Sunday, July 8, 2012

Rockin' Roller Derby

My friend Amy invited us to check out the Charm City Roller Girls with her last night. The first bout was between the Charm City Female Trouble and the Philly Independence Dolls. My favorite roller girl was CC Bang Bang of the CC Female Trouble. She was so tiny, and so tough. Throughout the bout we learned about the pack, the blockers, the jammers, the different ref calls, and the basic rules. We were lucky enough to have Mighty Mite (a rollergirl herself), and her husband explain things to us.

So basically 5 blockers from each team line up as the pack. One jammer from each team starts behind the pack. The whistle blows and the jammers try to break through the pack. The jammer who breaks out first is the lead jammer. She skates around the track, comes back around to the back of the pack, and scores a point for each of the opposing team members she passes. That's a jam.

The second bout was crazy fast action. The Charm City Roller Girls All Stars rolled hard against the Philly Liberty Belles. V. Diva of the Liberty Belles had some kind of teleporting powers.  She'd bust through the pack so fast there was no way we could track her. And she made scoring look so easy. She conserved her energy and would dance through the pack as soon as an opening presented itself. I really enjoyed the second bout. It was fun, and I would definitely go again.
The Independence Doll jammer has broken through the pack. The officials and refs are in the center of the rink.
V. Diva has magically appeared ahead of the pack, which is still jostling at the starting line.
What a jam looks like.

FYI, the Philly teams won both bouts. Oh, and we couldn't understand one word the announcers/commentators were saying. It was ridiculous. At least the music--when we could hear it--was good.

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