – Northumberland vs. DRRDy Farmers, Atom Smashers vs. Motor City Madames – Ajax, ONTARIO
• Beast of the East – Friday, April 27 to Sunday, April 29, 2013 – Montreal, Quèbec
• Sunday, April 21, 2013 – TORONTO JUNIOR ROLLER DERBY and TORONTO MEN’S ROLLER DERBY presents Fundraising Scirmmage – The Bunker, Toronto, ONTARIO
• Saturday, April, 20, 2013 – Long Island vs. Lake Effect Furies / Devil Dollies vs. Suicidal Saucies – Queen City – Rainbow Rink, Tonawanda, NY – birhday weekend
• Saturday, April 13, 2013 – Toronto Roller Derby 2013 presents Home Season Games 3 & 4 – Chicks Ahoy! vs. Smoke City Betties / Death Track Dolls vs. Gore Gore Roller-Girls
• Sunday, April 7, 2013 – Big Hittin’ in Little Britain – Alliston Bombshell Battalion vs. Peterborough Jamazons / Lindsay vs. Northumberland – Peterborough, Ontario
• Saturday, April 6, 2013 – Vicious Dishes vs. TKOs – TCRG season opener – New Hamburg, Ontario
• Saturday, March 30, 2013 – Death Track Dolls vs. Timber Rollers / Thames Fatales vs. Luscious Lunch Ladies – Western Agriplex, London, Ontario
• Sunday, March 24, 2013 – Quad City Chaos 2013 – in the books
• Saturday, March 23, 2013 – Quad City Chaos 2013 – The Bunker, Parc Downsview Park, Ontario – done
• Saturday, March 16, 2013 – first time on the road to photo Woodstock Warriors vs. DRRDy Farmers from Durham !
• Sunday, March 10, 2013 – NCKO practice – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
• Saturday, March 10, 2013 – Queen City Roller Girls presents “Bewitched” – Ice Ice Babies vs. Cereal Killers / Nickel City Knockouts vs. Alley Kats – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
• Saturday, March 3, 2013 – Forest City Derby Girls presents Full Contact Derby – FCDG Plan B Activate vs. Vicious Dishes and Friends [Tri-City] / Forest City Timber Rollers vs. The Brute-Leggers [Royal City Roller Girls] – Western Agriplex, London, Ontario

• Tuesday, February 26, 2013 – Durham vs. Bay Street Bruisers – Coachlite, Oshawa, Ontario
• Sunday, February 24, 2013 – HCRG vs. Toronto Roller Derby – Caledon Fair, Caledon, Ontario
• Saturday, February 23, 2013 – D-VAS vs. Tenacious B’s – Queensmount Arena, Kitchener, Ontario
• Thursday, February 21, 2013 – Durham vs. Gore Gore Rollergirls – Coachline, Oshawa, Ontario
• Tuesday, February 19, 2013 – Durham vs. D-VAS – Coachlite, Oshawa, Ontario
• Sunday, February 17, 2013 – Alley Kats, Suicidal Saucies, NCKO practice – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
• Saturday, February 16, 2013 – Queen City presents “Bewitched” – Ice Ice Babies vs. Cereal Killers / NCKO vs. Devil Dollies
• Saturday, February 9, 2013 – Orangeville Pulp Affliction vs. Fergus Feims – Orangeville Fairgroundd, Orangeville, Ontario

• Monday, February 4, 2013 – Los Coños vs. Rollergettes – Ancaster Fairgrounds, Ancaster, Ontario
• Sunday, February 3, 2013 – Toronto Roller Derby presents…Toronto All-Star Roller Derby hosted training camp and WFTDA-rules officiating clinic – The Bunker, Toronto, Ontario
• Sunday, February 3, 2013 – HCRG Eh! vs. Killamazoo Derby Darlins – Caledonia Fair, Caledon, Ontario
• Saturday, February 2, 2013 – CN Power vs. Killamazoo Derby Darlins / Bay Street Bruisers vs. Killa Crew – The Bunker, Toronto, Ontario
• Sunday, January 27, 2013 – NCKO practice – Rainbow Rink, Queen City / Buffalo, NY
• Saturday, January 26, 2013 – Doin’ It Our Way – Lake Effect Furies vs. Rideau Valley Vixens / Alley Kats vs. Devil Dollies – Rainbow Rink, Buffalo, NY
• Saturday, January 26, 2013 – Open Scrimmage hosted by Toronto Roller Derby TMNT vs Power Rangers! – The Bunker, Toronto, Ontario
• Saturday, January 19, 2013 – Tri-City No Minors Bootcamp – New Hamburg Arena, New Hamburg, Ontario

Keep checking my Flickr site at Midnight Matinee for the latest Derby photos and more!

V is for Vicious Dishes, T is for TKOs – TCRG launches season

Nekro-Nancy of the Vicious Dishes gives a small taste of this weekend’s excitement as Tri-City Roller Girls open their season.

T
his Saturday won’t be anything less than fantastic!

The Vicious Dishes and TKO’s respectively have been awaiting this moment. With both teams having a new line up of not-so-fresh-anymore meat who are just itching to put the last year of intense training to use, it is sure to be an exciting game for anyone watching! There will be new faces at the jammer line that have not been seen by our fans before, there will be new styles of hits that will knock the wind out of the fans, and the other player, of course. The Dishes also have a new coach, Shamis, who has brought many new plays and ideas to the round table having coached for an assortment of teams and sports over the years.

Needless to say, the fans are going to see something they’ve never seen come out of TCRG, not only newly drafted players, but coaches, captains, new contests and of course, no more minor penalties!

This game will keep everyone on the edge of their seats and toe stops as no one will be able to predict what’s coming next! Click on the link for a chance to win tickets to the home opener: TICKETS.

[editor's note: Thanks Nekro-Nancy!]

London Rolling – epic battle royales with debut of Timber Rollers and newlook Fatales and Lunch Ladies

As a lead-in to the weekend ahead, Forest City correspondent Jen Wilson in the guise of jenr8.com brings her derby savvy and keen photographic insights from the January doubleheader.

Luscious Lunch Ladies

T

he night started out with a battle royale between the Luscious Lunch Ladies and the Thames Fatales. These two London teams are full of new players so it was a great game to pit the raw power of each new lineup against the other. One major change was that Mighty Thor [ed.note: noooooo!] is now gone from the roster and Torque E Mada has migrated from the Thames to the Lunch Ladies. Going through six years of existence, maybe it was time for another shake-up in the league.

Thames Fatales

The Lunch Ladies gained a lead at the beginning. With Clawberry Shortcake and Kindree Surprise doing most of the jamming for the Thames, the Lunch Ladies had to work that much harder to stay ahead. Torque E Mada was playing cat and mouse with the Thames Fatales, and Boxkick Betty had a hell of a comeback for the Lunch Ladies after being in healing mode for the better part of the year.

Captain Anne Tastic along with Kilary Tough, Spock Blocker Chelsea Swagger on the Lunch Ladies were forces to be reckoned with. Sewciopath was a monster on the track and was cut from the game during half time for a major misconduct. There was a lot of action in the sin bin to be sure, but the game was generally good-natured. The Lunch Ladies held their lead through the game and won 218 to 119. Lots of action and good plays by both teams, and kudos to all the new players.

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Timber Rollers

All of this was leading up to the second game. London’s new travel team was being unveiled to play the TCRD Plan B travel team. The excitement was palpable. I thought that this might be the only home game they would play so it was epic just to be there. Many great players from both London teams have joined together to become the … Timber Rollers! They were pumped, and watching Plan B practice before the game gave promise to a good match.

Newly anointed Timber Rollers Captain LB Cakes [Tracy Regan-Moss] of the Timber Rollers was psyched up for their inaugural bout.

Plan B in action

“The team was really pumped about our debut as a travel team. With it being our first game, our focus was to play hard, get used to each other in a game setting, and put ourselves on the map as far as ratings were concerned. This took a lot of pressure off the team and allowed us to just enjoy the energy of the whole evening. Tri-City is a phenomenal team and one not to be taken lightly.”

Hellcat of Panar

Plan B had the lead in the first quarter with the Hellcat of Panar [freshly moved over from Royal City] jamming like a firecracker. The score was 58 to 37 and LB Cakes was jamming hard trying to keep up. However, Tri-City’s luck didn’t last. With Bloodlust Barbie power jamming with 12 minutes left in the first half, she brought the score up to 56 vs Plan B’s 67. Pixie Kix then knocked the score up to 71 and Pepe le Punch added 3 more to that. The score was teetering on the brink though, with Hellcat power jamming to bring Tri-city up to 92 and Fox Smolder blocking mercilessly. Just before half time, Pepe le Punch and Bloodlust Barbi had power jams bringing the Timber Rollers to 137 vs. 99.

The second half started with Bloodlust Barbie pushing the score up to 141. Pepe le Punch ended up in the sin bin giving Tri-City a power jam, but veteran Anya Face’s solid blocking defended the Timber Roller’s lead. Pepe added another 14 points while LB Cakes brutalized Plan B’s jammer. Bloodlust Barbie seemed to be power jamming a lot and could slide by Tri-City’s defenses at will. Despite Hellcat of Panar powerjamming too —and she is no small talent — Tri-City just couldn’t catch up. The final power jam was by Glamarchist who brought the final score up to 222 for the Timber Rollers over Plan B at 181.

Pixie Kix

LB Cakes again: “There were a few pivotal moments that could have changed the outcome of the game. I am very proud of how we played. We could have come apart at the seams at times, but the girls banded together and it paid off. We are looking forward to challenging our growth and development as a team in 2013.” As for the win: “I have always believed that you should expect to win and when you don’t, you then figure out why. Going in with a positive mindset is sometimes the weight that tips the scale.”

Glamachrist

Great playing from everyone! To the Timber Rollers!!!

Derby is awesome, taking photos of derby is awesome, and this night reminded me of how good it can be. Boojah!

all photographs copyright jenr8.com

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Fergus opens the doors for the first time vs. Orangeville

In another one of our random recounts of Derby journeys we recall a trip up to Fergus in the middle of December. It would turn out to be our last Derby bout of the year 2012.

ONE Sunday afternoon in December, Canadian Psycho in one of her generous moods took a certain derby type photographer on the road to the far northern reaches of Ontario. The bait of chips and orange sponge chocolates helped. Providing the excitement for the day was the first ever open bout of the Fergus Roller Derby league and their team the Fergus Feims facing the Orangeville Roller Derby in their first ever bout. [Editor's note: Way to bury the lead!]

It was a grey December day, and a bit of precipitation was in the forecast. The windshield wipers to the Psychomobile were in full use as the wheels hit the highway. Once we were beyond the Guelph, it became farmville country. Stalks of dead and harvested corn lined either side of the two-lane either side country road. Lo! and behold the road quickly became shrouded with the densest of grey fog.

It was a scene out of a John Carpenter movie, [the original, not the Smallville remake] and we let Psycho know it. She told me to stop saying it. Nevertheless, it was still eerie out there à la Children of the Corn. Shrouded car lights were all going the other way in the murk. Maybe they were telling us something.

Psycho stopped off in a garage to replenish the water for the wipers that had run dry in the rain. One could feel a Silent Hill ominousness as the crows looked down from overhead telephone wires.

Driving through the desolate farmland was left behind as vestiges of civilization began to appear. Lo! the highway sign: Fergus, population 1.

The Wellington Sportsplex looked to be shiny and new and very reminiscent of the type of building in Ajax where the Durham league dwelled. There was a pool for Psycho to splash around in if she had a Gore Gore uniform.

Knocking on the doorway to what could have been the room for the bout, we were quickly welcomed and ushered in as game time was right on the horizon. All the requirements for power were available around the walls. Game on! rock and roll and ready to shoot.

So what was the atmosphere like? This was derby baby at the grassroots level. Jam-packed crowd. Jam-packed derby. First time announcer, first time fans. Demo 101. Trying to explain the rules. Just a lot of fun and a mixture of sprawls and lots of big sprawls.

But were the players ready? The crowd certainly was, many at their first ever bout. Seats were set up behind the suicide lines.  Much of the crowd from out of town cheered for their Orangeville team. The room was no bigger than a church basement just able to accommodate the track itself. There was even a stage set up with seating to hold part of the crowd. The narrowness of the room meant there was barely any outside track space separating the skater from the wall or the exit doors. Padding was taped to the walls as best as they could. The teams were herded and huddled around the inside of the track. Even the zebras were confined to the inside, the head ref, jam refs obviously, but all the OPR were on the inside, producing quite the cluster.

What were Psycho’s impressions of what she saw that day?

“In Fergus, I saw some darned exciting derby between two new teams laying it all out there on the track… To top it all off, a nail-biter finish more than justified the wintry, white-knuckled drive!”

 

For Waldow, it was akin to watching her derby babies come to life going through all the trauma of opening day and birth.”Despite having organized these events and larger ones in the past, I still get nervous prior as I feel that any problems are mine to fix because I want our skaters to be able to just enjoy the game.”It was a great opportunity for our new skaters to get their feet wet on the track and I loved the really tight game. It was so much fun to be back out there skating again. ORG were a big challenge!”For the season to come in Fergus 2013: “Fergus Roller Derby and our team, the Feims, are gearing up for our first full season and it looks like it’ll be an exciting one. We’re looking forward to seeing how our veterans settle into the rule changes and how our fresh skaters progress!”

There is a spring and summer full Fergus schedule to be announced later.

Talking about burying the lead: as if there was not enough Derby already everywhere, Fergus will be hosting the Winter Wipeout Tournament on March 2. Round robin style with:

• Decapulettes, Festival City Roller Derby
• Fergus Feims, Fergus Roller Derby
• Highland Dames, Grey Bruce Roller Derby
• Pulp Affliction, Orangeville Roller Derby
• Woodstock Warriors, Woodstock Roller Derby

A Fresh Meat’s Journey to the Dishes by Necro-Nancy

Pre-amble for the Gentle Reader out there:

Thunder Games was the theme of the night at New Hamburg Arena. The Lake Effect Furies from Queen City Roller Girls [from down in Buffalo, New York] blew in north in a return grudge match against the Thunder of Tri-City.

Marking this story of interest was the boisterous opening bout of the night: the debut of the fresh meat teams from Niagara Roller Derby [dubbed the Puppies for the night] and making her entrance as one of the Tri-City Kitties wearing #999 was Necro-Nancy. How she got there and her subsequent induction into the Tri-City fold as a current member of Vicious Dishes is her story presented here as: 

A Fresh Meat’s Journey to the Dishes

Necro-Nancy at Thunder Games

One year ago, I was knee-deep in orientation classes for my Masters of Counselling program with Athabasca University. One year ago, I would have never imagined what was lying ahead of me in the months to come, aside from schoolwork. I was working at a law office in London, Ontario in the spring of last year when I saw an ad in my local Woodstock newspaper looking for skaters to try out for a new Roller Derby team being formed in the community. I was immediately interested, but fearful, since I had never even seen a pair of quad roller skates, let alone wore any. However, I had many, many years of experience on roller blades, and since the ad indicated that roller-bladers were also welcome to attend, I decided to give it a try.

Around the same time, my best friend Sandra, from Stratford, had told me that she was planning on attending a Fresh Meat boot camp with Tri-City Roller Girls (TCRG), so I decided to go with her. On day one of this fresh meat boot camp, I was immediately shown the different calibre of intensity, strategy and professionalism that is associated with a well-established and successful roller derby league. It was intimidating as a new and unskilled skater to be surrounded by such a talented and intense group of athletes; I truly felt at the time that I was nowhere near ready for such a level of gameplay. So, I focused solely on practicing for Woodstock where the climate was less intense.

A

fter a month of skating solely with Woodstock, and after playing in the Fresh and Furious: GTA Drift tournament in Toronto for fresh meat players and leagues, I attended a game in New Hamburg with my husband, Justin. Upon entering the venue, we were immediately greeted by Leigh-zzie Borden and Fox Smoulder, the trainers of the TCRG boot camps I had attended over a month prior to this interaction. These two ladies remembered me immediately and urged me to return to the fresh meat boot camp. They understood my nervousness and my intimidation but were incredibly sympathetic and encouraging. Both of these fabulous ladies made me feel welcome and wanted, and who could say no to such courtesy? So, I opted to leave my local comfort zone of Woodstock and join TCRG full-time.

Once the switch was official, I committed 100 percent to TCRG and to myself. Determined to get better, day by day, at home I would put my skates on and practice my toe-stop walks, my tomahawk stops, transitions, and so on. On the weekends, I would attend ANY open skate I could to simply just spend more time on my skates. I attended every TCRG bout to watch and study the skilled athletes that I now have the privilege to call friends and family. Within two month of this switch, I was ready to complete my official minimum skills testing with confidence. Those two months were cram packed with endurance, high intensity training and, of course, as all derby girls know, much sweat and tears. As fate would have it, in August of last year I passed my official testing and then became eligible for the TCRG draft.

In

September, I began my Masters of Counselling degree and shortly thereafter, tragedy struck my family. My father passed away on September 16, 2012 of Cancer. He was only 52 years old. I took a couple weeks off from practice and from school to handle visitation and memorial arrangements and during this time, my inbox and my cell phone erupted with messages of condolences and positive energy from many members of TCRG. Upon my return to practice, my fresh meat group presented me with a condolence card signed by every member. This kindness touched my heart greatly and definitely reaffirmed my feelings of belonging and showed me that, despite my loss, I had a whole new family who genuinely cared for me.

Tri-City Kitties

In October, all Fresh Meat girls who had passed their minimum testing were asked to submit an e-mail outlining their team preference for the official draft to be determined by December. I responded to this request by submitting a blanket preference for any of the three teams: Vicious Dishes, Venus Fly Tramps and Total Knock-Outs. All I wanted was to play for TCRG, I would be happy and honoured to be placed on any of these fantastic teams. While we awaited the draft, Fox Smoulder and the training committee arranged for us fresh meats to play our first game versus Niagara Roller Girls. The game was named Puppies vs. Kittens with proceeds going to the KW Humane Society. The Tri-City Kitties, my team, dominated the short match by a score of 85-15, and could not have ever dreamed to do so without the stellar teaching from the training crew of Tri-City Roller Girls.

Vicious Dishes

As luck would have it, on December 4, I was invited by Suzy Slam and Cleothrashya to join the Vicious Dishes for the 2013 season. I was thrilled and nervous to be invited to the team that won Beast of the East in 2012, but I realized that this invite will surely force me to up my game and my intensity. I know that in the months to come, I will be pushed and will push myself to improve and justify their faith including me in the amazing Vicious Dishes. I am confident that these ladies will hone me to become a force to be reckoned with in the roller derby world.

I truly feel as though the choice to commit to TCRG was likely the best choice I could have ever made for myself as I have never felt more like a part of something than I do now. These women have truly touched my heart and shown me what real teamwork is all about. We are a family here and have each other’s backs, always. I wish that more people could experience roller derby the way that I have and I truly hope that all people associated with or are considering becoming part of a roller derby league, feel the same derby love for their league that I do.

That being said, I would hope for more people to become involved in the fantastic world of Roller Derby, no matter where or which league. Tri-City Roller Girls will soon be starting up the Fresh Meat Boot camp for 2013, visit http://www.tricityrollergirls.com or e-mail TCRGfreshmeat@hotmail.com for more information. I look forward to seeing all of you on and off the track for this upcoming 2013 season!!!!

Necro-Nancy #999

Vicious Dishes, TCRG

Just ahead on January 26th at Tri-City: No Minors? No Problem! A No-Minors Bootcamp. Go to the website for more details.

The Most Unlikely Derby Girl

Intro: It was as unlikely an introduction we were to ever have to the life of a Derby lady. Out of the blue [through the facebook event page], Tracey Tanner offered me a ride up from Toronto to the outdoor scrimmage to celebrate Pride Week in Peterborough as hosted by PRD (Peterborough Roller Derby). Along the way, Tracey Tanner was not just a congenial driver, she was a gracious host and offered thoughtful responses to my questions about Derby, and she added fascinating details of her life in Derby and outside.

Finally, we made it up to Peterborough and the park which was filled with longboard skaters occupying the rink before game time. The calendar of events called it a Special Pride Week Exhibition Scrimmage (with “school yard pick of players from Peterborough, Durham, Lindsay, Northumberland, and Toronto leagues and beyond (including Alliston and Grey Bruce).” The time of the scrimmage made this unusual with its start time at 6:30 p.m. In September this meant playing and photographing in the golden hour and then rapidly dwindling daylight. In essence, this became an outdoor night bout. And with the oncoming of night meant the onset of cold temperatures. The Derby braved it out on the rough and cracked rink surface to show how Derby is played, tumbles and jams and penalties and all.

One of the hardy ones from that night is the author and true voice of this unlikely story. Gentle Readers, ladies and gents alike, here is Tracey Tan-HER.

The Most Unlikely Derby Girl.

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M

y co-worker, and voice of reason, thought I was off my nut.

I had just returned from work after a two month sick leave because of an unfortunate motorcycle accident that broke both my wrists. I was overweight, out of shape, and hadn’t been on roller skates in 30 years. Yet, I could hardly wait until a decent hour to call the telephone number to find out about the upcoming fresh meat class.

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I’m 42 years old. I have never been athletic. In high school I was a mathlete.

Currently I am a shift worker who works a lot of nights, so one night at work during the early hours I was cruising kijiji when I spotted an ad for a local derby team and I was immediately intrigued.

Hours later when I finally made the call, I found out that the fresh meat classes were starting in four days.

I drove off to Barrie (about two hours from home) the following day to buy a complete fresh meat package. I was told the cost would be around $200 to $350. The course itself would be another $130, including insurance.

As I learned from the wonderful Rumbling Rage sales clerk (Renny Rumble, #1205 on CN Power, Smoke City Betties and Misfit Militia ) that as everything in life, one gets what one pays for. Because I was 5 feet two inches tall and close to 200 pounds, I needed more substantial skates. When I mentioned my recently busted wrists, I was advised better wrist guards were needed. I left spending slightly more than $500. Never buy equipment from someone who doesn’t play derby—Renny has forgotten more about derby and equipment that I hope to ever learn and she was patient and extremely helpful.

T

he first day of fresh meat was enlightening—I could hardly stand on my skates. Still, I was determined to soldier on. I had tried other exercise programs and always lost interest, but roller derby was far cooler than pilates or jazzercise.

By my third practice, I felt comfortable on the skates. I remembered how to do the cross-overs on the corners, and the equipment gave me the confidence to be a little more daring. I discovered a local arena in Neustadt that still had roller skating on Friday nights (aka the “Land that Time Forgot”—they still play 80’s music there).

Then came facebook and through it the connections, knowing the different leagues, the clinics with experienced players! Including Bonnie D. Stroir, Georgia W. Tush and Brimstone! A new world opened up! I have found scrimmages all over the area to attend and with each one I attend, I learn something new.

T

he most surprising thing I’ve found is how gracious, friendly, and helpful the other participants are. I’ve played with so many players who are light years better than I am, yet without fail, when I ask about something, I’m given a thoughtful and detailed explanation. Derby is a difficult game to learn—the strategies, the skating, and the technical penalties all take time to get one’s mind around. Everyone seems delighted to share their knowledge and expertise.

I have been at derby for 9 months now. I have suffered no injuries (knock on wood), but have had my bell rung a couple of times. It is empowering not to fall, but it is just as empowering to get blasted off the track and be right back in the thick of the action before anyone realizes you were gone. I have a collection of pictures of appalling bruises and scrapes that thrills me more than terrifies me. I am in better shape than I have been in years. Losing 45 pounds so far motivates me to do more cross training—not because I want to be thinner, but because I want to be faster and better on the track. I lost so much weight that I had to replace everything except my skates and helmet, and now that I am getting better, I would like new everything again. Derby is definitely not cheap—my husband is going to freak out eventually.

My friend, Joe Mac [editor's note: who?], asked me why I did not quit after one practice and the answer is the other fresh meat girls. I had expected a bunch of young, athletic, she-men with anger management issues. Instead, their age range was all over the place. Their professions and lifestyles had no pattern. I felt connected to the girls despite having nothing, other than a desire to play roller derby, in common with them.

I love the way the game is played—one can be as aggressive as one likes or not at all.

After my motorcycle accident last year, I realized that I am not as big of a baby as I thought. The risk of injury, although a factor, did not deter me. The intellectual component of the game—designing and deciphering different strategies interests me. One day, I am going to be a spectacular pivot!

D

erby reminds me of when I was 12 years old at Wheelies Roller Rink in Peterborough. I feel young and vibrant and connected to my team mates. I also appreciate that there is plenty of opportunity for players of every level and motivation. Players who are athletic and competitive have their teams and for dilettantes like me who like their recreational leagues, we have our teams, too. I want to be the kind of player that the opposing team dreads when they see my name on the roster. I want to be a tough, fair competitor that plays spectacular derby. I want to play clean—I never want to be in the penalty box. I think that a being a good, decent player is the highest compliment that one can give another player.

The sisterhood of derby, the pure joy of skating, and even the spectacle of watching—I believe there are more unlikely derby girls than there are typical ones because we are all unique. I love that we have a sport that allows us all to express our individuality and still play as a team.

My journey has just begun.

Tracey Tanner
Tan-HER
Fergus Roller Derby

Outro from editor: For the event in Peterborough, we took advice from masters of the outdoor and night derby shoot in San Diego CA, British Columbia and Ontario. Their words served well, as all pretense of light disappeared into black night and the bare glimmer of night lighting. Travelling lightly meant no stands, bringing in clamps and finding the handy chainlink fence. Lighting one corner and hoping the action would happen there. We are very happy with the results and feel fortunate to have the chance to see all the ladies in the night. Thank you Tan-Her for providing the opportunity.

Are you a Roller Derby person?

So there I am, a Canadian from Toronto at the US Customs and Border Protection at Fort Erie, trying to cross over to the other side. [By the force of the Greyhound bus].

The officer behind the counter: “What is your nationality?”

Me: “Canadian.”

Officer: “Where are you headed.”

Me [trying to remember what has been said many times before]: “To North Tonawanda. To the Rainbow Roller Rink.”

Officer: “What is the purpose of your visit?”

Me: “To photograph some Roller Derby.”

Officer [loudly]: “Are you a Roller Derby person? Do you skate?”

Me: “Do I skate? No. I’m a photographer.”

Officer: “Do you get paid for it?”

Me: “There’s no money in Derby.”

Officer: “Why do you do it?”

Why do I do it?

November 2 what to say

Why don’t you put some skates on and be your own SuperHero?

A Blogpost a day
What to say?
on a Friday?

That almost rhymes.

A Blogpost a day.

True Grit – Nickel City knocks out Thames Fatales in fast and furious rematch

Preamble: Jen Wilson returns with her viewpoint of the bout at Forest City between the hometown Thames Fatales and the visitors from across the lake: the Nickel City Knockouts of Queen City Roller Girls.

All photos copyright Jen Wilson / genr8.com

Bloodlust Barbie tries to catch Librawlian

True Grit – Thames Fatales vs Nickel City Knockouts
October 6, 2012 in London, Ontario

By the way it’s November

T

he Back of Love is one song from Echo and the Bunnymen that is running rampant through my head today. On this the first day of November.

Why, may you ask? It is all about the Derby and all the Derby spirit in the air.

Lake Effect Furies vs. Tri-City Thunder July 10, 2010

This is my first group shot of the Tri-City Thunder and Lake Effect Furies at my first time in Tri-City. It’s the proverbial little did we know what we were in for.

It’s not one of those The Way We Were moments yet, because the rainbows and unicorns memories are still swirling around bright and vivid, not fading into dust and spiderwebs. Not just yet. Not the proverbial little did we know what we were getting into. However, very close.

This is National Blog Month “National Blog Posting Month–NaBloPoMo”. Get writing!

Thunder Games – Puppies vs. Kitties

Thunder Games – Puppies vs. Kitties, a set on Flickr.

Here are some Puppies and Kitties at play on the derby rink. The fresh meat from Niagara Roller Girls in Puppies garb had an exciting short bout with the Tri-City Kitties who ended up winning 85-15. All in all, it was part of a fund raising night for the Kitcher-Waterloo Humane Centre. Also, a good excuse to bring up the Lake Effect Furies to face old rivals Tri-City Thunder. The score of the bout: 179-163 Thunder over Furies. Photos to come!

Psycho Bruiser qu’est-ce que c’est

Canadian Psycho is wearing the C for the Bay City Bruisers next Saturday! At The Bunker on October 20 facing off against The Brute-Leggers of Royal City Roller Girls.

Oh, we knew her when she wore the green and white for Team Ireland at World Cup.

Winter is Coming! – Thrill of the Spill – B10 – Minnesota vs. Naptown – Day 2

Thrill of the Spill – B10 – Minnesota vs. Naptown – Day 2, a set on Flickr.

It definitely felt like home away from home. While we were ensconced amongst the fabulous ladies of the Queen City Roller Girls, the fabled Canadian contingent came down to partake of the North Central Regional Playoffs. It was not a short stretch from the various parts of Ontario to come across the border to Niagara Falls, New York. However, the lure of seeing the live action and getting a taste of what might be in their own future brought in the likes of the established WFTDA Tri-City Thunder, CN Power, Hammer City Eh! as well as contingents from Royal City, Niagara, Fergus. By mid-afternoon on a Saturday we were up to the bout designated as 10 on the schedule. The Canadian fans brought in their flavour and added to the fun with their own antics during timeouts. The Hamilton crew were clearly on the side of Minnesota, the #2 seeds coming in. Juke Boxx!

DSC_5756 – O H R G !

DSC_5756, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

North Central Region Playoffs OHRG !

all content copyright © midnight matinee

Toronto LOCO set to roll on Friday

It was under the tightest of cloak and dagger secrecy that the heads buzzed and the mouths whispered. Then with blare and fanfare, Toronto LOCO came to light with the emergence of their facebook page Toronto LOCO Roller Derby.

Vanessa Vansterdamn Winters has been supplying the details of all things LOCO and provided the glimmer of a lede for the story which began like this:

“We are so excited to expand LOCO Roller Derby to Toronto, Ontario! Knuckle Slamwich is a LOCO original and knows how to keep the spirit of fun, fitness and friendship alive. It’s going to be an awesome new endeavour, and a chance for us to show even more people what low-contact derby is all about.”

Then there was silence and it was with bated breath that we awaited the rest.

Then in a flash, the rest of the story was delivered.

LOCO Roller Derby started in 2010 with about fifteen skaters in London, Ontario. Now there are six chapters across Ontario: London, Kitchener, Stratford, Brantford, and now Sarnia and Toronto! LOCO promotes low-contact roller derby which lets more women participate in the sport because it allows for diversity of athletic abilities, commitment levels and doesn’t cost as much to participate in.

Sarnia and Toronto have just opened their doors and are already getting a great response. The Toronto chapter kicks off this Friday under the supervision of President Knuckle Slamwich, who originally started skating with London LOCO.

“So many women want to come out and skate,” says Slamwich. “We’re really excited to bring LOCO’s message of fun, fitness and friendship to the GTA. People want to try low-contact derby. It gives them a chance to play when they might not be able to otherwise, because of time commitment, cost or even past injuries. I have so many people thanking us for getting this started. I know it’s going to be huge!”

Practices will be held on Fridays from 7 – 9 pm at Emmanuel Howard Park Church (214 Wright Ave @ Roncesvalles).

In Sarnia, LOCO chapter President Buffy Bodybag has also had a great turnout and promises to offer the flagship chapter in London some tough competition. “Vegas had better watch out,” says Buffy.

Their practices are starting next week, but the excited skaters already have tee shirts printed and represented the league in Sarnia’s Labour Day Parade. They are also getting a ton of support from the media, including some from Ms. Bad Manners, a London LOCO skater and member of the Violet Femmes, who co-hosts the morning show on Sarnia’s K106.3.

You can find out more about LOCO Sarnia at https://www.facebook.com/LocoSarnia and keep up with the Toronto chapter at https://www.facebook.com/torontoloco.

Many cheers and good luck to all. Another set of great expectations awaits a certain someone.

-30-

Derby through the eyes of the Derbyverse *

Preliminary ramble and intro: Todd Bradley is one of the best chroniclers and documentarians in the world and in the sphere that we call Derby. I know of two or three in Canada who dedicate themselves to capturing Derby on video. Todd Bradley is the first American we have encountered in the field, so we can appreciate the travails and ordeals to come up with an end-product that pleases not only themselves but their toughest critic and fan, the participants in Derby.

Todd Bradley having a private moment with Team Bionic

We met each other at the Blood and Thunder World Cup in December of 2011 in Toronto. He was carrying an impressive array of camera gear to The Bunker all the way from his home state of Colorado. His background in Derby includes contributions to Derby News Network [DNN] which was linking his lead-up videos of Team USA to World Cup, and volunteering for Denver Roller Dolls. More impressive was his tremendous way of keeping a smile and his cool throughout the World Cup, grabbing his vignettes of the experience. Somewhere in his wardrobe may be a certain TCRG Thunder t-shirt. Through his company Exploding Corpse and facebook pages, he has ably and humorously demonstrated a passion for Derby and Food or even better Derby with Food. Since he has an assured eye for the camera and knows moviemaking, he was asked in the light of Derby Baby! having just been released  to convey his feelings about the world of Derby and film. These are Todd Bradley’s words. Let the exploding begin.

In 2009, the modern resurgence of women’s roller derby made it to the mainstream in the form of Drew Barrymore’s film “Whip It”. Thousands of girls and women saw the film and rushed out to buy roller skates and try roller derby for themselves. Now, over three years later, it is the only significant dramatic motion picture about the modern version of the sport. But there have been several documentary films about the sport, some good and some bad.

I am a movie buff, a film maker, and a roller derby fan. To me, the two best documentaries about modern roller derby are “Derby, Baby!” and “Brutal Beauty”. Technically, they are the only ones that look, sound, and feel like a real big-screen movie. And they both work well from a storytelling perspective.

“Brutal Beauty” came out in 2010. It was directed by Chip Mabry, and looks into Portland’s Rose City Rollers over the course of about a year and a half. It showed in some indie film festivals, but never was picked up for any significant distribution. It is now available for rental on Netflix. “Derby, Baby!” came out in 2012, with a much wider scope to show a lot of different leagues and people involved in the sport. The filmmakers took an unusual distribution route with this one; they teamed up with individual roller derby leagues to host screenings around the world and split the proceeds. Eventually it will be available on DVD and, I think, Blu-ray.

In addition to these films, there are several other roller derby documentaries, with probably a dozen more in some stage of production. Most of these films suffer from the same weakness. Some guy with a camera becomes a fan of roller derby, starts following his local hometown team, and then decides to make a documentary about them. I have personally met about six filmmakers who are trying to work on different films of this type, which means there are probably more than twice that many.

The fatal flaw of this type of film is that the market is almost non-existent. That is because of two things. First, any film that is about specific players making their way up the ladder—as many roller derby documentaries are—has a limited lifespan. The average career of a roller derby skater is only about three years. So by the time the film is finished being shot, and then edited, and then sold, and then shown in theaters, most of the people who are in the film are not even involved in roller derby anymore. And because the sport is changing so fast right now, the best you can get is an unsatisfying snapshot of what it used to be like a few years ago. The second—and much bigger—reason there is no market for this type of film is that only the fans of a local team are really interested in a documentary of that local team. As much as the guy with the camera thinks his local team is unique and exciting and interesting, nobody in Atlanta wants to watch a documentary about a roller derby team in Vancouver.

This brings up a bigger issue that I should back up and explain. There is not a significant audience for roller derby documentaries of any kind—even the really good ones. First, in most of the world, there really isn’t much of a market for documentaries of any kind. In addition, even though derby is the fastest-growing women’s sport in the world (so I’ve read), it is played by only around 10,000 skaters worldwide, and watched by an audience of probably 50,000 to 100,000 real fans. That is about 1/50^th the size of lacrosse. And how many lacrosse documentaries have you and your family seen at the local cinema this year?

I have given a lot of thought to this issue because I used to be one of those dozens of filmmakers working on a roller derby documentary. I even had a pretty unique angle that most of the derby films never took. Instead of focusing on my hometown league, I was looking at the roller derby community as it varies around the country (the USA, which is where I live). I was not so much interested in the history of the sport, or roller derby rules and strategy, or how my hometown league came to be. What excites me is the unique culture that has grown up around the modern version of the sport.

I cancelled that film project about halfway through production. But from the ashes of that film came something new and unique, a weekly online video series. It is called Derbyverse, and each 6-to-10 minute episode focuses on a single person involved in modern roller derby. Most of the episodes are about skaters, but it is not just famous players whose names are known to everyone in the roller derby community. I am trying to show the full spectrum of people in the derby universe—the “derbyverse.” So there are some skaters you have never heard of, plus officials, fans, and volunteers. You can watch the series at http://youtube.com/Derbyverse and we have a Facebook page at http://facebook.com/Derbyverse. Come check it out. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Fergus Roller Derby Presents Francey Pants – August 23, 2012

Preliminary ramble : For the second time we were heading to Fergus Derby country [after a bit of a adventure which will not be mentioned here]. After a more than a scintillating day with Bonnie D. Stroir, Fergus stepped up to the plate once more with Francey Pants. We had seen Francey Pants at full speed at Blood and Thunder World Cup in Toronto. Now she returned to this part of the world in a busy schedule. Bouting with the Vicious Dishes against Rideau Valley in Ottawa [where apparently she owns a home which she visits, in lieu of playing with Ridea this time she decided to roster with Tri-City to keep it more fun], then coaching amongst Toronto Roller Derby and CN Power on a Tuesday, Tri-City on Wednesday, then Thursday with Fergus and partcipants who were invited and jumped at the chance to partake of Francey Pants’s skills. The Fergus facebook page listed some of Francey Pants’s accomplishments to date.

“Check out her awesome credentials:
• Currently skating for Denver, Team Bionic, Team France, as well as pick-up teams such as Atom all-stars and Vagine Regime
• MVP for Team France at the World Cup in Toronto
• Short-track speed skating in Canada
• 9 seasons on the ice hockey French national team (played in 5 World championships and 2 Olympic qualification tournaments)
• 7 seasons on the roller hockey French national team (played in 7 world championships)
• Volunteer on the WFTDA rankings committee as West ranker
• Bachelor’s in kinesiology
• Master’s in sport psychology”

So Gentle Readers out there: here is Fergus Roller Derby in the words of Sonia Pitbull Bomber Maiorano herself.

T

he founders of Fergus Roller Derby (Stephanie Goodchild a.k.a. Ivanna Slappa, Sonia Maiorano a.k.a. Pitbull Bomber, and Cynthia Waldow a.k.a. Waldow) decided to start a new league up in Fergus Ontario, to spread the word of derby and make a mark by opening with a big BANG! With a group of great people and a vision, they were able to have Francey Pants come up to run a clinic not just to their league, but to the surrounding areas; to spread the word of derby and have a legend in her own right come and give some of her time and expertise! With two and a half hours, Francey Pants was able to give two and a half hours of jammed packed information and drills that made everyone sweat with derby excitement! Yet, another accomplishment in such a short time of this new league’s beginnings in only May of this year!

W

hat are Fergus Roller Derby’s hopes for this new year? Potentially another guest coach (but you’ll all have to wait and see!) To see more people encouraged to participate in one of the most fastest sports that is forever growing, encourage women of the Wellington County and surrounding areas to join in this sport with us, and to be able to play, make their mark, and still be themselves out there.

We’re here to practice, we’re here to play, and we’re not going anywhere …our motto is Skate, Sweat, Sport , and we mean it.

F

ergus will play under that motto and for anyone interested in coming up to be a part of our league, you can contact us at info@fergusrollerderby.com

-30-

 

Fergus Roller Derby Presents Francey Pants – August 23, 2012, a set on Flickr.

360 degrees of Francey Pants in Fergus Roller Derby

The day started off so innocently. A day filled with anticipation once again – albeit on a weekday – and a Thursday which culminated in a mad dash a scene out of The Out of Towners and a rink type rash incurred in the name of Derby.

Final Double Header 2012 – Thames Fatales vs. HCRG Eh! Team – August 18, 2012

Final Double Header – Thames Fatales vs. HCRG Eh! Team – August 18, 2012, a set on Flickr.

It was the best of times it was the best of times. Arch-frenemies the Thames Fatales from Forest City dropped into the venue in Dundas to square off against the Eh! Team of Hammer City. The night was the Final Doubleheader of 2012 for the Hammer City league. On the billing were Thames Fatales vs. WFTDA ranked Eh! Team which was to be followed by the ever-rostering Belles of the Brawl from Brantford against the league team Hammer City Harlots.The Shake and Bake and the Anya Face lippy balm were in full flight and fight mode literally. For Mirambo of Thames Fatales, it was a return to Dundas and the first bout of her Derby career. It was where it all started.

/… more to come

Final Double Header – Thames Fatales vs. HCRG Eh! Team

Final Doule Header – Thames Fatales vs. HCRG Eh! Team, a set on Flickr.

The final indoor double header of the year for the Hammer City Roller Girls.

Royal City Rocks the media

Embrace the shiny! Bonnie D. Stroir returns to Ontario

Bonnie D. Stroir at Fergus, Ontario.

Fergus Roller Derby presents Bonnie D. Stroir, a set on Flickr.

Up early on a Sunday morning of July 8, 2012 —  made the proverbial dash to the Greyhound and literally just caught the bus in time to the fair city of Guelph again for the second time in two days. The night and day before on July 7,  the Sleeman Centre was the venue for the doubleheader featuring the Royal City home teams of Our Ladies of Pain and the Violet Uprising vying for the final spot in the league championships. This in turn was followed by the RCRG all-star team The Brute-Leggers up against the travelling team Bay Street Bruisers from Toronto Roller Derby. Pain won, Violet lost and The Brute-Leggers gained a painful lesson from the veteran Bruisers, although the Bruisers did suffer their own share of pain on the track. Afterwards, it was back to Toronto, just in time to pack gear again and reshuffle off to bed, before heading back to Guelph in the morning.

With Guelph beneath our feet, the friendly connection was made at the parking lot of the Guelph GO station, and we were driven up to Fergus through lovely farm country while learning a bit more of the history and goings-on of Fergus Roller Derby.

It was an afternoon of awe and words of wisdom from the teacher to the disciples circled around her at her feet as she gave incisive life lessons imparted in a friendly manner, her students reverentially embraced the shiny.

But what can we really say about Bonnie D. Stroir that the veteran derby expert and the co-founder of Fergus Roller Derby Cynthia Waldow herself can say best? Naught, so here are the words of Cynthia Waldow.

“Fergus Roller Derby was so excited to be able to host Bonnie. D Stroir as our first event. Our league hadn’t even been made public when we saw that she was looking for leagues to host her during her Cross Canada tour but we knew it was too good an opportunity to pass up on and we emailed her immediately. Within minutes of posting the event on facebook, it was almost sold out. We opened it up to other leagues because there are plenty of small leagues like ours that would never be able to afford to have a coach of this caliber come to coach us; the funds just aren’t there. But we feel that every time we share derby knowledge and resources, our sport gets better and the level of play increases.

“Bonnie was gracious, sweet and knows her shit. Wonderful coaching, she has so much to share! One of the things that she spoke about, ‘How to treat your puppy’, really touched a number of skaters. We seem to have a significant number of people in derby that don’t believe that they are good enough and don’t give themselves credit for [their] accomplishments. Instead of kicking ourselves or our ‘puppies’, we need to spend more time praising them and loving them for each time we progress. That was important for a lot of the group to hear.

“We’ve been extremely lucky since starting in May with three high level coaches coming through our area. We’ve been able to open up all of them to other leagues and we’ll continue to do this to progress our sport.”

Thank you again so much Fergus Roller Derby! Looking forward to Francey Pants in your neighbourhood soon! [note: August 23 on your derby calendar. Details on facebook! Fergus Roller Derby presents Francey Pants

--

Fergus Roller Derby presents Bonnie D. Stroir - Black & White scrimmage - July 8, 2012, a set on Flickr.

One year ago 

The nurturing mother of Derby ladies everywhere, the players at her bootcamp hanging onto her every word, bonding and making the most of the moments, jotting down notes and pearls of wisdom during her sessions.

It was about a season ago [November 26, 2011 actually] up in Tri-City that we first met the Bonnie D. Stroir.

The rink was proverbially Tri-City shivering but just right for a whole day of exercises and demonstration jammer juking and blocking drills. The end of the session was everybody huddling around Bonnie D. Stroir and demonstrating one new thing they had learned that day. Then the fun Black and White scrimmage with the referees who had their own zebra bootcamp that day, 90 Degree Johnson from QCRG and others leading sessions and going over rulesets and doing the test in the classroom, and more skating finesse on the track.

Battle of Rogue Jam – Rogue Warriors vs. Jamazons – August 11, 2012 – set 2

Battle of Rogue Jam – Rogue Warriors vs. Jamazons – August 11, 2012 – set 2, a set on Flickr.

The last game of the season for Peterborough Roller Derby at Millbrook Arena.It’s always a good day when you get to be the truck with the estimable 3 Beers – the most travelled referee – in southern Ontario. A WFTDA Officiating Clinic brought many of the persuasion to the Toronto Roller Derby hosted clinic. Hence 3 Beers and T-Ref in town then back to Millbrook which is outside of Peterborough to hold the only bout in any part of Ontario that weekend./.,.. more to come

12 hours to Peterborough – a derby pooom

I need a derby drink of something mighty and strong

For ahead is a Peterborough journey long.

Longer still is the trip for Kingston coming in to right the side of the track wrong

Saturday a day after Friday

be there all dare to off square

no fate but what we skate

11th august is the date

–

 

It’s Saturday morning and some quicker thoughts that require quicker actions.

The day starts on a wet note as it is pouring outside. Need to catch a few more zzz.

Wake up. The newspaper is soaked, but the sun has started to come out. This is Derby day.

Battle of two rogue teams at Battle of Rogue Jam. Jamazons from Peterborough welcome the ever-constantly on the road Kingston Derby Girls in the guise of Rogue Warriors.

Stuffing the last of the camera gear and assorted wiring and cords into luggage and making the trek onto the TTC subway system soon.

Looming ahead is the dreaded voyage back from the middle of nowhere – a two hour bus ride [more or less of more] from Peterborough to Oshawa then another hour back to Toronto, then the hour back to home sweet home. Take the long way home.

In between all the Derby clash and fun to be won.

/… more to come

DSC_7003.NEF – They are the Killer Queens

DSC_7003.NEF, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

We are the champions proclaims the Killer Queens. With a royally earned victory, the Killer Queens emerged victorious by a 119-96 score over league rival Our Ladies of Pain at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph on Saturday night.

So ended the second season which has been jampacked with intra-league bouts and out-of-town visitors alike, crowned by the hosting of the RDAC Eastern Championships for 2012.

For sure, Royal City embrace the shiny.

all content copyright © midnight matinee

Hello Durham, Hello World – Honouring Derby and fan at Gibson’s Cup II

Background: It’s been too long since we have seen Durham. It’s been a privilege to go on the road or the GO to see the teams and coaches of DRRD during this year [and seasons past and passed], both trackside at their new ACC venue and in their practice space within Coachella at Oshawa. DRRD has let me take in the lights and see what is possible without beating me up too badly. This weekend is special. Durham, this story is for you.

Durham Region Roller Derby does a good thing on Saturday, and honours the memory of a good fan and friend of the league, and in turns honours the spirit of Derby.

The Second Annual Gibson’s Cup will be contested this weekend. This time around the clash for the Cup will be held in their newest home, the Ajax Community Centre, the ACC, so to speak.

Motor City Madames and Atom Smsshers at the first Gibson’s Cup

Does it seem that long ago when the league teams of Durham in purple or orange or blue farmers outfits were already going up against formidable foes from Kingston Derby Girls or Royal City Roller Girls? The point being the league has been squaring off against opposition as either the all-star representatives DRRDY Devils, or as the two home teams the Motor City Madames or The Atom Smahsers, or the DRRDY Farmers fresher meat team. Leading up to the Cup has been a gruelling season of bouts, practice and dauntless spirit, overcoming all manner of Derby injuries and bruises on the track at home and on the road.

DRRDy Farmers from Durham vs. Skateful Dead of Kingston

Gibson’s Cup is DRRD’s one last chance this year for the two teams to finally smash each other. The culmination of the Durham season brings everyone in the league together all in the spirit of Gibson, yet marks the divide as the Madames and the Smashers go head to head for the only time in their schedule. Will last year’s winners Motor City Madames in purple be able to retain the Gibson’s Cup or will the Atom Smashers be able to hold it in their orange hands?

It is only fitting that Sarah Cutsie Bootsie King [who will be wearing puple] has her say.

“About two and a half years ago the members of the Durham Region Roller Derby league had the honour of meeting an 11-year-old boy who had unforunately spent most of his life battling terminal brain cancer. His name was Gibson, and he was a brave, witty kid who loved cars, motorcycles, loud music, and derby girls.

“When asked to participate in a fundraiser for Gibson, The DRRD Girls jumped at the chance opportunity to get involved. Gibson was able to make it out to one of DRRD’s carwashes to show his support and help wash a few cars, not to mention spraying down a couple of the girls, but unfortunately he was never able to make it out to a game. After his long battle, Gibson lost his courageous fight against cancer in late October of 2010.

Gibson with DRRD players at Fenders for Gibson where the DRRD Girls made Gibson an Official Member of DRRD
[photo courtesy of Durham Region Roller Derby]

“Gibson may no longer be with us, but the DRRD girls are committed to keep his spirit alive. After his passing the DRRD Girls decided to dedicate our first ever home bout to him in what is now known as The Gibson’s Cup. So come show your support this Saturday at the 2nd Annual Gibson’s Cup in Ajax where DRRD’s Motor City Madames and The Atom Smashers hit the track for a Great night of Derby!”

DSC_6600 – South West Throwdown

DSC_6600, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Hail to the Dishes

all content copyright © midnight matinee

DSC_2159 – Clam Slam 2012

DSC_2159, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Kookie Ho !

all content copyright © midnight matinee

DSC_3073 – Sweat muscle and nailpolish!

Dust Bunny with the Gore Gore Rollergirls in action on the Saturday night until the fall.

DSC_3073, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

all content copyright © midnight matinee

DSC_5975 – Hammer City Eh! Team being given the eye from the Brute-Leggers of Royal City

DSC_5975, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

all content copyright © midnight matinee

DSC_2301 – The Dolls strike back

DSC_2301, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

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DSC_5080 Tri-City Thunder matched with Ohio

DSC_5080, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

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Heads Will Roll in the Queen City. What is six seconds.

What is six seconds? What difference can six seconds make? Count to six. Now read on. If you wish.

9:30 p.m. on a Sunday night. With the zombies still freshly implanted in our brrrrraaaaaains. The car pushing the radar made the Greyhound with minutes to spare. Say very quick and sad good-bye to some of the greatest people on this planet. And the strangest weekend weather. That’s life and weather in the land of the lake effect and the furies.

9:35 p.m. on the road to Fort Erie and the Canadian Border.

9:50 p.m. or so the bus arrives at the border and we wait while the bus passengers ahead are being processed.

10: p.m. Time for interrogation.

10:10 p.m. That was easy. CBP looks at passport, where do you live, when did you leave the country. We don’t even mention roller derby. Anything to declare? Alcohol? How much currency are you carrying? Twenty bucks? You’re free to go.

11:11 p.m. Still at the border. One person is being held up. We’re supposed to be in Toronto by 12:30? Driver takes a wild guess at 1:30 a.m. ETA in Toronto. And still ahead Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Mississauga. At this rate we’ll be lucky to catch the last subway train on the TTC. Thoughts of taking the all-night Yonge Bus fill me with dread or waiting in Burger King downtown all night until the subway runs at 6 in the morning. The Cheetos and water in the suitcase – too worried to eat, and trying to drink as little water as possible. It’s supposed to have been only a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

Time becomes relative and absolute around here.

Sometime after midnight. It’s dark in the bus on this highway to nowhere. Believe it or not, there are people waiting to get back to Toronto. The station is long gone shut down. Enough yapping! Get on the bus…

And again. It’s way past 12:30 a.m. The bus driver peers into the dark and there is someone waiting by the corner store in St. Catharines. She’s trying to get to Vancouver and the connection is at one a.m. Bus driver tells her she’s not going to make it. She gets assurances that she can her ticket in the morning. She doesn’t want to wait 12 hours at the bus terminal. Who does? She goes back to her house. Everybody is in the same boat.

Next stop Mississauga. The bus goes dark again. A Kind Of Blue the Miles Davis classic is on our earphones and the full moon looks pretty and bright so low in the sky.

1:11 a.m. Mississauga Value Point Mall. There are cars in the parking lot with people waiting for people. Tempted to ask someone out there if he can drive to Kipling Station before the subway closes. Lots of chatty people get out and get their suitcases. go go go !

Sometime later. The lights of downtown somewhere. Passing under a bridge. Construction signs on University and Queen. Taxi ahead of bus drives away. Turn right on Dundas and University and there is Bay Street.

1:35 a.m. Last suitcase dragged out of bus. Don’t even want to go through the maze of doors in the Atrium. With two suitcases in hand, and heavy duty camera bag over the shoulder, just start walking as far and fast as we can on Dundas Street towards the direction of the Eaton Centre. With last subway time of 1:47 a.m. in our mind we should be home clear but we still walk as fast as we can. The barrista in the bubble tea shop is closing down the doors for the night and the lady in front of the warm launderette smokes her last cigarette.

Red light at Yonge and Dundas. 3 2 1

Cross cross cross.

Janitor washing doors at the entranceway won’t let me through so it’s two suitcases through the revolving doors! and the escalator down. Turn right.

There is no collector at the booth. Last train 1:42 a.m. We hear the whoosn we feel the whoosh of the train. How to get through? We push the suitcases under the barriers and plough through the turnstile.

The train is already in and the whistle has blown. Pick up the suitcases upside down and drag and run through the shutting door. We made it. No time to spare.

That’s what a difference six seconds would have made.

I’ve got a theory it could be zombies!

The continuation of the journey. Finally arrive at our last subway stop. Eglinton Station. Wait another 20 minutes for the Lawrence 54 bus leaving at 2:15 a.m. It’s cold in the station but definitely not Furies weather. Bus stops at our corner. It’s close to quarter to three. Drag suitcases in and the first thing we hear is the puppy scratching at the door to go outside.

We’re home. But our real home is somewhere out there on the other side of the night – all of it revolving around rolling around a track. And in some way in some fashion, we do this every week.

A brand new world opens up

Greetings again. It’s been a while since we have said hello to you all out there.

There’s a lot to talk about eventually = everything from the absolute greatness of the Beast of the East to being back amongst Durham and seeing Kingston again and if things are missing here it’s all in a bright shimmery light and oh – one can never forget the thrill of seeing Queen City in action live at Rainbow Rink again for their playoffs.

However, for now, this weekend that we are in right absolutely opened our eyes to a new paradigm. It was a closed bout at The Bunker in Toronto with the two teams of Ohio squaring off against the two travel teams of Toronto Roller Derby. Ohio A which is their all-star team would be facing CN Power while Ohio B would be facing the resurrected Bay Street Bruisers.

So if you can imagine the Bunker having a first-class bout with four great teams— but minus the crowd and the room for the photographers to position themselves.

However, the primary nemesis of photographers in Derby is the positioning and movement of the pack refs as they try to maintain their vigilance. The shot is coming into place in front of you and just when you get the shot the stripes or the legs fill your frame.

Hence, my new paradigm of the moment. To stay ahead of the pack and out of the way of the refs, don’t maintain your own static position and wait for the refs to whiz by you – move ahead of the pack or find your new angle. Keep moving and more moments will open themselves up to you. Don’t curse the bad luck, create your own luck.

Subsequent to the freedom of movement was something the media co-ordinator indicated what she looks for in Derby photographs. Everyone shoots the jammers, but she wants hits. Not the fall necessarily, but the hit. Even though outside pack refs get in the way she understood and it was part of the constant challenge. So that changed our focus yet again. We will let you know how everything turned out.

Meanwhile pop on over to the Flickr site and see what manner of shots which were captured at Beast of the East and in Durham. Midnight Matinee on Flickr

DSC_2267_G3_120421.jpg – Surviving the Beast in which

DSC_2267_G3_120421.jpg, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

In which we live through 13 hours of non-stop Derby – on a Saturday

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DSC_2730_G5_120421

DSC_2730_G5_120421, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

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DSC_6190_G28_120422.jpg

DSC_6190_G28_120422.jpg, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Beast of the East 2012It was that kind of day, that kind of weekend. Go for it!

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April showers May

The end of the month is immminent and April leaves with a deluge of springtime Derby. Just before May arrives, there are no less than three or more desirable bouts to attend this weekend.

Durham, South Simcoe, Fergus are targets.

Beast of the East 2012 – a message to all

To all the lucky ones going to Beast of the East this weekend in Montrèal.

Drive. Arrive. Alive. Strive.

Bon courage!

The Furies are blowing into town!

The vaunted Lake Effect Furies are coming to The Bunker on Saturday to face off against CN Power on Toronto home turf.

 

 

DSC_9377 – Quad City Chaos is back

DSC_9377, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

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DSC_0273 – Quad City Chaos 2012

DSC_0273, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Another fab Quad City Chaos. Thundering hits from Vixens as CN Power hosted, eh!

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So how do you watch a game?

At a Death Track Dolls Karaoke fundraiser while all the spirits were high and the voices were raised in full gear fuelled by good beer and good food and cake at a certain Korean premise downtown, a certain player asked me to the effect: “You’re always looking through the camera, so how do you watch the game?”

The inference was with the photographer so focused on the shot and looking through the viewfinder—so how do we watch the game?

Staring into her questioning eyes gave me pause for thought because this is one player—a veteran of CN Power and green and black— you would not want to cross.

On the microcosmic scale of things, granted, for starters, we look for the hit, the air, that type of thing—but that’s not the whole game. So how do we watch the game?

One makes it a point to know the Derby as best as we can. We read the WFTDA rulebook, gander over postings by scads of Derby players with their own insights and daily lives, however, these are all from the inside. So how do we watch the game?

There’s the fuel, the adrenaline engendered by the players on the track and the atmosphere in the game, the incessant shouts of “Get louder!” or “Lead jammer!” or the play by play provided by expert or inexpert announcers [who by their nature call the play without giving away insight to either team]. So how do we watch the game?

Heaven knows it is definitely for the passion of it all by everybody concerned. It has definitely nothing to do with money—what money—from the sport. There has been more than the occasional times when the players and the leagues have opened their generosity or tried their best to be accommodating, going miles out of their way. So how do we watch the game?

There are those who do it with a detachment to it—it’s just an assignment or a job with a chance to show off by the gearheads. But that’s not me. And not true for others who invest their vacation times or time off from the daily job to travel state to state to get to their various annual places to be, tournaments to shoot. For you Americans who may read this one day, it’s a little different up here with the scale of things. Leagues are more localized. There’s no “Minnesota” or “Kansas”, nothing that would encompass a whole province. Tournaments up here do not quite have the aura of history yet. But it does build. Beast of the East out in Montreal. Quad City Chaos in Toronto. New traditions in the bud, West and East and North and South across the country. The launch of the World Cup 2011 in Toronto, Canada, eh? But that is all digression to how do I watch the game? True, I’m going through my second Nikon [after the first one birthed and died in the cause of Whip It!] just bought last July and already past its half life in the line of Derby, but it came with a price. I still use the same lenses I used in my film days shooting in the likes of the Rivoli or the Cabana [maybe not quite the Cabana] or the ElMo or Maple Leaf Gardens or The Exhibition or The Diamond or The Skydome or Molson Park or even Molson Amphitheatre where I first got introduced to the concept of autofocus lenses. And every little extra piece of gear or reinvention that has been an investment to making the pictures that much better have come with a cost. I do the best to try to be the best with what I’ve got. Heaven knows, again I know, I’m not the best but as in the case with all the ladies on the track, we do the best we can and we try to get better.. It’s not the money that shoots, it’s the photographer and the experience. So how do I watch the game?

I watch to get the light, the moment, the mood, the focus. You cannot capture everything on the track all at once, so you anticipate their moment in time in that space when everything comes together, all the preparation and all the mental calculations and all the decisiveness, to tell the story you want to tell. Whether it be about that player, that referee, that NSO, that coach, that volunteer, that person selling the merch, the food, the beer, however again we digress. So back to the track. Which is probably what she meant in the first place. So how do I watch the game? For that instant in time which builds to eternity until the clock winds down and beyond, I watch it for the love of the game.

/… thanks to the epicness of jnr8 and dz for their suggestions and words

While we’re at it – the three rules of Quad City Chaos

2. Always have everything you want within reach. You’re never going to find it otherwise.

3. Murphy’s Law is for losers.

Footloose and fancy free Fatales tango with Mid Michigan Derby Girls in season finale

[[fair warning: this story is anecdotal and based on a few memories at a time that is now 3:34 a.m. or 2:34 a.m. now at the daylight or eastern standard time whatever - and more than subject to change once the players are back from the Canadian beers at the afterparty] – and photos or video to come may just prove us totally wrong as usual].

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“Detroit!”

When the Mid Michigan Derby Girls’ coach was asked what team she was supporting at the WFTDA Championships her immediate response was “Detroit!”

The Motor City team may not be the force it once was but its influence has spread through the state. [Don't forget that little movie shot around there in Grand Rapids]. And it has definitely hit Mid Michigan Derby Girls whose mission statement is just as bold as any other league in Derby, This organization, Mid Michigan Derby Girls is Eastern/Mid Michigan’s premier all-female, flat track; not for profit, skater owned and operated roller derby league. Our goal is to bring roller derby back to Mid Michigan. We will demonstrate that women of all walks of life can be strong and independent, while managing a career and a personal life, and can excel in an otherwise male dominated sports world.

During the countdown to the game while the ladies warmed up around the sugarwater laden track the sounds of Thunderstruck blared over the new sound system for the night. Strange as it was to hear the strains of Tri-City’s Thunder AC/DC anthem along with Joan Jett being blared in strange territory the music segued into the 70s and 80s Footloose which of course meant dancing.

Both anthems of the United States of America and Canada were sung at the Western Fair Grounds before the match up of the WFTDA apprentice Mid Michigan Derby Girls and the black and forest hulk green of Thames Fatales in their final game of the year on a Saturday night. It was the action packed place to be.

While the Fatales had their way on the track in laying down a to use a famous term “shellacking” of more than 200 points on the order of 263-18 [give or take a few] Mid Michigan showed the same determination that in a match in October that Sister Slag [from Sudbury's Nickel City league] put forth against the Luscious Lunch Ladies. It was a match filled with the Thames flare and speed on the track doing their usual to pump up the capacity crowd of 800. Thames Fatales filled with a few spots from the Luscious Lunch Ladies and new coach Andi Slamberg were able to exert their strategies and tactics = busting out a series of jammers ranging from Killson and Commie Kaze to Piepshow and maybe Slacker Smacker and first time jammer Tamahawk. For MMDG they countered with co-captain #FU2 Rita Taliate and V stood for #44 Valletta Vendetta. However, it was not by no means an easy match with the Mid Michigan team built on classic American formations with jammers short or tall and massive Mid Michigan blockers laying on the muscle and the big bruising hits. As the match became secure in hand captain Anya Face and co-captain Mirambo stood at the jammer line. It was problematic for Mid Michigan to score when lead jammer status was continually gained by Thames much to the roaring cheers of support from the crowd and the loud rumble of the Widow Larue announcer.

The most intriguing and probably most confusing part of the game to the game [and to viewers of the Championships on DNN] arose from Thames refusing to move off the pivot line – stretching the knowledge of rule 6.10.2.1.2 by all the Mid Michigan team even while a power jam situation was not necessarily in play. The referees let the situation play out until Mid Michigan simply moved ahead and at ten feet the jammer whistle finally blew. Similarly in another point in the game, all of Thames dropped to one knee creating the no pack situation and still Mid Michigan didn’t move for the longest time until once again they moved ahead and the jammer whistle blew at which point pivot Anya Face started skating forward.

6.10.2.1.2 At the start of a jam if one team skates forward and the opposing team remains stationary, upon a No Pack scenario the Jammer start whistle will blow and no penalties for illegally destroying the pack shall be enforced. Skaters and teams are still responsible for immediately reforming a pack (see Sections 6.10.7, 6.10.12, and 6.10.20).

Finally a long Official Timeout was called and whatever was discussed by refs and captains and the Mid Michigan coach Insane Mary Jane may have stemmed from these tactics or interpretation of how to call it.

Rule explained

Finally when Derby came back to the track Mid Michigan in their red and white [wings?] colours/colors was intent on trying to hit anything on black that moved into the wall posts while #69 in black Mirambo was just as intent on hitting back. Majors? There were a few. Bodies on the floor? There were a few. Camaraderie and good showmanship cheer on the track? Plentiful. Anya Face leg whip? One. Fuzzy memories of a year? Priceless.

As Samuel Johnson might have said once upon a time
When a man is tired of Thames, he is tired of life for there is in Thames all that life can afford.

Will never happen.

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Addendum as of November 10, 2010
The place to be this weekend and all in all the most fun so get out there if you can and price of admission is a donation to their charity, bring a can of food or :
Total Knock Outs vs. Luscious London Lunch Ladies

Time: 13 November · 15:00 – 18:00
Location: New Hamburg Arena
251 Jacob St.
New Hamburg, ON

This is an early friends and family bout to benefit the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.

Doors open at 2:30 p.m., first whistle at 3 p.m.
Admission is a donation of cash or non-perishable food item for the food bank!

TKOS vs. Luscious Lunch Ladies

Latest news from Toronto :
This weekend’s bout is now SOLD OUT! if you got a ticket you are in for a treat!

Toronto Roller Derby Presents: The 2010 ToRD Championships!
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Location:The Hangar @ Downsview park
Time:Saturday, 13 November 2010 18:30

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20130413-DSC_2001

20130413-DSC_2001, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Wipe out!Death Track Dolls vs. Gore Gore RollergirlsApril 13, 2013

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DSC_7982_20130126_21-05-27, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

From QCRG

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