Roller Derby Update 4/9/11

The giant awakes: 2010 Calvello cup champs the Cherry Bombs have their first bout of the year Sunday. That's the culmination of another big Roller Derby weekend, with the Hell Marys on the road, the Texecutioners fund raising on the Veloway, plus some sweet relief for anyone thinking the only news in the UK was about royal weddings.

TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls

The Holy Rollers suffered an upset defeat in February at the wheels of a surprisingly strong Rhinestone Cowgirls, but they have the perfect opportunity to skate that loss off tomorrow. They face the 2010 title holders the Cherry Bombs, who have their first game of the season. The bout starts 7pm on April 10 at the Palmer Events Center. Tickets available now

On May 1 the Lonestar skaters will be holding their track and field day. If you're worried you may not be athletic enough, the fact that it's sponsored by Franzia boxed wine may tell you that this is no Olympic challenge. Up to 20 teams of four competitors can enter for events like tire and three-legged races. Email tourdefranzia@txrd.com for more details or to sign up you team.

Texas Rollergirls

No home bout this weekend, but the Hell Marys continue their march towards excellence with a road game against the Cen-Tex Sirens. The bout is at the Frank Mayborn Center in Temple tomorrow night, April 10. It's only an hour's drive and only $10 on the door.

The Hells are also working hard on building up their cheering section with the launch of their own fan club, Local 666. The $10 membership gets you an arm band, membership card, and an invite to an exclusive invite-only party at the end of the season.

Support your local Texie! Every skater with the league's Texecutioners travel team will be putting 50 miles on their wheels at the Veloway. It's part of their second annual skate-a-thon, and you can sponsor either the team or your individual favorite skater via texasrollergirls.org. With a busy travel season ahead, including a three-bout weekend in the Pacific North West, they'll appreciate every nickel.

Proving that travel broadens the mind and the trophy collection, the Texies returned from Dallas last weekend as victors at the Clover Cup tournament. After knocking out the Green Country Roller Girls 267-48 in the opening round, they faced Houston Roller Derby twice. In the semis, the Hard Knocks went down 144-90, but they fought their way back to the finals, only to take the silver in a 119-69 defeat.

After all that travel talk, time to think about the next home bout, which is … a travel bout. The Texies get to sleep in their own beds next weekend as the Black Sheep come down from Cincinnati. This will be the first time Texas will be welcoming an out-of-town league to their new digs at the Austin Convention Center. The evening will be rounded out by a mix-and-match bout as non-Texie players break ranks for a one-time-only preppies versus punks event. Tickets for the double header on April 17 are available now.

Beyond Austin

Massive news in Europe: This weekend the London Rollergirls are hosting Anarchy in the UK, the first ever Women's Flat Track Derby Association tournament held outside of North America. The London squad was the first WFTDA league east of the Atlantic, and toured the US East coast last year: Now the favor gets returned as Montreal Roller Derby, Baltimore's Charm City and Pittsburgh's Steel City challenge one of the rising talents in the sport. The bouts will be broadcast live, courtesy of the good folks over at Derby News Network.

Not that there are no Texas Rollergirls in London this weekend. Sarah Hipel of the Honky Tonk Heartbreakers will be wearing her other helmet as WFTDA games plan manager. She will be leading a referee evaluator session for European leagues (because the game is only as good as whoever holds the rule book.)

And speaking of rule books, a potentially game-changing shift is being considered. The WFTDA will be beta testing playing with no minor penalties across six bouts in the next two months, including three at the East Coast Extravaganza in June. Considering that keeping track of minors and making sure skaters do not go into the box during pivotal jams is one of the main jobs of a good coach, this could really shake up the game.