August 9, 2008: Boston Massacre vs Dallas Derby Devils

Image: designed by Rocky, photo from ECE by Mayhem (that's me!!)

Saturday, August 9
Boston Massacre vs Dallas Derby Devils
Doors at 5pm, Bout at 6pm
After party with DJ Sir Trix-a-Lot
Tickets available online at BrownPaperTickets.com.
$14 in advance, $16 at the door

"After a brutal smack-down of the Ohio Roller Girls (183-5) in July, the Boston Massacre gets ready to host the Dallas Derby Devils, currently ranked 21st in the nation and 10th in their Western division, in their last home bout before the 2008 regional tournaments.

Boston has lost only one bout since their overtime loss to Detroit at the 2007 regionals—a well-matched bout against Rocky Mountain Roller Girls at ECDX in June 2008—racking up decisive wins against Dominion, Gotham Girl's Bronx Gridlock, Cincinnati, Houston, and Ohio. Meanwhile Dallas has hung tough in '08 against opponents including Albuquerque's Duke City (losing by just one point in a low-scoring 63-62 game) and Charm City (a 117-89 loss for DDD). They've also decimated opponents from northwest Arkansas, Oklahoma, and LA's Angel City.

On paper, these two teams seem able to give each other a run for their money. Will Dallas shake the Massacre's at-home winning streak, or will the pantsless militia send another Texas team packing?"

Boston Derby Dames recruiting skaters and referees

For all you girls out there who have been dying to become a Dame, now is your chance. BDD is hosting informal skate clinics throughout the summer and fall, leading up to tryouts on Sunday, November 2. And if you think wearing stripes and having the power to send a Dame to the penalty box is more your style, referees tryouts will happen at the same time.

All of the information is online here, and in PDF form here. So download it, print it out, and commit it to memory. Then beg, borrow, or steal yourself some skates and start practicing! If you have any questions, email freshmeat@bostonderbydames.com

The Uneven Playing Field -- women and ACL injuries

"If girls and young women ruptured their A.C.L.’s at just twice the rate of boys and young men, it would be notable. Three times the rate would be astounding. But some researchers believe that in sports that both sexes play, and with similar rules — soccer, basketball, volleyball — female athletes rupture their A.C.L.’s at rates as high as five times that of males."

I just read a fascinating article in the New York Times the other day about ACL injuries in female athletes. Really interesting (and scary) stuff. It mostly focuses on adolescent girls, but most of the stuff in it applies to adult female athletes, too. Not only does it talk about the physical risk factors that make women more susceptible to ACL injuries (looser ligaments, more flexibility, greater propensity to be knock-kneed, a more upright running posture), but it also talks about the emotional and social issues which may also have an impact -- the relative newness of women's athletics in general (Title IX is only 36 years old), the feeling women often have that they need to "tough it out" to prove they belong, the strong social bond they feel with their teammates that they don't want to give up for an injury, and the political touchiness of people who think that focusing on a woman's propensity to be injured will set back their work to put men's and women's athletics on an equal playing field. Read the full article here.

The Marriage of Queen Kamayhemayhem and her King

This is my anniversary present to my husband. Happy 6th Mr. Mayhem!

The Slay Ride & Keeping your Eye on the Jammer

Photo: Charm City v Houston, East Coast Derby Extravaganza 2008 (©K.T. Ryder Wilkie)

If you were at ECE (or even if you weren't), you know about the gigantic block Beyonslay laid on Rice Rocket during the Gotham v Texas matchup. Punchy O'Guts has a nice blog post where she not only gives this block the props it deserves, she also comments on the smart play involved:

"What's really notable - besides the giant, most incredible hit I've ever seen - is the smart play.
1. Beyonslay easily moves Rice Rocket out with a booty block. She pays attention to the track boundary and lets up at just the right moment.
2. As the pack moves toward the outside Beyonslay sneaks through the inside - as Rice Rocket does - and prepares for her hit.
3. If the team hadn't raced back up with Beyonslay she wouldn't have been able to legally lay on on her.
4. Rice Rocket took the biggest hit I've ever seen and hopped back up as if nothing ever happened. And this was after another blocker gave her a sternum block. Most jammers would probably lie there in utter shock. Rice Rocket is incredible."

All nice points. I went back and watched the video a couple more times just to see the strategy going on. Really interesting stuff. Going through my bazillion photos from ECE one of the things that struck me is how you can tell the good teams just by looking at the photos because everybody has their eye on the jammer. No matter what was going on in the pack or how far away the jammers were, they all had their eyes on a jammer. Which is a lesson I shall try to take to heart.

Inspirational Roller Derby Posters

Photo by SmoPho

I've been doing a lot of physical therapy of late, and as a result have spent an inordinately long period of time staring at the three inspiration posters that have been hung on the wall there. You know the kind I mean. A picture of a rock climber dangling off the side of a cliff with the word PERSEVERANCE under him, and some pithy quote underneath about believing and achieving. Which is all well and good, but where's the fun in that?

Here's the fun: Roller derby photographer extraordinaire SmoPho has a set of inspirational roller derby posters up on his Flickr page. I love the concept! Also, I really want to make a set of my own, with Boston girls, of course.