Recently posted by Alison Whitehead

Summer came and went with hardly a good beach day and here we are practically at the end of September. The halls are bustling with students, traffic is terrible, but at least the weather has been awesome and I can finally get a pumpkin spiced latte again.

September has been a big derby month. The Boston Massacre participated in the Eastern Regionals tournament in North Carolina on 9/11, 12, and 13. They beat the Carolina Rollergirls, lost to New York's Gotham Girls, and then won the battle with Baltimore's Charm City Rollergirls. The win against Charm City put Boston in third place in the East, which means they earned a spot in the National Championships taking place the weekend of November 13th in Philadelphia. The Philly Rollergirls took first place, and Gotham took second. This was a huge win for Boston since we have been fighting to make it to Nationals for the past 2 years, and missing our chance by a very small margin. The Derby News Network broadcast the bouts live on the Internet, so those of us who couldn't make it to North Carolina for the weekend, were able to watch from home...footage wasn't great, but it was exciting none the less. This past weekend DNN broadcast the North Central Regional tournament with the following results: #1 Windy City Rollers (Chicago, IL), #2 Mad Rollin Dolls (Madison, WI), and #3 Detroit Derby Girls (Detroit, MI), and this coming weekend we'll see South Central, followed by Western Regionals the first weekend of October. It will be exciting to see who Boston will end up playing in November. If you're interested in watching, check out http://www.derbynewsnetwork.com/.

On the home front, last weekend was the Boston playoffs between the Cosmonaughties and the Wicked Pissahs. They were duking it out for a spot to play my team, the Nutcrackers, in the Boston Championship bout on October 10th. It was a very tight game, a nail biter every jam, but in the end the Cosmos pulled through and took the game with a 121 to 102 victory over the Pissahs. The Nutcrackers are amped up to play in a few weeks, and we're definitely anticipating an intense game against the Cosmos. We have a lot on the line since we've gone undefeated this entire season.

So as the Championship bout nears, so does my impending retirement from roller derby. I vowed that this would be my final season of play, since my body has been rebeling against me all year and the derby time-suck that has kept me from doing anything else meaningful in my life has taken it's toll. I'm feeling extremely emotional about leaving skating behind. I love my team so much and I've enjoyed skating this year more than ever (much more fun to win!)...it will be really difficult to walk away. After 5 years, major burnout, and an unhealthy level of cynicism with how business is being handled these days, I think it's best to leave now.

This is your cue to go to our website to buy tickets to the Championship bout on October 10th, since this is your absolute last chance to see Malicen Thunderland skate with the league she's helped build from the ground up. Le sigh.

http://www.bostonderbydames.com/

  

My knee healed up quickly and in fact, I did play in the April bout....I stayed on the bench until the second period. We had a huge point differential that would ensure we would win, so it was far less risky to throw me into a few jams towards the end of the game. The Nutcrackers won 124 to the Pissahs' 42....which is interesting because we beat the Cosmonaughties 121 to 42 in March.

We'll square off against the Cosmos again on June 20^th in a double-header match with the Boston Massacre hosting the Texecutioners, the Texas Rollergirls' all-star travel team. The Texecutioners hail from Austin, TX and are one of the top US teams. They have remained one of the top 4 nationally ranked leagues since the start of WFTDA tournaments. Texas Rollergirls are also one of the two leagues who started the resurgence of roller derby, and the league who brought us flat track roller derby as we know it today. If you have never seen this sport played, I encourage you to come out for the June 20^th bout...it will be a great example of what professional roller derby looks like, not to mention just a really good time!

A quick recap of the May 16^th bout for you: the Boston Massacre hosted the 5280 Fight Club, the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls' travel team. Massacre won the bout with a final score of 125 to 87. This was a rematch from a tournament game played at the East Coast Derby Extravaganza in June 2008 where the Fight Club beat the Massacre 111 to 93. Last weekend was a satisfying win for the Massacre as they finally broke the 3 bout losing streak. Their teamwork and pack control was outstanding, and their jammers held lead jammer for most of the two periods. They fully deserved this win and it was a joy to watch them play such a cohesive game. I think they are fully prepared to take on the Texecutioners next month, and I for one, CAN'T WAIT to watch that game.

The weekend following the June 20^th bout, the Boston Derby Dames will be heading down to Feasterville, PA for the third annual East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECE), hosted by the Philly Roller Girls. The Boston Massacre is playing two bouts during the tournament, the first bout against the Carolina Rollergirls (North Carolina) ranked number 4 in the East region, and the second bout against the Windy City Rollers (Chicago), ranked  number 1 in the North Central region. Both games will be exciting to watch. The Massacre lost to the Carolina Rollergirls by 2 points during the 2008 Eastern Regionals, narrowly missing a shot at Nationals for the second year in a row. Boston has never played Chicago before, but Windy City is one of the top leagues in the country, so it's sure to be an action-packed game.

Aside from WFTDA sanctioned bouts, the ECE tournament also hosts quick 30 minute bouts between teams made up of derby girls from across the US. The teams are created specifically for the tournament and they often have funny or tongue-in-cheek themes such as Thunder Thighs VS Chicken Legs, American Heroes VS Hippies, 80s Ladies (born 1980 or later) VS Golden Girls (born 1979 or earlier), or Brawlin' Brunettes VS Suicide Blondes. It's a great way for skaters from different states to get to know each other and to have an opportunity to skate with women they may only see a couple times a year.

 

I'm really looking forward to the ECE weekend...I'm not skating this year, just spectating, but it's always a great time! The venue where they host the tournament is a huge sportsplex where they can have three bouts going on simultaneously. There is plenty of outdoor lounging space (picnic tables, grassy fields), BBQ, beer, and a huge pool! Plus there is roller derby going on from dawn to dusk (not to mention the after parties at the local bars and late night hotel pool parties that often follow). It's a derby enthusiast's idea of a dream vacation.

 

Here are a few links to keep you busy:

 

Rocky Mountain Rollergirls: http://www.rockymountainrollergirls.com/mambots/editors/tinymce/index.php

 

Texas Rollergirls: http://www.txrollergirls.com/

(June 20^th Boston Massacre opponents)

 

Philly Roller Girls: http://www.phillyrollergirls.com/

hosts of the ECE: http://www.phillyrollergirls.com/ece

 

Carolina Rollergirls: http://www.carolinarollergirls.com/

(ECE Boston Massacre opponents)

 

Windy City Rollers: http://www.windycityrollers.com/

(ECE Boston Massacre opponents)

WFTDA: http://www.wftda.com/

(for information about Women's Flat Track Roller Derby or national rankings)

 

 

Saturday, April 18th is bout 3 of season 3. My team, the Nutcrackers, is playing the Wicked Pissahs, followed by a bout between the Boston Massacre and the Philadelphia Liberty Belles.

I'm all doom and gloom this week because I blew out my knee in a scrimmage on April 5th, which means I won't be able to skate in Saturday's game. I've been pouting for a week...and will continue to do so until after the game is over. We have a lot to prove this year and I'm feeling sad that I won't be on the track to help out my teammates. Oh well...bum knees are par for the course in roller derby.

I couldn't get an appointment with an orthopedic doctor until this coming Thursday, so I've been limping around for over a week with no diagnosis. I'm afraid he'll just give me the old RICE regimen (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), which I've been doing since I took the fall. Somehow I wish there was some miracle cure (besides knee surgery) that he could give me in the form of a pill that would allow me to skate with zero pain on Saturday....but that's not the way things work.

What I've learned since skating with the Boston Derby Dames is that women athletes are far more prone to knee injuries than men. Spraining or tearing of the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is the most common knee injury suffered by women who participate in "bone-jarring, stop-and-start sports." There have been several studies done in the past decade that show the dramatic difference in number of knee injuries in female compared to male athletes, but the reasons for this increased susceptibility are still not clear. (http://www.caaws.ca/girlsatplay/stuff/health/knee_injuries.htm)

Once the ligaments are damaged, there's no going back. Even though they seem elastic, if they stretch too far they never return to their original elasticity. And of course if the ligament pops (tears), the only way to repair it is through surgery. So far the Boston Derby Dames has one woman who went through knee surgery to repair her ACL. There are several others, including myself, who have suffered injuries, but who have not yet undergone surgery. Time will tell.

My knee is feeling much better this week and going up and down stairs is much less painful than it was just three days ago. My hope is that I'll be able to get back to practices by next week, depending on the doc's diagnosis of course. I guess it's a good thing that my next game is in June...should give me a little more time to go through physical therapy and get back into the swing of things.

That's all for now. I'll post a bout recap after the weekend. And as always...if you have nothing to do this Saturday night, I know a hot spot up north of the city where you can watch some ladies kick ass and take names: www.bostonderbydames.com.

As promised, I'm giving you a little more background on the history of roller derby in the US. The original roller derby was a game of endurance involving a pack of skaters racing around a flat or banked track, competing to be the first to complete a certain number of laps. It was a bit like a roller skating marathon and was first described as roller derby in 1922 (Wikipedia Article). During the fast-paced laps, skaters would crash into each other and pile up on the track. It was in the 1930s that Leo Seltzer, a roller derby promoter, quickly noticed that those crashes and pile ups prompted the biggest reactions from the audience. And thus, a revised version of roller derby was born. Of course there is far more to this story...Linking you to another site may seem like a bit of a cop out, but there's no way that I can write the entire history better than it has already been written. My favorite source, which I feel covers all the important angles, is from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_derby

Another great source for derby information is the WFTDA website...you can see just how many flat track derby leagues there are in association with us:

http://www.wftda.com/

Oh and did I mention there's a bout this weekend? That's right! I'll tell you more before the week is through.

February 28th kicks off the Boston Derby Dames third full season with a bout between the Boston Massacre and Maine Roller Derby's Port Authorities. This is a momentous occasion, because it means we've been pulling this off consistently since September 2006.

Pulling off what, exactly? Well, roller derby! I mean...the resurgence of roller derby in the 21^st century...newly configured as women's flat track roller derby that is. The Boston Derby Dames league was founded in 2005, just 4 years after roller derby resurfaced in Austin, Texas in 2001. Since then we've been training hard, operating our business, and hosting bouts in order to promote the sport of roller derby in Greater Boston.

The history of roller derby can be found pretty easily by searching the internet where you're bound to find a hundred and one write ups about its fascinating, yet sordid past. In the early days, roller derby was more of a speed race than the strategic point-scoring game that it is today, it has definitely evolved over the years. More on that later...

There are still some banked-track leagues out there, as well as coed and men's leagues. More commonly though, the sport is played by women's teams on a flat track, which allows leagues to set a track up on any flat surface, saving them from having to purchase or build, and eventually maintain and store, a wooden banked track (the kind they used in vintage derby). The game is played by two teams with 5 skaters each on the track (so 10 total): 4 blockers from each team make up  the "pack" and 1 skater from each team is a jammer, this is the point scoring skater. The pack of 8 starts out skating on the first whistle. On the second whistle the 2 jammers take off and make their way to the pack (race). They have to make it through the pack once before they can start scoring points. Once they hit the pack on their second pass, it's their job to pass the opposing blockers legally, and by doing so the jammer can score a point for each of the 4 blockers she passes. In the mean time, those opposing blockers are trying to force her out of play or stop her from passing them and scoring points. If you're seeing it for the first time...it looks like a big mess! Here's a good example on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qagfgyAIZ_k....more on that later, too!

It's Thursday, February 26th and I've been working nonstop for the past month preparing for Saturday's bout. Bout production is a fine art (in my mind, anyways), there is so much that goes on behind the scenes that people don't know about that requires some serious organizations skills (tooting my own horn here!). Our fans show up and expect to see a hard hitting, athletic display of roller derby prowess when they come to our bouts, but what they don't see is all the hard work that goes into coordinating games with outside leagues, wooing sponsors, designing posters and bout programs, ordering and printing merchandise, organizing team uniforms, recruiting volunteers, marketing and PR, selling tickets, and training of course! It's a lot of work and it's all done by our skaters  who are themselves volunteers. No one gets paid to do this work, yet somehow, miraculously, we get it done every month....nothing short of amazing!

Saturday is going to be huge. We are able to check our online ticket sales and that total plus the pre-sale tickets our skaters have sold by hand bring us up to about 580...that may not seem like a lot, but in the past big presale numbers means BIG crowds of 1400 to 1600! It's going to be a great start to the season and hopefully it will set the trend for the months to come.

If you want to learn more about our league, please check out our website www.bostonderbydames.com. You can also purchase tickets to our bouts by clicking on a link on our site that will take you to BrownPaperTickets.com.

More on derby...once the bout is done, I'll have a little more time to spend discussing the finer points of roller derby history and how our league fits into the story.

Thanks for reading and perhaps I'll see you this weekend...? Look for the gal running around like a crazy person and you'll find me!