Our Heathers fix is right around the corner...

Those in the know are already aware that the Rose City Rollers kick off Season 4 this Saturday @ the Expo Center. And yes, our beloved Heartless Heathers will be skating - including the incomparable Vominatrix in what may be her last bout (see below) - against an opponent to be determined by a coin toss moments before the bout.

And also, as pointed out by Teq"Kill"Ya, RCR has a whole variety of Season and Multi-game ticket packages available.

But for those of you procrastinators, RCR is once again implementing "Cheap Ticket/Fan Appreciation Nights" on the Wednesday before the bout...that's TONIGHT!!!

That means you'll be able to score discounted tickets (how does "buy 3-get-1-free" sound?) to this weekend's bout (and avoid those wicked "convenience fees") as well as meet a roller girl or two tonight during the hours of 6-8pm at Oaks Park Skating Rink, Rogue Distillery & Public House, the Night Light Lounge, Kay's Bar, or Beulahland.

If anyone (Heather, Cadaver, or other) has plans to be at one of these locations tonight and isn't shy, post in the comments and maybe we can have some impromptu meetups across town!

End of the Vominatrix Era?

Vom may be calling off the jam on an illustrious roller derby career.



January 24th may be your last chance to see Vominatrix roll.

From the busy woman herself:

"I have stepped down from the Wheels of Justice for now. I might come back later in the year if my schedule clears up, but it is looking kind of grim.

As for the Heartless Heathers, they are kind enough to keep me on the roster while I figure out if I can make roller derby and school work. I will be playing in the January bout, but it is quite possible that it could be my last derby game.

It's sad. I don't want to quit. I am hoping for 30 hour days in '09."

For a lot of us who wandered out early in 2006 to find out what Portland flat-track derby was about, the larger-than-life on-track persona of Vominatrix, and her mad skillz at all positions were large factors in getting us hooked on the Heathers, on the Rose City Rollers, and on flat-track derby. Vom is rightly revered both here at home and on the national derby scene, both on and off the track.

It's not a done deal, as she says, but her swan song may be the January 24, 2009 bout at Expo Center. Come out and give her your yell. She has earned it.

2009 Wheels of Justice - A Mega-Monster Team!

George kindly tells us in the comments that WOJ's new line-up is

Axl Blows
Blood Clottia
Madame Bumpsalot
BustHer Spines
Cadillac
Rhea DeRange
D. Konstructor
Fire Crotch
GMT
Megahurtz
Itzo EZ
Layla Smackdown
Leet Speaking Missile
Licker N Split
Scratcher in the Eye
Sol Train
Sump Pump
TeqKillYa
Viagrrra Falls
Angry Wrench


I am always last to know.

2009 Axles - A Mega-Monster Team!

Here they is:

Candy WarHole
Domesticated Violence
Edie Disorder
Glamor Hammer
Goodie Two Skates
Heidi Go Seek
Hard Knox
Marollin' Monroe
Mobi-Wan Kenobi
Chest-NutZ
Izabell Ringer
Ruby Bruiseday
Sedusa Destroy
Slaybia Majora
Smack Ya Sideways
Sully Skullkicker
Titania
Wreck Deckard

Can y'all say Dang?

Heathers Facebook Fan Page

You can now "become a fan" of the Heathers on their Facebook Page. Go ahead, get all Facebooky and Fan Up the Heathers.

We'll cross-post, hyperlink, circular firing-squad, etc. with el bloggo, the Heathers homepage, the Heathers MySpace page, the Cadavers on Livejournal, etc. A massive icy fog will soon descend from the Heathers' social networking cloud to engulf the derby world.

RCR Season Tickets are available

Teq "Kill" Ya helpfully points us to the long-awaited 2009 Rose City Rollers Season Tickets page and notes,

"Some pretty creative offers that fans should like. If you're looking for the most last minute gift ever, or know somebody who is, let them know."

photo by Mark Narlene

Apocalipstick Documentary - the New Best Thing in the World

Serendipity

Whilst being amazed by the talent at WFTDA nationals, I made the acquaintance of one Fighty Almighty (a friend of my friend Maxxx, but that is another story of serendipity.) I happened to mention that I didn't like my roller derby name Ginger Binger and that the name I had always wanted, Ruby Bruiseday, was taken. Fighty goes on to tell me that she is registered under the name, but that she never really used it and wanted to get rid of it. She wanted to give it to someone, not just open it to the masses. After a brief existential derby crisis, I decided to make the change.

A Glimpse at Next Year's Season

A little heartbreak and a little glory from last night: The Wheels of Justice fell to the Texecutioners 113 to 60. Meanwhile in Bend, the Axles of Annihilation blew out Lava City in a 185 to 50 match. Huzzah to both of our traveling teams for their efforts.

The schedule below appeared overnight at the Rose City Rollers site. My guess (informed by a conversation with Nader) is that the January 24th opener, and the June 27th Championship bout will be held at the Expo Center, with the other bouts (possibly excepting March's Wheels of Justice bout) to be smaller, shorter events at the Oaks Park Hangar. It will be an interesting season, indeed.

Scratcher in the Eye, the Cliffs Notes Edition

Skater Name: Scratcher in the Eye
Age: 31
Neighborhood: NoPo
Beverage of choice: Jamesons
Heartless Heather for 3 years

THE CORONER: Let's start where we always start: how did you get mixed up with the Rose City Rollers?

SCRATCHER: Sol Train. She is good friends with my father. My dad invited me to go out to drinks with Miss Sol. She told me how fun it was. It seemed the perfect mix of athleticism with violence. I've always been an athlete. I played soccer from age 5 – 18. I could have played in college but decided an education was more important. Prior to roller derby I had been training and performing on the trapeze.

When Sol Train first told me about derby, the RCR dues were $40 a month, and at that point there was no way I could afford it. I had just moved back to Portland and didn't have a job yet. A couple months later I got my first pair of skates and went to Oaks to give it a try. I was hooked immediately.

Did you skate a lot growing up? What's your skating history?

As any child of the 80's I did go to the roller rink on the weekends for fun. The roller rink is still around, Golden Skate in Vancouver, Washington. I didn't go there very often but I had fun when I did. My favorite part of the night would be staying out on the rink for the fast skate. I would go as fast as I could to the "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)".

You put forth a heroic effort in the championship bout against the Breakneck Betties, then ended up getting brutally tackled. What's it like having all 800 pounds of Ava Skatrix come crashing down on you?

It was unfortunate. I tore my MCL. As I was falling I was thinking get up quick then I felt someone on me and I thought to pull my knees in but it was too late. I heard a loud pop. It didn't even hurt that bad, but I knew it was bad. All that was flashing through my mind was there goes my chance to play at regionals and nationals for WoJ.

If you saw my face, it wasn't screaming F%&K out of pain, it was frustration cause I knew I wasn't going to get to continue on to play at the national level. It was disappointing to have all the hard work I put into training be useless and my dreams disappear. I'm still recovering. I am back on skates but it will be a few more months before I can play like I used to.

The local season is so competitive and cut-throat at times, yet you have skated alongside your RCR opponents on both the Axles of Annihilation and the Wheels of Justice. Have you ever found it difficult to put old rivalries or animosities aside and roll with a traveling team with former enemies? Do you think that maybe rabid Heathers fans overestimate the intra-league animosity?

I don't have enemies,... that I know of. There are individuals that I don't necessarily get along with. These are people I probably wouldn't get along with out side of derby or anywhere. These people are few and far between. For the most part I can let things go in order to accomplish what is more important (WINNING). One thing I think I've learned is that I can't change people and I'm not responsible for their behavior. This helps me to appreciate the positive things in people and let the negative roll off.

How has your team evolved since those early days, and how has your own game evolved?

Wow,... so much has changed in the 3, almost 4 years, I've been playing derby. For the first 4 months I didn't even know there was an out-of-bounds. I remember the first bout I played. It was the first season and the second bout we played against the GnR. We thought we didn't have chance to beat them. I played in 4 jams and in my first jam I remember riding Death Trish out into the audience. I thought I was so cool. It wasn't until after the bout that someone explained to me that I was hitting out of bounds.

For the first 2 years of derby I was known for playing kinda dirty. I always figured I didn't have that much skill so I had to make up for it with tenacity. Now I play a lot more cleanly. I will take an intentional foul when it's necessary, but I don't dive bomb people any more.

As a whole, derby requires a lot more strategy than it did when I started. It used to be every player out for themselves. Now we have to work more as a team. The 20-foot rule changed everything. We do a lot more pack drills and specific plays for specific scenarios. Also as players have gotten better and there is less of a divide in play level between players; we can trust each other more. There is so much more teamwork.

Did you grow up around here? If not, where, and how did you get here?

I grew up here. My mom and step-dad live in Vancouver, Wa. My dad and step-mom live in Portland. I spent many a night at the X-Ray Cafe and the old La Luna listening to local bands. After high school I went to Seattle to go to college. After college I moved to Boston for 4 years. Some where in there I also backpacked hitch-hiked and train-hopped around the country, Europe, and Latin America.

What are you occupied with outside of derby?

Right now I'm in grad school at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine working on my masters degree. I'm studying to be an acupuncturist, and herbalist. It is a challenging program and its hard to balance between it and derby.

I also love to ride my bike. Whenever I'm on break from school and derby I try to take a bike touring trip. I road to Ashland this summer and I took another trip to Coos Bay. I like traveling by myself. I don't have to wait for anyone and I can go my own pace. It gives me time to catch up on my thoughts.

Before starting school I worked in construction and landscaping.

How did you choose your derby name? Do you have a special fondness for JD Salinger?

Catcher in the Rye was my favorite book when I was 13. I can't say that I really love it now. Holden Caufield is really a bit immature and spoiled, if you ask me, though I certainly could identify with his angst when I was a kid. Mainly I choose it cause I thought it was funny and I could use a lot of references from the book to build a character.

Scratcher's favorite move is Holdin'. Then there is that photo of me throwing children off the cliff. The catcher in the rye is what Caufield wanted to be when he grew up. To catch children playing in the rye. Instead of catching children I toss em'.

How do you find time for it all?

I don't. Well I do but sometimes things slip through the cracks. Like most people in derby, I live a pretty busy life. I'm pretty good at time management and I fit everything in a tight schedule. An average week day for me is get up at 5:30 am and bike 10 miles to school. After school I bike home another 10 miles then study for three hours take a 20 min nap and go to practice. I skate for 2-3 hrs. Then I come home and cook food for dinner and lunch the next day and study for another hour. I go to sleep some where around midnight.

I spend the weekends trying to catch up on sleep and school work. I pretty much have one speed and its full boar until I hit a wall and have to take a break. Sometimes that break is 2 weeks of sleeping 14 hours a night and skipping practice.


In what ways does national-level play differ from intra-league play?

It's different. There is less show and more athleticism. At our home bouts we get to play around and perform for the crowd. When your competing nationally you don't have time to show off, nor is it worth it. There aren't as many individuals on a team that stand out cause there are so many good players. In general, it's harder, tougher, and faster, with better strategy.

What are you looking forward to in 2009, inside or outside of derby?

I want to go to nationals. I don't want to watch, I want to play. It's pretty much my main goal in life. Then I can retire and go back to the trapeze. It's a much healthier sport.

I also want to bike tour Cuba. One can bike the whole island in 3 weeks. I was going to do it this Christmas but the up coming Texecutioners bout got in the way. Hopefully next Christmas I can spend biking, camping on the beach and drinking mojitos.

What are you looking forward to in that match-up against the Texecutioners this weekend?

I'm a bit nervous. I'm not in quite the shape I was when I got injured. I'm excited to skate against the mothers of our sport but I wish I was at full capacity. I am looking forward to learning and getting my ass kicked. Unfortunately it's the weekend before my finals so I'm just flying in skating and flying back out. No partying or sight seeing for Scratcher. Just studying on the plane and getting beat up.

Your family were big derby supporters from the get-go. Are they still big fans? Do they still get out there and support you?

My parents love derby. They have been super-supportive. I think its the first thing I've done in my adult life that they were both proud of. I've been such a radical, anarchist, krusty, punk/hippy for so long that they see my participation in derby as me becoming more normal. derby is a lot safer than organizing protests and getting arrested for civil disobedience; plus I bathe more. Heck I'm even off the no-fly list now.

You can definitely see my parents at the bouts. They are always jumping up and screaming. I think my mom has been told to sit down multiple times. Clearly she hasn't been sitting in the Ice Box. She has season tickets and is usually in the VIP section. You can identify her by her Mama Scratch hoodie. My dad sits on corner two and yells at the refs. He used to host a tailgate party out of his motor home in the parking lot before every bout but Expo nixed it. I imagine we might see it return next season at the Hangar.

Is there anything you would like derby fans to know that you think we might be oblivious to?

I think the most amazing thing to me is that WFTDA is probably the largest women's cooperative in the world. Member leagues of the national association cannot be privately owned but must be skater owned. Its a great structure for businesses and organizations. It allows all of us to have a voice in the development of the sport.

An example of how awesome our national organization is is the development of our own insurance company. Before we were forced to pay to an insurance company to be able to play, and that gave us a deductible of $10,000. Here we are putting our health on the line, and our insurance deductible is $10,000. The ladies of derby saw how ridiculous it was and started their own insurance company. Now I pay less for insurance and my deductible is 3,000. Its a huge difference.

Sunday Heathers Googling

Titania, The Mad Nader, and Dennis Culver have a comic book coming out from Oni in January TRUE TALES OF THE ROLLER DERBY: DOPPELGANGER AT THE HANGAR in which "Goodie Two-Skates is missing! And who are these new skaters–the freakishly perfect freshies that have suddenly shown up? The Wheels of Justice have to find Goodie and get to the bottom of this mystery before Nationals, or the Icy Blonde will succeed in corrupting the team forever!" This as a warm-up to the larger, graphic novel-sized project Nader and Titania are putting together for 2009. More on that soon.



Meanwhile, everybody's looking really good in the Flat Track Revolution shirts they bought at nationals, featuring the Che-like visage of Goodie Two Skates on a fine garment produced by your own Izabell Ringer and Slaybia Majora. We look forward to wearing more of their fine designs in the near future. Stay tuned!



Rocko Billy has a nice post at his blog about the recently completed national women's flat-track derby tournament. He has some good photo links as well as an embedded, extended series of nationals interviews from Moose at Derby News Network.

Roller Derby is NOT a Sport...

That was the bulletin headline I read on myspace yesterday, which required that I click in and read.

The post read as follows:
----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Oly Rollers
Date: Nov 18, 2008 11:54 AM


according to the Oregonian that is.

Apparently a friend called the paper to ask why the WFTDA Nationals were not covered and she was told "because roller derby is not a sport."

How insulting to every skater, fan, volunteer out there.

PLEASE call and/or email the Oregonian and voice your displeasure and maybe even challenge the douche bags to a bout:

503-221-8548
sports@news.oregonian.com

I put in a call this morning to the sports editor to get answers for myself. No word yet...

Please repost this and spread the word.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Now rarely do I trust a story that includes "a friend" in the set up but given my personal loathing of the Oregonian I bought in and launched my email to the editor.

This morning the response to my email salvo arrived.

----------------------------------------------------------------

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Sports MailBox [mailto:sports@news.oregonian.com]

> Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:18 AM

> Subject: Roller derby

>

> Roller derby players, supporters and enthusiasts,

>

> Thank you for your concern regarding The Oregonian's coverage of roller

> derby. In what appears to have been a misunderstanding, here is a

> statement from our Sports Editor, Mark Hester:

>

> "What I said is that 'roller derby is not a sport The Oregonian covers.'

> There are a lot of sports we don't cover. We cover those with the most

> interest with the most emphasis - by far - on football, basketball,

> baseball, soccer, track and cycling. The last three don't receive much

> coverage in most newspapers, but we cover them because interest in Oregon

> is much higher than in most parts of the U.S."

>

> - Mark Hester, Sports Editor

>

> Sincerely,

> Marshall Mills

> Sports Editorial Assistant

> The Oregonian

> p: 503-221-8161

> f: 503-221-8168

> e: sports@news.oregonian.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So now we know...

Our lack of interest is why the sport section is not covering Roller Derby. It's our fault. Of course my thought is maybe they don't know how many people DO have interest in the sport.

So, I leave it to you, Heartless ones...Let the Oregonian know there are Oregonians that love this sport and would like a simple mention, especially when the local league is hosting a MAJOR event like Nationals.

Gotham takes the title

- The Coroner

Championship Day

A rematch of the Eastern Regionals final, with New York and Chicago chasing the national crown, and Philly vs. Texas for the thirds place spot.

See y'all there after some biscuits and gravy at Podnah's.

- The Coroner.

how does this keep happening

how does this keep happening to me? I have 3 sexist derby virgins sittin behind me making inappropriate comments. I may have to educate

- MercGirl

some of PDX's finest. Love them

- MercGirl

that was the craziest ending

that was the craziest ending to a bout ever.

- MercGirl

WTF! I cannot beleive thid

WTF! I cannot beleive thid

- MercGirl

my goodness Rice Rocket can

my goodness Rice Rocket can skate!

- MercGirl

Ringer with South City Shiner from St. Louis

- The Coroner