OUR STATE.. OUR DERBY!!

This Saturday night March 14, the Castle Sports Club (11420 N. 19th Avenue, Phoenix) will be the place to be for women’s flat track roller derby as Arizona Roller Derby presents their fifth regulation bout of the 2008-2009 season.  In this bout, we will see the Brawlarinas take on the Bad News Beaters.

The Brawlarinas are themed as thugly ballerinas who love to strut their purple tutus around the track. The Brawlies are 1-1  taking about a 50 point loss to the Bruisers while beating the Surly Gurlies by about 50.  This team has had a fairly consistent roster since last year’s season. It is going to be rather a short roster.  We have not been told if there will be any substitutes yet for this game.  Keep a watch on team captain Holly Would and co-captain Hacker Too Pieces but pay very careful attention to The Bone Setter who I think is one of AZRD’s strongest blockers.  I feel that the Brawlarinas will have a very defensive game that night and if the blockers can clear the way, the jammers will be able to make it through. Read the rest of this entry »

Arizona Roller Derby has announced through their Facebook group of a new membership structure for the league.  Under the new 4 level system, those who are interested in joining AZRD can either work their way through the level system if they are female and wish to eventually play WFTDA roller derby or stay at certain levels based on their desire to skate non-contact for fitness reasons.

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Video screen captures from the bout are available at our Flickr site.

The Castle Sports Club in Phoenix came alive with roller derby for the first time in 2009 when on January 24, Arizona Roller Derby which just recently restructured the remainder of their 2008-2009 season schedule hosted a travel team bout between their all-star team, the Tent City Terrors and the flat-track travel team from the San Diego Derby Dolls, the Wildfires.   As SDDD is not a member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), this bout will not be sanctioned for ranking purposes but it will give the TCT’s a chance to take on a very powerful team and prepare them for the Four Corner Feud tournament taking place in late Feburary.

Prior to the start of the bout, there was a ceremony where the skate number of league founder Ivanna S. Pankin, #22 was officially retired.  Ivanna now skates for the SDDD Wildfires.  Other notable guests in attendance included former AZRD co-owner Coach Pauly, Denise Lightning as well as the Whiskey Row-llers from Northern Arizona Roller Derby in Prescott and skaters from the recently formed Sun City Roller Girls from El Paso, Texas.

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Derby lovers and sports fans, I am happy to announce that I am now blogging to fanster.com. You will be able to find my blog there at fanster.com/michichan. As we go forward, the content that will go to fanster will be more geared towards the general interest sports fan but at the same time, the news feed from michichan.com will be available on that site. Score and stats data for the leagues will remain at michichan.com.

I feel that there are many sports fans out there who have never had a chance to see a live flat-track roller derby bout here in Arizona. Perhaps you have seen the rollergirls on the morning news shows or read an article in the New Times or Tucson Citizen about the sport. I don’t think I would overstep my boundaries with the leagues I cover by personally inviting you to come out and see a bout. There are several events coming up based on your location as well as your taste in derby.

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The interesting thing about roller derby skaters is that they are real people with real lives.  Roller derby is not their primary occupation.  In a recent Twitter message posted by Arizona Roller Derby, the league mentions that they have enough teachers in the league to make a small charter school.  I think AZRD should start a charter school, just think about the cool recess periods and the potential for a Phoenix Derby Brat program. 

Anyway with that in mind, AZRD is losing one of their star jammers, Shirley Demise.  Shirley has been playing this season on the Bruisers and has been a significant part of the Bruisers 2-0 record.   Shirley is also on the Tent City Terrors travel team.  Shirley did tell me at the last bout that she will skate in the upcoming Four Corner Feud tournament in Colorado Springs later this month.   Shirley will be moving to Las Vegas.  Perhaps she will steer towards Sin City Rollergirls.  She has been a great asset to AZRD and I wish her the best of luck no matter where she goes and what she does.