Roller Derby January Highlights and February Schedules

In this issue: Game of the Month for January, Upcoming February Schedule, Skate with the Dames

Photos are from the Windy City January 5 games and the Barbed Wire Betties Mixer

The Barbed Wire Betties (DeKalb, IL) signaled the unofficial start to the 2018 season with their 5th annual Cabin Fever mixer. A roller derby mixer is a scrimmage open to all derby players, so many Chicago area teams as well as Wisconsin and Iowa teams were well represented. This is an event held every January and helps the skaters knock the rust off before the season gets underway!

Upcoming Games

February kicks off with the DuPage Derby Dames (Roselle) having their annual fund raiser bout on February 10, Mardi Gras Roller Madness. This is some fun roller derby, where the rules are thrown out the window. The Dames square off in teams and you the audience can influence who wins. Each jam features something a little different – from going the wrong way around the track, to having the audience send a player to the penalty box and more! Funds raised during this game are used to pay for practice time and the costs associated with away games.

• Doors open at 5:30
• Roselle Skate Center, 1291 W Bryn Mawr, Roselle, IL 60172

The Windy City Rollers are back in action on February 17. These will be the final bouts of their home league season and teams will be playing for the championship! The Fury takes on Hell’s Belles, and the Double Crossers battle it out with the Manic Attackers for first place! See the Game of the Month below.

• Doors open at 6:00
• UIC Pavilion, 526 S Racine Ave, Chicago, IL, 60607

The Chicago Red Hots continue their season on February 24 at Cicero Stadium, in Cicero, IL. They will be playing against Arizona Desert Dolls Roller Derby.

• Doors open at 6:30
• Cicero Stadium, 1909 S Laramie, Cicero, IL, 60804

Some other wide area games worth a look:

The Minnesota Debu-Taunts make their first trip ever to Beloit and take on the Beloit Bombshells on February 24, in Beloit, WI

• Doors at 6:30
• Skating Station Roller Rink, 1230 E Inman Pkwy, Beloit, WI 53511

Each team listed has a Facebook page - check the team's page for more information.

All this talk of Roller Derby peak your interest?

Join the DuPage Derby Dames! An information session is being held at the Coachlite Skate Center on Monday, February12 from 7:00-8:30. They are looking for skaters as well as officials (skating and non-skating). See the Facebook event here: DuPage Derby Dames Recruitment

Game of the month for January

The Windy City Rollers played the third of their home league series on January 5. Windy has four home-league teams that complete for the Ivy King Cup Championship (on February 17 – see above!). After the championship game, WCR will form travel teams that play teams from other cities.

This month’s bout had the undefeated Double Crossers taking on the Hell’s Belles. The Double Crossers have had a spectacular run thus far – defeating both the Manic Attackers and The Fury earlier in the season. The Belles were coming off a strong showing against the Manic Attackers and hoping to break the Double Crossers’ win streak!

The Double Crosser’s jammers jumped out early and often and took a quick lead on the Belles. Tricky Pixie, a blocker for the Double Crossers, explained their defense against a tough set of Belles’ jammers.

“Our strategy was to try and put all four blockers on defense, and try to stay together” said Pixie. “We were having trouble with penalties, especially in the first half. But we got it together, got all the blockers on the track together. I think that really helped keep their jammers in line”.

After taking a 129-79 half time lead, the Double Crossers cruised to a 258-156 win and will play for the championship on February 17. Blocker Shake N Bake (Double Crossers) and Jammer Tina Fatal (Hell’s Belles) were named MVPs of the game. Albus Rumblemore led all Double Crossers blockers with a 72 point differential, while the Hell’s Belles’ Trouble Helix led for her team. Killanois led all jammers with 83 points, and Bambi Bloodlust led the Belles with 48.

With both the Manic Attackers and The Fury entering the game at 1-1 for the season, you knew this would be hard fought battle. The winner would play the Double Crossers on February 17 for the championship!

The Manic Attackers had an impressive first half, taking a 123-77 lead to the locker room. Mia Go Hamm’s 66 points helped pace the Attackers.

The Fury came back with a vengeance, scoring the first 15 points of the second half. The Fury closed the gap several times but the Manic Attackers always met the challenge. With time winding down, The Fury cut the lead to 23 points – within one strong power jam. Mia Go Hamm’s eight point jam in the final minutes ended the comeback.

Blockers Mack Savage (Manic Attackers) and Kris Rago (The Fury) were named game MVPs.

Nicolas Rage led the blockers on Manic Attackers, while Kris Rago anchored a strong Fury defense. Mia Go Hamm led all scorers with an amazing 112 points and Hat Trixxxie gained a hard-fought 72 points for The Fury.

Looking forward to the Championship game, the Double Crosser’s Tricky Pixie talked about the Manic Attackers.

“I think it was a really exciting game between the Manics and the Fury today”, said Tricky. Her eyes lit up a bit as she said “I saw some things I think we can work on. I think a lot of their jammers are really good. Mia, obviously, and Zoe is really good at busting apart our walls. We’re going to have to tighten that up for our next game. I’m looking forward to see if we can adapt”.