ROLLERDERBY!!

I went to a Roller derby last night and it was friggin awesome!! Ever since I saw Whip It (see Film Fest post) I wondered what a real Roller derby would be like. And this week, Breakfast Television did a piece on the Toronto Roller Derby who had a game on October 17th! So of course I rounded up some friends and we decided make our way out to see a live derby.

It's held in a 'Hangar' just north of the city. A really large warehouse space, the kind you see in mafia and drug deal movies, with large windows and concrete floors. The room was packed with the strangest mix of people you'd ever see. Men with mullets, women with short cropped hair, hipsters from downtown, families, lesbians, gay men; a diverse group just wanting to watch 2 teams of WICKED Women. There were some three level bleachers set up around the parameter of the building for most of us, and some people brought their own chairs, blankets and pillows...the hard core fans who sat in the 'suicide' seats, right on the side of the track. Because the game is on the violent side, you sort of take you life into your own hands when you sit too close. Women's arms, legs, helmets and roller skates come right at you constantly. Its so violent a few players came out in casts before the game even started!

The two teams participating were The Chicks Ahoy; with Furious George, G-Force and Tara Part vs. The Death Track Dolls; with Kung Fu Kitty, Audrey Hellborn and Downright Dirty Dawson. Basically you have 2 teams of super cool women with three blockers (defense), one pivot (last line of defense) and one jammer (scorer).
The blockers have to block the others teams jammers from getting through...and yes they use force. The jammers get points by how many people they pass on each go around the track. The jammers each have their own referee following them to mark their points and special helmet covers signifying who they are.

Roller derby is very exhilarating! Saturdays game was mostly one sided, the Chicks Ahoy were in the lead most of the game...then the injuries started. The paramedics, who sat on the sidelines for the game, were called in three times. Its horrible to see people getting hurt, but seeing these women who have such admiration for one another throwing themselves into the game is very impressive! Then, as The Chicks Ahoy had a couple players taken off by stretcher, The Death Track Dolls built some momentum and came back from behind, 91-69, to lose by 2 points, 92-90!! The audience was on their feet cheering!

I bought a Chicks Ahoy t-shirt (they have the coolest logo) and I will make sure to be at the Championship Finals on November 21st! A fan is born!! What's my roller derby name? I'm deciding between Angel the Antagonizer and Angel-A-Death...what's your pic? And what would your name be?