I sense a disturbance in the force

Sonic Doom was up at the bar in the  Sleeman Centre.

We pointed a finger at him and said: “He would know! What was the final score?”

“111 to 46,” was his reply. “Dyna Hurtcha was the difference” or words to that effect.

Meanwhile, just minutes before at the Downtown Throwdown doubleheader, the GTA GStars more or less in the guise of the Derby Debutantes took on the Royal City All-Stars for the second time this season while the Belle City Rollergirls took on the Violet Uprising home team from RCRG.

Justine Sane of Belle City found herself in the sin bin for numerous infractions and seemingly upset with it all found herself ejected from the game with 11 minutes to go, to which she waved goodbye with a smile.

The young guns from Royal City squared off in a rematch of epic proportions against the Debutantes or all-star variant thereof. On their home court the All-Stars blasted two jammers off the line that we had been warned would be a surprise catch them if you can.

/… more to come

Lil’ Trouble in paradise at Toronto Junior Roller Derby

May 14 marked a historic night in Toronto Junior Roller Derby history with its premiere bout, and first International bout to boot.

The Mad Missfits from New Hampshire brought up eight of their team to The Hangar which necessitated some roster shifts so six Knicker Kickers ended up being on The Mad Missfits for the night.

The rosters for the first Toronto Junior Roller Derby bout at The Hangar on May 14, 2011.

KNICKER KICKERS (TJRD) Snow Fight 3 Skate Pilgrim 7X Feral Carole 13 Little Miss Behave 100 Miss Fit 138 Betty Butt Bruiser 517E Maximus 555 Awesome Sauce 666 Kamikaze Kupcake 714 Anick Anger 999 Susie Bruises 1001 B.D.I. 1234 Joan of Argghh 1337 Darling Doom 5299

MAD MISSFITS (NEW HAMPSHIRE) Auti-Mobile Z00M Art Attach-Her Madzilla 5 ½ (TJRD) Better Red Than Dead 11 (TJRD) Biff Break-It 14BC (TJRD) Bad Bad Black Sheep 42 Dipsie Chick 57 Pearl Slam 151 Dora the Destroyer 98 Terryn It Up 711 Li’l Trouble 911 (TJRD) FBI 1313 (TJRD) Monster Mayhem 1999 (TJRD) Cinnamon Peaches 4558

Lil' Trouble jamming for Mad Missfits against Knicker Kickers

There was a definite GTAR connection to the Toronto Junior Roller Derby match as a parent or two of the players involved with the presences of Lil’ Trouble and Monster Mayhem. Leather Locklear of GTA Rollergirls Derby Debutantes had a match later on that night going against the visiting Royal City Roller Girls, but first she just had to see Lil Trouble in action. Due to rostering, Knicker Kickers split up their team and by luck of the draw, Lil’ Trouble was picked from the hat to be on the Mad Missfits along with Monster Mayhem was on the team of the Mad Missfits. Lil’ Trouble found herself jamming at one point against Kamikaze Kupcake of the Knicker Kickers. The match was historical, being the first junior Roller Derby match at Toronto Roller Derby and the first international match at that. The final score was close 82 to 74 which was hardly what mattered. The action on the track was highly skilled and maybe surprising, players on the track showed a lot of adeptness and strong skating ability, with occasional falls or being positionally blocked out of play or onto to the floor. From the mother’s perspective: “It was a bit stressful to rush from one venue to the other…but i made it! and it was well worth it to get to see my daughter play in her first bout and for me to get to be in my bout against Royal City. It was a great game and yes, Royal City were definitely a little tougher than I thought they would be. They have had some great training for sure!!!” As for Trouble on the track: “Lil’ Trouble was excited for days before her bout. Even with the roster change and having to play for the Mad Missfits, she was just excited to finally be having her first bout She just went out there and took the training that TJRD and GTAR have given her in the past year and played the best she could. She is anxiously awaiting the August 20th bout [Chrome Mollys vs. Peterborough] where she will get to play in front of the GTAR crowd…where she had first strapped on her skates and got her first taste of Roller Derby. Lil’ Trouble will definitely have a good share of fans cheering her on…those being her derby mentors…The GTA Rollergirls!!!!”

Thanks to DN for help with the rosters.

GTA rumbles with Royal City

[quick note: this story is still in the writing and photo stage... I've just realized something: this is the first time I've seen a Debutantes victory in person.]

The teams of GTA got deep into a Royal Rumble with the Royal City Rollergirls from Guelph on a cool and rainy Saturday night. But inside, the action was more than hot and primed.

Royal City Rollergirls from Guelph came into the well-packed arena at Ted Reeve on a Saturday night more than ready to rumble against GTA who were officially launching their season. The crowd was more than ready to rumble as well.

While the quickly developing Royal City Rollergirls comprise three teams within their own league, what with Violet Uprising, Killer Queens and Our Ladies of Pain, the RCRG for the night divided into the Freshies and Veterans for the Royal Rumble. And according to Debutantes coach My-Call Bublé it would be the first official 60 minute bout for Royal City. So while the experience level difference might be vast, the ladies in the Royal colours would not be mismatched. With previous coaching help from some Toronto Roller Derby veterans and CN Power along with some input from Guelph vets, Royal City were ready to do their best.

The Debs take on the Beast – or Mollys and Debs and Beast – o my! [take 3]

One more practice before Beast

The teams of GTA Rollergirls ventured forth down to Montreal with high hopes and expectations. After all, the Debutantes had a taste of previous victories and redemption at Beast of the East, and for the Chrome Mollys it was their first chance to taste tournament competition. Also to be noted as well, the Debutantes had already had the pleasure of two tune-up matches to turn up the volume in their play in April against Rideau Valley Slaughters and La Racaille back to back over two consecutive weekends. GTAR had at least an inkling of what was to come.

Slaughter Daughters at Parliament Kill

As intense as the competition and the atmosphere was to be at Beast within the confines of the arena, the Debutantes had to wake up at the crack of dawn to open the tournament and face their first match of the day. Les Duchesses from Roller Derby Quèbec were a somewhat unknown commodity but as a team were definitely a fun loving bunch. Pelvis Stojko their spokesperson had relayed that the bout with the Debutantes would be their first official match.

8:07 a.m. Saturday. Debs and Duchesses.
Debs experience versus Duchesses in 1st bout.
Canadian Psycho grabs lead jam against Duchesses de Québec at first bout at Beast of the East.
First jam. 3-0.
Tara on second jam.
Getcha Kicks on third jam. 9-2.
Lee Way Wreck’Em. Power jam. 20 points. 29-2.
Psycho. Debs Pack control. Grand slam. 48-2.
Tara knocked out on next jam. Zero points. 48-2.
GK against Pelvis. 4 points. 52-2.
Lee Way lead jam.
Psycho. Power jam. Psycho taken out. Duchesses cut track after block.
Duchesses. Lead jam. Pelvis Psycho. calls it off after hit down. No points. 81-3.
Getcha Kicks. Lead jam. 101-3. Debs hit century mark.
Lee Way Wreck’Em. Lead jam.
Tara. Knocked down. 110-3.
Psycho. practiced dead stop pack. Game over. 124-4.

——-

Debutantes on the floor right now with Filles du Roi
Psycho.

GK on the jam.

And on and on the night flew by and the mighty Debs fell to the “very young very tough and very fast” team of Montrèal in their elimination bout.

Filles du Roi vs. DebutantesVideo streaming by Ustream

Final score 62-29. Filles du Roi.

–

Now to the story behind the story.

We’ve garnered some post Beast stories from some of the Debutantes who sallied forth to Montreal and while most will remain untold, they have shared some for the record. Derby Debutantes’s veteran 5By5 Lee Way Wreck’Em was in her third Beast as the gifted and speedy jammer and blocker of the team. Lee Way provided some analysis and retrospective of the Derby Debutantes and Chrome Mollys at Beast along with other insights into some of the other bouts at Beast from the Debutantes point de vue. 

Parliament Kill in GTAR – Derby Debutantes vs. Rideau Valley Slaughter Daughters

Parliament Kill in action

DSC_5216-Edit, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

SLAUGHTER DAUGHTERS SISTER DISASTER and DEBUTANTES CANADIAN PSYCHO

Parliament Kill in action on my Midnight Matinee Flickr site

SURGICAL STRIKE

It was as flawless an exhibition of Derby as one could see as Rideau Valley’s Slaughter Daughters came to town to visit the GTA Rollergirls Derby Debutantes. In a pre-season match at Ted Reeve Arena’s Bubble the Slaughter Daughters executed their plays with precision in a very spirited affair that was not sans spills and huge hits that could be expected in any match against Rideau Valley. The Slaughter Daughters are a large component of the Vixens team from Quad City Chaos 2011 and together just as the Slaughter Daughters were even more unified and brought in what they had learned going against the likes of the boisterous Tri-City Thunder, speedy CN Power and the mighty undefeated [at the Quad City Chaos 2011 tourney] New Skids on the Block.

Debutantes Captain Splat Benatar and the rest of the Debutantes knew they were facing a formidable team and task.

“We knew going in that this game was going to be a big challenge for the Derby Debs but we took it on as a learning experience to gear us up for our new season. Our 2011 Debs are a mixture of third season vets with last year’s Chrome Mollys making up the roster. The Slaughter Daughters are a very experienced team. They gel well together to control our pack and jammers. We can also learn a great deal from their wall breaking skills. They kept us apart from the start of the first whistle so our Debs could not get organized enough to put up a defense.

“I was very proud of the Debs, they held on and scored some points even with the loss of injured players. We have the drive and I always say you sometimes learn more from your losses then your victories.”

In the deep cold freeze of the Bubble which made for a difficult to stop surface, the Debutantes learned their lessons well. Afterwards, their self-analysis was thorough [and totally off the record] as they noted the actions and hits of the likes of #658 Surgical Strike, 10KT Semi-Precious, speedy and hard to knock down jammers 55 Soul Rekker [who did not enter into the second half] and 74 DDT. Seeing Sister Disaster on the line. Trying to avoid Drunky Brewster and finding oneself instead against walls of black of the likes of Surgical Strike and Assassinsta. The Debs were not without their own highlights. Canadian Psycho’s 17points and a jam of amazing endurance that drew kudos even from the Slaughter Daughters, Getcha Kicks sailing into the air, Tyrannosaurus Rexy gaining lead status twice, Brickhouse Bardot being thrown in as jammer along with Gypsy into the mix. As noted on one of their comments, the Debs were well deserving of every one of their 28 points they earned on the track.

CANADIAN PSYCHO

Although it was the major one-sided victory for the Slaughter Daughters on the track, it was all one big happy danceoff at the afterparty at Prohibition.

This coming Saturday the feisty and speedy La Racaille from Montreal Roller Derby come to meet the Debs at Ted Reeve Arena for Social Class Clash. La Racaille’s roster has changed from last year with the loss of members to New Skids on the Block and other stories, but they could still bring the likes of captain and former Skids Wrath Poutine along with K-Dawg, Izzy Skellington or Squarrior just to name a few.

“As for La Racaille, well, that’s another derby story. We are so proud that La Racaille is coming to Toronto. This will be La Racaille’s first away game to Ontario ever! La Racaille also represent a team with many experienced players so the match up is a little tough for us but it’s another chance to learn and see if we can make adjustments to our team on the fly. I guess we Debs love a challenge!”

GETCHA KICKS, CANADIAN PSYCHO, LEATHER LOCKLEAR

“

/… more to come

Now that the moment is here:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPLAT BENATAR!

all content copyright © midnight matinee

La Racaille are coming to town!

Mark April 16 on your Derby calendar for next month. La Racaille are coming to Toronto.

New GTA Rollergirls site launches

GTA Rollergirls launch their new site.

Material on the pages includes the usual assortment of news, events including the fund raiser and Beast of the East acceptance for the two teams Chrome Mollys and Derby Debutantes. bloggy writers and the invitation to join the league. There’s even a media photo gallery from yours truly in there. [Disclaimer: We didn't choose the pics! Thanks for the kind words ladies!]

GTA Rollergirls

Derby Cheers!

The untold story so far-One Year today in Derby

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There have been Derby moments of moments when arose the fateful day that steered our life towards a bright destiny. As Bryan Adams might have said back in the summer of ’69 it was the best year of our life.

It all began one year ago today with this moment.

We call this  our first Derby photograph.
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Hurl Scout Cheerleaders at Toronto International Festival 2009

Life has never been the same since this little movie.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/midnightmatinee/4002642662/in/set-72157622442723745/”>Whip It!

The following words are a story of a life in Derby that has not been told in public before. This was a story intended for elsewhere but this is that story.
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