The Texas Rollergirls have announced that, starting in 2011, the hometown flat-track Roller Derby league will be moving to the Austin Convention Center.
How did the Texecutioners celebrate the big move? With a 72-59 win over B.ay A.rea D.erby Dolls in the first round of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Nationals.
The Downtown relocation comes after eight years in their current home at Playland Skate Center, and places TXRG on a much bigger stage. The last time they were there was in 2007, when they successfully hosted that year’s national championships. According to league founding light Electra Blu, “We’ve laughed about how it took us 8 seasons to make the leap to a bigger venue, but it’s an organization run by the skaters for the skaters. We’ve had to bootstrap our way here.”
It also marks the continuing and deepening relationship between the league and City Hall, following last year’s declaration of Texas Rollergirls day and the inking of an agreement to give them extended access to several parks and recreation facilities. Mayor Lee Leffingwell (aka Mayor Maynot) said, “The league is fun and weird, just like Austin, and now they are bringing their exciting bouts to the downtown area. They provide great entertainment while displaying incredible athleticism. My hope is to see the all-star team win the national title in our Convention Center.”
However, when the announcement was made, most of the TRXG travel team was already packing their boutfits for Chicago, where the Windy City Rollers have opened the doors of the UIC Auditorium to the top 12 flat-track leagues from around the nation, plus crowds from dozens of other leagues besides. Texas, having placed second in the south-central regionals, had the first bout of the tournament, slogging through a low-scoring first period against the heavy hitters from California. A couple of well-timed power jams broke their way for a one point lead at half time, but it seemed like a much more motivated Texas team hit the track for period two. It may not have been the highest scoring bout of the tourney so far, but the Texas squad that left the track victorious should pose a major challenge for the Gotham Girls when they hit the jam line at 9.30am on Saturday, Nov. 6. For those of you that can’t make it to Chicago for breakfast, catch the live action, and all this weekend’s bouts, via the Derby News Network.
This article appears in November 5 • 2010.
