For the last few weeks, after the final rounds of tryouts from coast to coast were completed, the Canadian Roller Derby community held its collective breath, in anticipation of the roster being announced. Well folks, wait no longer, here it is!!
Team Canada Roller Derby
! (more…)
As I was lying in a pool of my own sweat at hot yoga yesterday, I was contemplating my life. In just over 2 short years, I have lost my Dad, my dog and last week, my Mom. My husband is in Afghanistan yet again, I run a business, have two young kids and was having a lapse in sanity a few months ago, and ended up with a psychotic puppy. You can imagine that I need a release from my stress, hence the attempt at hot yoga.
Wildrose Cup - September 17, 2011
What became glaringly clear though, as I melted away on the floor, was that I have been lucky enough to have something in my life that helps me through it all….Roller Derby, and the gloriously dysfunctional new family that comes along with it. (more…)
The Oil City Derby Girls have just signed a contract to play the E-Ville Roller Derby League on September 17, 2011 for the Wild Rose Cup! This is an historic moment in Western Flat Track Roller Derby.
Interleague representatives show the signed contract! Pamtera from Oil City and Nerd Badger from E-Ville.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of this sport, five years ago there was only one roller derby league in Edmonton: The Oil City Derby Girls. Some of the members branched off and formed the E-Ville Roller Derby League to prove that, like heads, two leagues are indeed better than one – and it seems that they may have been right. Over the past five years both teams have been striving for success, learning from losses and racking up wins in games with teams all over Canada and the USA. (more…)
We hear a lot about the hard hittin’, trash talkin’ roller vamps of derby. Roller derby is a sport with a mystique and sex appeal that is often capitalized on in promotion and emphasized by media. And why not? The combination of serious athletics with good girl gone bad alter-egos is one of the reasons for its skyrocketing popularity.
How real to life derby personas are is another question entirely. Is the impression of being of a pack of ringleaders an act for the crowd and a form of mental warfare against the other team, or is it true derby girls are a bunch of bitches?
From personal experience up close and very up close (ouch), I can reassure you that most derby players are merely human, with individual talents, flaws and challenges. Still, if you wanted to create a continuum of gritty tenacity and mettle, with amoeba on one side and superhero at the other, derby girls would be clustered around the cape and tights wearing end. The personas may be over the top, but determination and moxie is as real as the game itself. It takes women strong in body and mind to put on roller skates and mouth guards two or three nights a week to refine their backend kicking skills. (more…)
Little Brother and Lexisonfire by Papa Razzo
At six foot tall, Josh “Little Brother” Misner is no ordinary roller derby player, though it is not his height that is the most unusual. Today’s flat track roller derby, with its stylistic roots in rockabilly and punk rock counter culture, brings up images of fishnet stockings and push up bras on hard hitting women. Mustaches and protective cups are typically not in the picture.
But, with something as great as flat track roller derby, it’s inevitable the guys are going to want to try to muscle in on the action.
Mixed gender and men’s flat track derby teams started popping up about 2005 in the United States. Today, in Western Canada there are three men’s teams, Red Deer Roller Derby Association’s (RDRDA) Dreadnoughts, Calgary’s Glenmore Reservoir Dogs, and the Vancouver Murder.
Still, men playing derby is relatively rare. When merby in Canada is played, the teams often have to borrow players, both men and women, from others to fill their rosters.
I caught up with Little Brother of the Dreadnoughts, who I skate with, and against, in mixed gender league practices and scrimmages at RDRDA, and asked a few question about being a man playing what is mainly considered a women’s sport. (more…)
Photo by Anthony Canada
You know a sport is growing exponentially when there are internet sites dedicated specifically to tracking new teams internationally.
On Derby Earth they track and map, just about every Derby league on the planet!! From banked track, to WFTDA Leagues, to independants and juniors, this site is a one-stop shop for people looking to find Roller Derby Worldwide! (more…)
Whether you are aware of it or not, roller derby is happening all around us. As you are reading this, there is a league somewhere in Canada running a practice or scrimmage or ref clinic.
This weekend was a busy one for the sport in Western Canada.
Photo by Troy Marshall Hill
In Armstrong, BC, the Okanagan Shushwap Roller Derby Association hosted a double header to the delight of fans from BC and AB. Mens roller derby was represented by the Glenmore Reservoir Dogs from Calgary and the Vancouver Murder. Final score was 204-74 for the boys from Vancouver. The women played in an all-star black vrs. white bout, with teams made up of skaters from leagues in BC and AB. (more…)
Viv the Shiv captured by Papa Razzo
There is a plague among our land, a scourge that is targeting a certain community. It strikes fast and hard, and, at this point in time, no cure.
Referee blindness is an epidemic of staggering proportions.
If you are a derby ref you should know something before you drop down to leave me a nasty comment: the afflicted are usually the last to know.
Talk to the ladies on the track, they’ll state their shock at how the refs aren’t calling the back blocking. On the bench they’re stunned with the low blocking and how their jammer has been trying to call it off for an entire lap and how could anyone miss her frantic signal? The girl in the penalty box is pretty sure it was bad angle and she didn’t cut the track, thank you. She was framed. (more…)
Photo by Anthony Canada
I know, you are all wondering the same thing, right? Those of you that are not seasoned fans yet, might need a little advice and guidance in this area…lol.
How does one behave at a Roller Derby bout? What can we expect at our first bout? All valid concerns my dear friends. As a lover of the sport (and skater, board member and fan)let me take you through this one step at a time, a helpful little guide detailing what to wear, what to bring and when it’s okay to touch a derby girl. (more…)
Is this statement true or false:
Roller derby is one of North America’s youngest and fastest growing sports.
Your answer likely depends on how old you are and, possibly, at what point your home town received access to cable television.
If you answered that roller derby is not new, it has been around forever, you are right! And wrong.
Various games called roller derby have been around since the 1920s. Originally a marathon, roller derby has taken on several forms, including the scripted and televised banked track roller sports of the 1970s and 80s.
However, FLAT TRACK roller derby, the kind being played in your town right now, is only about a decade old, with its governing body of rules having been created in 2004. Today’s roller derby is driven mainly by female players, is all athletics and all real.
Oil City Derby Girls win Wildrose Cup 2010
Yes, you read it right…Roller Derby World Cup. Hmmm, interesting. And by WORLD Cup, they literally mean the WORLD!
Blood & Thunder Magazine, an American magazine dedicated solely to women’s roller derby, announced that they will be organizing the first every Roller Derby World Cup. It will be hosted by Toronto Roller Derby on the weekend of December 1-4, 2011. SO, not only is it a FIRST, it will be in Canada! (more…)
What defines a sport as being viewed as a legitimate sport, versus sports entertainment? In my opinion, the only real difference between the two would be the scripting. And ladies and gentleman…there is NO scripting on the track!
The days of Skinny Minnie Miller and the iconic L.A. T-Birds may be long gone, but roller derby has been revived and quickly earning a spot with other amateur sports. Sure, there is still an entertainment factor, but arguably, isn’t that true with all sports?
Roller derby is a sport like no other; It has its own culture, it’s not mainstream (yet, anyway), and is very quickly gaining momentum, as the number of leagues in the world are growing weekly!
The most surprising thing to me when I began skating with Oil City Derby Girls was just how disciplined they were, and how intense the practices were. Oddly enough, they don’t just let you strap on skates and go bashing around the track. There are skills that are drilled in to every skater (for their protection and the protection of those skating near them) and rules and strategies and even a written test! (Never expected that part!) The list of rules is quite dizzying and with the number of refs that are part of every bout, very little “under-handed” behaviour is missed. For the most part though, despite the aggressive nature of the sport, the women that take part in a game are respectful and abide by the rules. Yes, there is bickering, but adrenaline will do that to even the most mild-mannered player at times.
Take a look at this video: OCDG Vrs. Saskatoon
There truly is no room for scripting in today’s roller derby. The women that play are focused and proud of their accomplishments. And let me tell you, to make a team is quite an accomplishment!
To follow the journey of a freshmeat player, check out a great blog written by a friend of mine, Unchained Malady(she even blogged about me…lol): http://pickacheek.blogspot.com
Check out Oil City’s next home game as the Tank’er Girls take on Prince George’s Rated PG Rollergirls on January 29!!
Much Derby Love,
This is NOT your momma`s roller derby! Gone are the WWE-like scripted bouts from the 70`s and 80`s. The resurrection of roller derby is happening with alot of blood, sweat and tears….wait, no tears…derby girls don`t cry! (more…)
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