Photo by Jess Reynolds © jessreynolds.com
In last's week's preview, I said that if you went by the numbers of recent flat and... Read more..
Gotham are the queens of all derby, Denver, Bay Area, Steel City, and the Mad Rollin Dolls enter the charts, 6 leagues time out and are de-listed, Bionic... Read more..
Photo by jem PHOTO
We don't get many recaps from people who were actually playing in the game, and we think this is pretty cool... Read more..
Photo by Jess Reynolds
The Arizona Derby Dames were founded in 2005, but after playing in Battle on the Bank II in Austin in 2009,... Read more..
Photo by Rosy Machete
Learnin’ derby skills is hard, y’all. Taking new skills to the banked track is even harder.
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This Weekend! May 18-19, 2013
- by Banked Track News
This weekend we have the LA Derby Dolls Ri-Ettes splitting into two teams to battle each other on Saturday May 18. Also on Saturday, the Salt City Derby Girls have their season opener.
On Sunday, May 19, the LA Derby Dolls are having a Baby Doll Brawl, a game where LA's up and coming players split into two teams to show their stuff, and hopefully get drafted to a team.
LADD Ri-Ettes overrule RCR Wheels of Justice 173-90
- by Busta Armov
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| Photo by Jess Reynolds © jessreynolds.com |
In last's week's preview, I said that if you went by the numbers of recent flat and banked games, Rose should have come out with a 150-185 point deficit against the LA Derby Dolls Ri-Ettes. But the Rose City Rollers Wheels of Justice did better than recent Ri-Ettes flat track challengers since the RDCL pack rules change this year.
The Ri-Ettes defeated Rose City 173-90, an 83 point spread, in a game where the Ri-Ettes held the lead unchallenged from the first jam. And like many “first time on the bank” games, it was the first quarter, when the shock and awe of playing on a different track under slightly different rules, pillories first timers on the bank. Especially a team like Rose City, which had no one on their team with any banked track experience.
Read more: LADD Ri-Ettes overrule RCR Wheels of Justice 173-90
Contract Administration for Roller Derby
- by Sniperella
Oh paperwork. How we hate it. We hate it so much we mechanically do it without really evaluating why or perhaps how to do it quicker, with less hassle. Many people have a form they use, they email it off and say “just sign it so we can play.” Questions from anyone about those documents are met with a “you just have to sign it.” This response ignores that contracts are meant to formalize agreements between people. One can decide to not negotiate on either side of that table and that kind of short tempered, lack of patience probably ends up with a lot of dead deals or unhappy deals over what could be pretty simple resolutions to make both sides happy—but I like negotiating so I tend to just keep on talking until people give up. The bulk of my ‘work’ revolves around paperwork of one sort or another, but the bulk of my ‘practice’ revolves around making that paperwork more efficient, relevant, accessible and still covers your butt. So I want to take a moment to talk about what you are doing with roller derby and why you are causing yourselves needless hassles.
The April Banked Rank Is UP!
- by Busta Armov
Gotham are the queens of all derby, Denver, Bay Area, Steel City, and the Mad Rollin Dolls enter the charts, 6 leagues time out and are de-listed, Bionic and AZDD drop to Division II, and there are plenty of changes plus a rankings math explanation.
The Banked Rank is a joint project of Team Armov, Derby Deeds and Banked Track News, and is determined by a panel of knowledgeable and opinionated fans, skaters and insiders.
SDDD Wildfires take down Steel City and Mad Rollin' Dolls in Season Opener
- by Tough Soles and Summer Crush
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| Photo by jem PHOTO |
We don't get many recaps from people who were actually playing in the game, and we think this is pretty cool - Busta Armov, editor
The Wildfires’ season opener was bitter sweet for the San Diego Derby Dolls. While both games ended in a win for our home team all-stars, it also marked the end of an era—our last game at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for all the amazing fans, and the two spectacular teams that helped make this both a positive and memorable farewell.
Here are some highlights from both games, from San Diego Derby Doll’s darling couple, Tough Soles and Summer Crush:
This was the Wildfires first game of the season and our last bouts at the Del Mar fairgrounds. This weekend was exciting, knowing that we were playing two WFTDA ranked flat track teams. It was different going into a game not knowing how our opponents would adapt to the bank track. Both teams are very strong on the defense side and have top jammer skills.
Read more: SDDD Wildfires take down Steel City and Mad Rollin' Dolls in Season Opener
LADD Ri-Ettes cool AZDD Hot Shots, 193-123
- by Busta Armov
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| Photo by Jess Reynolds |
The Arizona Derby Dames were founded in 2005, but after playing in Battle on the Bank II in Austin in 2009, they took home a renewed purpose: to join with the L.A. and San Diego Derby Dolls in trying to spread banked track roller derby as a legitimate sport. Now they are part of the core RDCL leagues.
They brought in trainers from LADD and SDDD, asked a lot of questions, played games against Derby Dolls home teams and dedicated themselves to catching up.
In 2011, they defeated the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, who have been playing banked track games since 2003, in the opening halfhour round robin games. They made it to the third place game and came in 4th in the tourney after losing to San Diego 235-65. In 2012 at BotB V, they made the third place game, and this time beat former 2011 Battle on the Bank Champions, Team Legit. But they lost to the LADD Ri-Ettes 140-52 in the half hour semi finals. The LA level game was beyond their reach.
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| Photo by Jess Reynolds |
LADD's Ri-Ettes have had mixed results for the last few months. They were defeated three times in a row by Gotham Girls Roller Derby at the Roller Derby Xtreme series in Australia, defeated the Denver Roller Dolls 250-160 in December, and then won 247-91 against the Bay Area Derby Girls last month. The Ri-Ettes look as strong as ever, and the game would be an uphill battle for any challenger short of Gotham. But for this game, AZDD just wasn't quite ready for the challenge. With games against high level competitors for each of the last three months, the Ri-Ettes were in a full state of game readiness, and already had one game under the new RDCL rules under their belt, as well as three games that were played under the proto-RDCL-revision RD Xtreme rules in Australia.
The AZDD Hot Shots came to LA the clear underdogs, but they weren't lambs for the slaughter.
Stop thinking. Just stop.
- by Suzy Snakeyes
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| Photo by Rosy Machete |
Learnin’ derby skills is hard, y’all. Taking new skills to the banked track is even harder.
No matter where you are experience-wise, there is always something that’s going to be a challenge. This is a game that requires a significant amount of technical skill on roller skates, and that’s before rules and strategy are even remotely introduced. The process of learning and becoming proficient at certain skating and derby skills can be daunting, tiring and downright frustrating. How long did it take you to learn how to transition and skate backwards? Exactly. And then once you did, what happened when you first tried it on the banked track? What is it about trying to do something you know you can do, but then putting a slightly slanted surface under your feet that changes everything? You know you can do it, so why is it that now you can’t? What if what’s holding you back isn’t your body, but your brain? Could your mental approach to training be hindering your progress? And what can you do to shut off the Negative Nancy in your mind that has all sorts of opportune things to say when you’re just trying to get your practice on?
New RDCL Rules!
- by Busta Armov
RDCL has adopted many of the changes made to the rules for the Roller Derby Xtreme competition in Australia last November, and added a number of further refinements and changes.
One of the biggest concerns in the banked track world over the past year, has been the effect that importing the “passive offense” (AKA “conga line”, “the sausage”) from flat track has had on banked track. Formerly known for its faster games and continual forward movement, banked track games were brought to a near standstill every time there was a Power Jam over the last year, and long time fans turned off by the tactic complained. Or just stopped coming to games.
For this year's rules, the RDCL was under pressure from the leagues to fix the game. The RDX rules were revised from the 2012 RDCL rules by players from LADD and Gotham Girls Roller Derby, along with an expert ref representative who had been around the rules drafting block before. And the RDCL rules return the favor of revision by marching forward from the RDX rules, taking into account how those rules performed during the three game RDX series between two of roller derby's winningest leagues on their respective tracks.
Here are the highlights of the changes:
Banked Track News Needs Your Articles, Blogs, Photos and Volunteers!
- by Busta Armov
Sometimes it seems like Banked Track News is all about the Derby Dolls. That's because I'm in LA, and that's the league I'm closest to and it's the league that sends me the most information.
BUT IT ISN'T WHAT BANKED TRACK NEWS WAS CREATED TO DO! Banked Track News was created to let leagues and the roller derby world know what's going on in the banked track world. That means we need people from Seattle to report on Tilted Thunder, Arizona to report on the Arizona Derby Dames, Kansas City to report on the Kansas City Banked Beauties, San Diego, Reno, Oxnard, and everywhere else that is going that extra mile to be a banked track league.
Read more: Banked Track News Needs Your Articles, Blogs, Photos and Volunteers!
"But I don't want to bulk up!"
- by Suzy Snakeyes
Hop on the banked track for the very first time, and it won't take too many laps around it to fully realize that your muscles are being worked in a way that they've never been worked before. Now try adding lateral movement, quick take-offs, recovering from one knee falls and jumping on an uneven surface into the mix. It becomes super clear super quickly that cross training is necessary even at the most elementary levels. As skaters progress and the game is introduced, the need to build muscle strength and power only increases. And with that often comes the inevitable comment I often hear from skaters looking to add resistance training to their off-skates training regimen: "I'm cool with lifting weights, but I don't want to lift heavy weights because...I don't want to bulk up."
I hear this all the time. ALL THE TIME.
I usually hear it from women I talk to at the studio where I work - non-athlete, general public folks. And though I spend a lot of time explaining to these women how difficult it is to bulk up, I get where they're coming from because their goals are often aesthetic in nature. But it baffles me when I hear it coming from roller derby skaters. These are women who have a vested interest in increasing sports performance, who have been unfortunately subjected to years of workout myths and tips from magazines that are clearly not designed for them. After having a conversation with LA Derby Dolls skater Armed Kandy about this very topic last night (and I should clarify that she is not a subscriber to this myth, but is as baffled as I am at how many people in our sport are), I felt compelled to write about it today.
