All-Stars Introduction!

Happy February GSORD fans! We are now entering into our bouting season and first up is our Gate City bout this upcoming Sunday. Please note that it is on Sunday the 16^th of February, NOT on Saturday like our usual bouts. The venue is also different, we are playing at the Greensboro Sportsplex. The doors will open at 12 and the bout begins at 1 pm. Tickets can be bought at the door as usual, or in advance at Seven Sagas Tattoos and Cycles de Oro, or from us GSORD skaters personally. We will be bouting the Motley Brew, so be sure to come out and see us play! This is also your last opportunity to buy merchandise with our old logo, get them before they are all gone! There is nothing like owning ALL the GSORD merchandise and showing how dedicated you are!

Helluva Hooker

Grandmaster Bash

As an preview to our first bout of the season, we wanted to introduce you to our new Gate City All-Stars team. They are led by coaches Helluva Hooker and Grandmaster Bash. The amazing of team of women include: Frosty Snowmean (Captain), Schoolya Childs (Captain), General Sew, Annie Lastwords, Betty Switch, Jess the Ripper, Butternut Squasher, Carnegie Brawl, Flirtini, Hitter Miss, Ka$h Honey, Whip-O SnapHer, Glitt-R-Done, Buster Licious, Moloko Violet, Pepperspray Pattie, Ellie Mae Crammit, A-Ha Gabor, Alexandroid, and Emma Ture.

So what are the new captains like? We will let them tell you themselves! First up is Frosty Snowmean:

Frosty Snowmean

Frosty as described by Schoolya: “My co-captain is the kind of person you want by your side always...she's extremely talented, a relentless fighter, and the hardest most dedicated worker I've ever met.”

Your goals for your team this season: I'd like us to master toe stop usage and up our defensive walls.

Favorite move on skates: My favorite move on skates is a transition around an opponent.

Best derby memory: My family watching me play.

Worst derby memory: Thigh cramps after a bout.

Best advice for new skaters: Skate as much as you can, and repeat moves over and over again until you are satisfied.

And here is Schoolya Childs:

Schoolya Childs

Schoolya as described by Frosty: “Schoolya is great at identifying positive attributes in everyone. She is a leader. Pre-game talks are pumped up with her intensity.”

Your goals for your team this season: My goals for the team this season are to establish that solid team bond ... I want us as a group to push one another beyond what we believe we are capable of as individuals.

Favorite move on skates: My favorite move on skates is a well-timed solid block.

Best derby memory: Too hard to choose.

Worst derby memory: Anytime I get sent to the sin bin, aka penalty box.

Best advice for new skaters: Attitude is everything. Get your mental game right and everything else will follow. Use your failures and falls as fuel. Have fun embracing your inner bad ass!

 

Come join us at the bout on Sunday, and stay tuned for our post-bout post on Monday the 17^th! 

(All images in this post were taken by our lovely sponsors, Frayed Edge Concepts, LLC. Be sure to check out their Facebook page and their website!) 

 

Book Review: Down and Derby

A book review by Moonfight Sonata

I don't know about you, but when I discover something new and wonderful I go through an exciting period where I want to read, watch, see, and learn everything about it.  So when I started to feel a derby obsession growing in me during Fresh Meat training, I hopped on amazon and added Down and Derby to my wishlist.  And -woo nelly!- was I excited when I unwrapped it on Christmas day!

The subtitle says it all.  This is a relatively comprehensive, 260-page introduction to the world of Roller Derby.  Skaters Kasey Bomber and Axles of Evil of the L.A. Derby Dolls break it all down: What is this thing?  Who invented it?  How did it become what it is today?  What are the rules?  Where's derby going from here?

Down and Derby was published in 2010, and things have definitely changed a bit in the last four years.  Some of the flat-track rules have changed, and derby has grown so much; it's amusing how few leagues are on the WFTDA-member map on page 63 compared to how many there are nowadays.  But overall I think the book has stood the test of time well so far, partly because of its emphases on the storied history of the game and individual player spotlights.  I LOVED learning about the colorful people who started roller derby originally, how the sport evolved and struggled throughout the 20th century, and how it was revived, almost miraculously, by a handful of super strong people in Austin, TX in the early oughties.  The player spotlights break up the text nicely with lighthearted, interview-style sections; every skater/ref/NSO has a sort of derby narrative, and I really liked reading those.  Another thing that I liked was that the book was about BOTH banked and flat-track derby.  I'm new to all this, but I get the impression that derby peeps fall pretty solidly into one camp or the other.  So it was cool that Kasey and Axles kept a level head about it and kept both forms of the game in the picture.  

There's also a section at the end of the book that summarizes films and TV shows about Derby.  I'll probably refer to that section now and then- gotta see if I can find a copy of The Fireball (1950) with Mickey Rooney and Marilyn Monroe.  And I'm dying to watch Demon of the Derby, a documentary about an original roller girl, Ann Calvello, an amazing woman who played derby for SIX freaking DECADES.  And did you know there's an animated Addams Family derby episode from 1973?  Chyeah.

So yes.  I really enjoyed this book- I breezed through it in a few days but still learned lots.  I'd recommend it especially to Fresh Meat and other newbies as well as their loved ones.  It's a great way to get a mental handle on This Thing Called Derby, and it's a fun read to boot.

(And if you know of other good derby-related books, please recommend them to me in the comments!)