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!

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!

Stranger in a Stranger Land – part 4 – It’s a family affair as bloo! knockout red Saucies DSC_6423-Edit

DSC_6423-Edit, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.
Who knew what malice of forethought lay between the sibling rivalry that existed deep with Queen City. Lamb Chop, captain of the Nickel City Knockouts looked to inflict some pain upon her brother and rival Señor Wiener who stood by the bench of the Suicidal Saucies as their coach.

Please note that this is still a story in draft form. Stranger in a Stranger Land – part 3 to come later.

These were just some of our thoughts as we ventured back down into the States for yet another heart-stopping experience of the Queen City brand of Derby at its best. The tasty treats of the evening included the Lake Effects ice cream! A tempting selection of Queen City Roller Girls Rocky Road, Salty Caramel, Vanilla & Graceland (inspired by Elvis). Not being able to wait until halftime and at the behest of Diamond CrushHer the Rocky Road was delved into, and it was pure heaven. Cold chocolate and delectable marshmallows for that sweet bite.

After ice cream, revenge is a dish best served cold and the Saucies were looking out to get back for their loss to the Knockouts the season before. The Saucies bench was strong replete with representation from the QCRG All-star travelling team Lake Effect Furies, but Lamb Chop, herself a Furies veteran, stood with 20 strong Knockouts behind her. In between them stood Mama Chop, the inveterate waver of the mighty foamy lamb chop. But on this game day she could have been torn figuring out how to support the two teams while she bled blue inside. Adding to the mixture was the other family member Shock-Her who had to remain neutral as head ref for the night. The Saucies and coach had to rebound from the sour taste of a loss in a close bout from three weeks before with the Alley Kats, a match that could have gone either way. With first game experience behind them, the Saucies used the interim between bouts to get everyone onto the same page, draftees and veterans alike. Part of the Knockouts advantage was more cohesiveness as a team, having had to fill fewer holes in their roster between seasons.

Sweetening the pot for the night were the Ice Ice Babies opening the night and making their bout debut before a live audience. The energy of the junior team of Queen City was running rambunctious around the rink as they quickly donned uniforms for the night and their team photo. The Ice Ice Babies divided into two teams of Frost Bites and Snow Bunnies, nervously taking in the energy of the crowd as they circled the track for their introductions. The bout was limited to a 10 minute period with one minute jams. Yet it probably felt like an eternity for the fearless and talented bunch on the rink. The referees had to race to keep up with the Babies jammers. Scoring ran high with the score reaching 90 to 84 by the end of it all.

The Ice Ice Babies bout meant the Knockouts and the Suicidal Saucies had to warm up twice which may have dissipated some of their bout energy. The night was less of the devastation and more into the go for broke jamming and defensive posturing. The blue was more than dressing down the Saucies as the first period ended with a 101-45 advantage. Crazy Legs only took to the jammer line once for the Knockouts but they had the indomitable BJ Harmstrong and Ruby Revenge and Unsung. It was hard to not notice those particular ruby red shorts on the line.

The 101-45 halftime advantage underscored the decisiveness of the Knockouts as they preyed on and pried upon holes in the Saucies pack. By the end of the night the lead crept near the triple digits, but that was not the story of the night which was another nose injury inflicted upon QCRG and the Saucies’s Nova Cain. Brave soul that she was, she came back donning the face guard to jam again for her team.

The night concluded with a 191-93 score for the blue, with the house music blazing LMAO and the ladies dancing on the track. With some shaking of hands with the audience and hugs with friends, it was not the usual everyone dashing to ring around at trackside to get the low or high five with their heroes of the night&#emdash;at QCRGm the crowd is already as close to the track as they can get&#emdash;it’s that intimate.

/… more

The after-party at the Renaissance was a short drive away after the coach of the Saucies had proffered a bottle of American champagne to the victors. The theme of the night was soup, and homemade soup it was that hit the spot for the hungry and exhausted skaters who were slurping on the likes of bacon and cheeseburger, pasta, cheese and beer, a sweet potato chili that was all vegetarian and all good. While trying to stay on the outside and witness the red and the blue, we offered the Knockouts captain the Toblerone rose we had been carrying across the border. It may have been the dumbest thing we ever tried to do, but getting the hug and the invite to sit with the blue was even more than icing on the cake, it was being in the middle of a dream come true. It could have been a dangerous tactic by yours truly to wear the Team Canada t-shirt when Team USA’s Addy Rawl was sitting at the same tabke, wearing her Team USA jacket and shirt. We could only remark upon the World Cup match of Stars vs. Stripes back in Toronto when the two sides during warm-up and introductions circled the track at a breakneck speed never before seen in Canada. She remembered the night well, and remarked how exhausted she was afterwards. Surprising how feisty some Team Argentina player can be, shouting “blooooo!” with the accompaniment of the rest of the bloo cast. A photographer’s job should never stop and some discrete photos were taken here and there. Journey was playing downstairs which beckoned Diamond and crew to the gym hall while others took leaves to go the after-after-party. It seemed a shame not to partake of the price of beer in Queen City, and after passing over the choices of Blue or Canadian and instead asking the barkeep for a good American beer, he offered Budweiser. We talked about the differences in Canadian and American beer, and he said something along the lines that the US was not allowed to offer the high alcohol content up in Canada.

While the beer was going down and soup being sipped, the clean-up was on with Mama and her small motley crew washing out crock pots and bowls and figuring out how to carry what was left back home. [It was all good soup, just more than could be supped on.] While everyone took off or finally fell asleep watching the end of Fargo on the high definition cable in the darkness, it was time to hit the pillow yet again in America.

/… more

This is a story still in the writing and editing stage.

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Yuuuuup! It’s a family affair – Stranger in a Stranger Land – part 4 – my blooo heaven

Stay tuned for more details here as the Suicidal Saucies go head to head against the Nickel City Knockouts in Queen City on Saturday night. That’s today!

It’s a brother vs sister thing – and you know who always says, “Mama always liked you best.”

Bim Bam Baby

Also, the Ice Ice Babies square off against each other too!
 

And here the story begins. Stranger in a Stranger Land – part 4. Part 3 still in the writing stage.

Welcome to the Paradise !

Venturing forth for the third time down to Queen City to see a spat of epic family proportions as the Suicidal Saucides led by Señor Wences would face the Nickel City Knockouts captained by the Lamb Chop herself and square in between was Mama Chops trying her best to cheer on her two Derby siblings as equally as she would or could. Inside she may be bleeding a certain colour that rhymes with mountain dew but that did not stop her from bolstering the league and bout as much as she could.

The contents for the soup repast after party sploshed in crock pots in the back of the truck as the family truck driven by ShockHer wended its way through North Tonawanda.

It as a night of sweets for the sweet, Lake Effect Ice Cream was present and Diamond CrushHer commanded me to try one on as a treat. The server’s favourite was the Rocky Road, which we tried although Salty Caramel will have to be tried next time.

The after-party was a slice of my blue heaven. Shouts of yuuuuuuuup! ringed through the room as the skaters dove into the many varieties of soup prepared by the ladies of the league. A sweet potato chili was out of this world and a bacon and cheeseburger soup disappeared fast. The pasta was a flavourful filling bowl and the cheese with a lot of beer was spicy yummy as were all the others. And chocolate nutty rice krispies to round out the edges.

With great trepidation, with camera gear on our shoulder we looked around the room filled with the black and red and blue. How to break the ice? Maybe a rose? or chocolate? Done.

Introduced as the “photographer from Canada” it was realized a great responsibility lay on our shouder.

Wearing Team Canada t-shirt might not have been the best idea as Addy Rawl herself sat across the table wearing her Team USA jacket and shirt. I could only commend her for her role on Team USA and the memory of seeing the Team USA Introduction during Stars vs Stripes at World Cup was the fastest thing we had ever seen on skates. She remembers being exhausted after all that.

Stranger in a Stranger Land – an etiquette for a visiting photographer

STRANGER IN A STRANGER LAND

This is part 2 of a continuing story of our first venture into America to see Derby in the United States. To be more specific, the home opener of the Queen City Roller Girls of Buffalo, NY on January 7, 2012. What a way to start the year.

It was while on the road for the first time to America for Derby and reflecting on the entire experience, a light bulb flashed and a whole slate of words crystallized before our eyes. It was not quite the proverbial Ten Commandments but it was the way to conduct oneself, the etiquette of being a visiting photographer.

Having just crossed into the United States of America for the first time in forever after facing a myriad of details and a boatload of questions that had filled the mind for weeks, such as how to get across the border (both of them preferably), how to get to Buffalo, how much to get to Buffalo, what to pack, how to carry what had to be packed, how to get to the Rainbow Roller Rink to see my favourite league down under —those crazy Queen City Roller Girls—on their home court in what would be a reprise of their Championships from 2011. The teams for the 2012 season opener: the pink of defending champions Devil Dollies vs. the blue Nickel City Knockouts. What better way to Kick Out The Jams?

It was a marvel to watch Queen City literally set up for the evening from scratch to finish in what would be a sold-out bout; volunteers everywhere, laying down the track, ticket sellers, ticket takers, crew installing lights overhead into the ceiling, putting out the bleachers, handle a session for the entire league photo, photo mediator B-17 dealing with press, the ongoing Queen’s Court chitchat, zebras and roster boards, a bake sale setup for the Ice Ice Babies who are the Queen City Roller Girls junior team, a band setup and stage for half time intermission, merchandise table, concession and food, stats table, scoreboard table, power bars, putting up sponsors banners including Mighty Taco, setting out the players benches and penalty bin, video crew in the form of Mr. Fit, Mama Chops out to handle the after-party setup for her ladies, players and teams rolling in to get changed and warming up on the track, it was indeed the universal experience of game day. All thanks to the biggest fan of the league who would be the owner of Rainbow Roller Rink. While all this unfolded around me, what had accrued from the experience of travelling on the road or even being at home amongst the leagues in and around Toronto and the grand experience of Blood and Thunder World Cup, was more than an enabler in knowing how to deal and what questions to ask. Where to shoot. How to shoot. In other words: How to fit in.

In no particular order and by no means all-inclusive:

1. Smile.
2. Ask your hosts as far in advance as possible if you can tentatively shoot their next bout. Find out how much lighting and gear you can bring along. Leagues may have an off-camera flash policy. Some leagues may set aside a room to stow gear or bags. Others, you may be lucky to get floorspace.
3. You are a visitor. You are their guest. Act accordingly, and try to get along. Thank your hosts. Blend in. Wear a  neutral league shirt. Or at least a clean shirt.
4. There is no such thing as the absolute gold standard. Every league does its best. Every league has its own way of doing things. Every league has its own personality. Respect them.
5. Never assume anything. No attitude.
6. Always be ready. Life’s biggest lesson taught to me by Boris Spremo.
7. Listen to your media liaison or photo wrangler. Abide by whatever agreement you choose to sign. Get the lay of the land. Their word is law.



8. Take the best shots you can. That’s what the league expects and what you should expect of yourself. Every picture tells a story. You are not there as a spectator on their dime. You never know when to expect the unexpected. There is always something going on, but know you cannot capture it all. Do your best. Deal with it. There may be team rituals and introductions you have never seen before. React to it. [Can you say bagpipes Tri-City Thunder?] If you are having a bad day, deal with it, don’t show it. If your lighting or flash has died, be creative. Or go back to basics. Never surrender. The teams on the track never do.
9. Know the rules of Derby. Know the lines. Know the lines you cannot cross. The ones on the floor or not. And for all those tyros out there, don’t shoot and skateboard around the track at the same time.
10. Know or get to know the NSOs and volunteers. Know the referees. Listen to the announcers. They always can tell you where all the best action is.



11. Until the bout is over, skaters are skaters on game day. Coaches are coaches. They will still talk to you but their focus should be the bout ahead. Try not to intrude on their space. Shoot the stretch at your own peril.
12. God is in the details. Sweat the small stuff. Plan as best you can. Put your experience to use. Learn as much as you can about the venue if you can. Look at game videos to see their lighting and where photographers set up. Some leagues already know what photographers require, but be prepared to ask questions to find a friendly solution.
13. Capture the atmosphere. Shoot a bit of everybody and introduce yourself. You never know who will tag themselves or what photo will be an unanticipated favourite.



14. Don’t get in the way of the crowd. They paid for their ticket and deserve to be there. Above all, lesson learned: officials first. Don’t get in the way of the stats keepers or sit where the whiteboard needs to be. You definitely do not want to be part of a referee takeout.
15. Treat your fellow photographers well. They are there to make everyone on the track look their best in the best way they can. They often impart to you where or how they shoot. Keep on learning and learn from the best.
16. A T-shirt is always a nice souvenir, however leagues manage to sell the darndest things. (Can you say Anya Face lippybalm?)
17. At the end of the night, thank your tired hosts again. Sincerely. Queen City love their Blue, Molson or otherwise. Bloo!
18. Pay it forward. That was my biggest take from World Cup. You will have mutual respect, and even gained new friends by the end of the night if everything goes right. It’s the Golden Rule. (You never know when you may have to ask someone for a quote or one of their photos for a wordpress article!)

Of course saying it and doing it can diverge, but do your best. If you believe it, you’ll do it. And if you succeed, not only do you have the photos of a lifetime or a moment in life, you have new friends who will let you come back.

So, thank you Derby and leagues and all us hard-working photographers everywhere. Thank you Queen City for your generosity and hospitality and the Cherry Coke.



And once I write the rest of part one, there will be undeniable evidence there is a Derby God-dess.

Crazy about Queen City DSC_1287-2

DSC_1287-2, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Queen City Rollergirls home season debut with a rematch between last year’s teams in the finals of the QCRG Championships: Devil Dollies and Nickel City Knockouts.Featured here is Crazy Legs from the NCKO donning face guard after having her nose broken at Blood and Thunder World Cup while bouting as captain of Team Argentina.

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Boo D. Bloxx representing Queen City Baby Brawlers @ 2 Fresh 2 Furious

Queen City Baby Brawlers @ 2 Fresh 2 Furious - July 7, 2011

Preamble: It has been a little more than a year since we had first made contact with the constantly travelling Queen City Rollergirls. Whether it be witnessing the Lake Effect Furies up in Tri-City

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

or seeing the freshies of the league at Fresh & Furious or its sequel, the league of extraordinary QCRG  has always been the friendliest of ambassadors.

A certain lot of the Queen City Rollergirls made their presence known in the Toronto area at the very first Fresh and Furious tournament hosted by GTA Rollergirls at Ted Reeve Arena. Back then it was a doubleheader with a combination of fresh meat talent from leagues such as WEWRA Rollergettes, Ottawa ORD, Sault, Queen City, Auld Reekie mixed together, wearing either the black or pink in each game. Ostensibly, the second game was the debut of the Chrome Mollys.

DSC_9977 – More of the action from 2 Fresh 2 Furious

DSC_9977, originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

The first bout of the day over in Ted Reeve Arena featured the Border City Brawlers from beautiful Windsor against the South Simcoe Rebel Rollers [do we detect some fireworks and rockets here?]

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ARE YOU YETI FOR THIS? THE FAST AND THE FURIEOUS – HAMMER CITY EH! AND LAKE EFFECT DUKE IT OUT

DSC_9328-Edit
originally uploaded by Midnight Matinee 24.

Via Flickr:Hammer City Eh! Team vs. Lake Effect FuriesDave Andreychuk [Mountain] Arena Hamilton, ONTARIO CANADA

Preamble: Woke up got out of bed, that was a good way to start the day. With so many events on the 11th of June, there were all the conflicting choices and no handy dandy DeLorean and flux capacitor. The Derby Debs were hosting Rideau Redux with the Riot Squad at Ted Reeve, Royal City Rollergirls had their Royal City Riot with first time South Simcoe facing Killer Queen and Our Ladies of Pain going up against Violet Uprising, Toronto Roller Derby had their 2 vs 3 semi-finals with Chicks Ahoy! meeting the Dolls in their second bout in two weeks. Mais les jeux sont fait with Hammer City Eh! Team facing the Hammer City Eh! Team.
Hammer time in the city as the Lake Effect Furies brought their brrrr! game to Hamilton. It was storm und drang as the Hammer City Eh! Team led by mainstays Bitchslap Barbie, Lock and Eduskating Rita fought back with their classic hit and run style. The travelling Furies from Queen City Roller Girls in Buffalo, New York ventured across the border with a squad of eleven captained by #52 CU-T and LipService wearing #77 instead of her customary #360, some rookie Furies #303 Konichiwow and #711 Day TripHer with their new coach in tow Mr. T and Diamond Crushher running bench. The Furies ranked currently #17 in Q1 in the Eastern Division in their first year of WFTDA are nothing if not new Derby on the edge of a revolution.

Meanwhile ranked #19 in Q1 Hammer City Eh! Team were into their second bout of the home season while the Furies had already been busy at home against Steel City, Hudson Valley and Maine, and on the road against the likes of Green Mountain and Montreal New Skids on the Block, and the QCRG home teams just finishing off the Queen City Cup championships won by the Devil Dollies over the NCKO.

The match with Hammer City would be QCRG’s seventh ranked match of the year whereas Hammer City would be back from BrewHaha 2011 and their part in the doubleheader with Forest City.

History shows there have been bouts between Queen City and the Hammer. So the night would be marking the resumption of their small rivalry. Miss Carriage, #33 with Hammer City Eh! Team vet noted: “The Eh! Team hasn’t played Queen City since 2009 so I was really excited to skate against Queen City.”

From the moment the Furies skated onto the track, they brought their style and fluidity in skating that showed they meant business. The Furies have demonstrated in the past through two matches in Ontario with Tri-City Thunder and CN Power they have defence and speed. And their coach Mr. T had brought in some track savvy and wiles. It also became apparent during their speedy and fervent warmup that the Furies had something up their sleeves [if they had been wearing any].

Hammer City Eh Team #613 Hammerhead said: “The Furies brought intensity to the track. They were strong, and fearless competitors. Often incorporating the element of ‘surprise’ into their game play and strategy.”

One of the elements of surprise was a manner of skating which is not commonly seen in Derby but taken to the heart and actively encouraged within Queen City.

Miss Carriage continues: “Watching the Furies warm up it was apparent that they incorporated backwards skating into their game play, so our team chatted about ways to combat it. Whatever direction the Furies skated in, swarming our jammers and throwing big hits were a part of their successful strategy, which we countered with everything we had, including some solid blocks of our own.”

The bout was as swift yet defensive and hard hitting as could be imagined by any fan of the Hammer or the Furies. The gameplan by the Furies was a sight to behold. Trying to keep it on the mum side, Lake Effect Furies ploy of backwards skating and blocking as shown by their #44 R. Rose Selavey nonetheless looked revolutionary, then again, anything involving players in Derby on the track is revolutionary. Backwards skating and blocking in the direction of play may not be prevalent, but it is a tactic that could be incorporated. The advantages are within the realm of the teams themselves.

Wily Lambchop #71 of the Furies always eyeing out her opposition, delivered the hit of the night for her team on an unsuspecting Oh! Henry, while Miss Carriage countered in kind for Hammer.

Although the Furies were racing up the scoreboard reaching triple digits, it was not due to any lack of heart or hustle by HCRG to match their opposition. Hammer jammers #5 JJ Bladez, #33 Miss Carriage, co-captains #2009 Eduskating Rita and even #00 Lock N Roll [and others] were going against the likes of Furies’s #525 Addy Rawl, #10 B.J. Harmstrong, #77 Lipservice [all three of whom tried out for Team USA for the World Cup coming in December]. Furthermore, Crazy Legs #24 was chosen Captain for Team Argentina. The win due more to a cohesive Furies team out to get to the top of the scoreboard and rankings, agile jammer for Lake Furies #525 Addy Rawl says: “In our post game talk we all agreed that the score did not reflect how we felt during the game. It was high intensity from the first whistle to the last. We were able to incorporate the things we have been doing in practice over the past few months and we did a great job of communicating and working together. Our blockers were extraordinary, holding the opposing team’s jammer for most of the jams. Our blockers make our job easy.”

One of the nice parts of Derby is the afterwards picking of the MVP by the two sides for the night. The Eh! Team chose #711 Day TripHer as Lake Effect’s MVP, while #5150 Oh! Henry was chosen as Eh! Team’s MVP by their Queen City counterparts. This thrilled #5150 no end.

“This was my first home game and it was alot of fun, having some friends and family cheering me on really helped! I didn’t expect to win an MVP award but I’m obviously thrilled and can’t wait till our next game.”

To help sum up the night, Miss Carriage proudly states: “Our team achieved some of the goals we set out to and look forward to furthering them at ECDX. All in all it made for a really fun game that the fans enjoyed despite the score differential, we hope to skate with QCRG more often!”

Furthermore, says #795 Tempura Tantrum who skated last year in the Waterfront match in the sauna like conditions: “The Eh! Team is rebuilding but we still bring the HCRG fight to every bout. But credit clearly goes to the Furies. You learn so much from playing a team as cohesive and strategically sound as the they are. With every jam we play, I definitely think we’re continuing to grow stronger as a team. The Eh! Team is on the right track.”

Next matches to come for Hammer City slotted against Maine and Long Island down at East Coast Derby Extravaganza. Then July 9 back at home with Roc City currently WFTDA Apprentice. Roc City have played previously against Suburgia, Lehigh, Long Island and QCRG, with future bouts against Garden State, Lake Effect and Harrisburg.

/… more to come

As we write this: Lake Effect Furies have just defeated Central New York 152-135 on June 18th. Cheers!

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From rochestersportsfan.com: “The Furies might be ranked a hair low, their first three bouts were booked a bit ambitiously, they faced some stiff beatings from Steel City, Maine, and Montreal, while blowing out unranked opponents like Green Mountain and Hudson Valley Horrors. Later in the season they face off against Suburbia Roller Derby and Long Island Roller Rebels, who might give the rankings voters a better idea of where their team belongs in the rankings.”

Happy Birthday Queen City Roller Girls!

Preamble: For five years, Queen City Roller Girls have been fanning the flames and spreading the good word about their league. Although they have hosted the likes of Hammer City and Montreal in the past, QCRG started coming north to this part of the world. Last year’s Fresh and Furious tournament [hosted by GTA Rollergirls] consisted of two bouts featuring the debut of Chrome Mollys and other new skaters in their inaugural or their second match from across the province and across the border [and across the pond]. One of the leagues represented was the Queen City Roller Girls from Buffalo, NY. More attention was brought to bear upon QCRG as the Nickel City Knockouts hit the road to play Thames Fatales, then their travel team Lake Effect Furies came north twice – the first time they brrrrrought the Ice Ice Baby theme to the New Hamburg arena in a well-contended narrow loss against Tri-City Thunder. However, the Furies turned it around and showed their winning form later that year against CN Power at The Hangar in Toronto. Throughout, the ambassadors of Queen City showed great friendliness and let their personalities and sportmanship shine on and off the track [as can be evidenced from various shenanigans with Forest City and elsewhere].

LAKE EFFECT FURIES (BLACK & BLUE) VS. TRI-CITY THUNDER (BLACK & SILVER)

SISSY FIT of SUICIDAL SAUCIES When QCRG skaters were asked to provide the background of the league and the 5th birthday celebrations, all who were asked deferred to Sissy Fit, a formidable jammer and blocker with the Suicidal Saucies and renowned as the founder of Queen City Roller Girls. Thanks to Sissy Fit for her generous words.