WOMEN’S FLAT TRACK ROLLER DERBY MAGAZINE ISSUE 38, WINTER 2017
proud partner of the WFTDA
fiveonfivemag.com
fiveonfive contents
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advice ask swede hurt and suzy hotrod!
WFTDA The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association partnered with the UN Women this year, launching We Believe.
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business addressing business issues making money with merch
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health and fitness derby workout endurance
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games and coaching WFTDA championships recap visualization
Do More Derby Find out how you can help this derbycentered hospitality exchange succeed!
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gear triple 8 helmet review wheels: grippiness and durometer
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junior derby tri-city juniors
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Girls on Track Foundation
holding tryouts
Helping girls by funding awareness of and access to roller derby for fun and empowerment for girls and women.
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GIRLS N TRACK
day 2 Saturday picked up right where Friday left off – with another extremely close quarterfinal game. At risk was Gotham’s streak of seven straight final-four appearances, dating back to their third place finish in 2010. The intense first half included multiple lead changes and a score gap that was often in the single digits, but a 13-0 win for Giles on the half’s final jam put Gotham up 79-65 at the break. Texas came out strong in the second half, taking the lead just four jams in. But the seesaw battle continued as each of Gotham’s four jammers took lead in succession, leading their team on a 30-0 run. The lead changes were far from over. Texas responded with a 24-10 run and found themselves ahead 132-128 with 4:38 on the clock as Gotham wisely took a timeout both to regroup and to save 30 precious seconds. Giles took lead for Gotham in the first jam after the timeout, quickly and easily scoring five points as Texas focused on trying to recover a dropped helmet cover in turn two. Gotham held Texas’ jammer and pivotturned-jammer for the entire two minutes and claimed a 140-132 lead with 2:38 left on the clock. Despite having two timeouts and an official review remaining, Texas chose to let the full 30 seconds run off the clock between jams – seconds they could have desperately used in the game’s final jam. Gotham won the next jam 4-0 and Texas again let the clock run – this time for 20 seconds – before calling a timeout with 1:16 left in the period. Miss Tea Maven took lead 30 seconds into the final jam and Gotham took full advantage of their 50-second gift. Choosing to take no risks and run out the clock, Maven called off the jam with only a single blocker teammate left on the track just as the period clock hit 0:00. Gotham took the win 148-145. Arch Rival kicked off the last of the four quarterfinal games with a bang, grabbing lead in the first and third jams and opening up an early 9-3 lead over the defending champions. But Rose City would quickly show how little three jams can mean as they went on a 136-5 run to put the game out of reach early. Despite a much more competitive second half, Arch Rival was never able to get within 100 points as Rose cruised to a 237-109 victory and a fourth straight final-four appearance. After two consolation games, it was time for the semifinals. Victoria jumped out to a 24-4 lead over Denver in the game’s first jam and never looked back. Jam two saw roller derby power-couple Scald Eagle and Lady Trample
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face off. Eagle would win that first battle, but her secondjam lead call was one of only two Denver managed in the entire half. In the end, all five Victoria jammers individually outscored Denver’s leading scorers (Scald Eagle and Cotten, 26 points each) as they cruised to a 287-65 win. The second semi-final was considerably more exciting as the crowd was treated to a matchup we’ve become used to seeing at the end of Day 3 rather than the end of Day 2. Rose City and Gotham have met in the championship game each of the last three years, but this year’s bracket had them doing battle one round earlier. Prior to the 2017 season, derby legend Bonnie Thunders transferred from Gotham to Rose City meaning only one of two streaks could continue: either Bonnie or Gotham would play in their seventh straight championship game, but not both. The first half definitely brought back memories of the incredibly close games the teams had played the last three years. Tough defense and multiple lead changes led to a low-scoring 48-48 tie after 16 jams, but Rose City was able to open up a 19-point gap by halftime. That trend continued in the second half as Rose grabbed lead in five of the first six jams, stretching their lead to 104-71. Several jams later, a 22-4 win for Loren Mutch would put the game out of reach at 146-85 with 12:30 left in the game. Gotham tried to chip away at the lead, but winning the next five jams by a
collective 11-9 score wasn’t enough to make things interesting. In the end, a 159-113 win sent Rose City to their fourth straight championship game, and Bonnie Thunders to her seventh in a row. day 3 After a pair of consolation games to open the day, Sunday kicked into high gear with something rarely seen in modern roller derby: a huge comeback. Denver came out of the gate with an unmatched level of intensity. Facing off against Gotham for the fourth time in 2017, Scald Eagle and company hoped to reverse their fortune with a first-ever victory against mighty Gotham. And it looked like they would do just that. Aided by five Gotham jammer penalties (and none of their own), Denver opened up a 90-28 lead with 10:30 left in an extremely intense and hard-hitting first half. But then everything changed. In the next jam, Gotham’s USA Roller Derby tripod of V-Diva, Sexy Slaydie, and Caf Fiend kept Wilhelm from making it out of turn two for an entire two minutes. Unfortunately for Denver, that trouble was compounded by their first jammer penalty of the half just seconds before the jam came to an end. By the time Wilhelm could get off the track, Gotham had put up the first 27 of what would ultimately stretch into an incredible 63point scoring streak, giving Gotham its first lead at 91-90.
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Girls on Track Foundation I V A N N A S. P A N K I N, S O C A L D E R B Y
Did you know that by age 14 girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys? Long term involvement in sports helps girls develop positive self image, hone leadership skills and create healthy habits that they can use to build a better future. Girls on Track helps girls stay engaged in sports – our favorite sport, roller derby – throughout their teens and into a productive, healthier adulthood. who are we? Girls on Track was envisioned by Booty Quake of Roller Derby Athletics and Terminal City Rollergirls. She came up with the idea for Girls On Track at RollerCon 2016 while looking for ways for her business to give back to the community. Booty scratched out the seeds of our mission statement on an airline napkin on her way home, then recruited LuluDemon from PIvotStar, Strychnine from Wicked Skatewear, Eduskating Rita of Akron Roller Derby, and Ivanna S. Pankin from Rollercon and SoCal Derby to form the organization’s Board of Directors. Girls on Track also has an Advisory Board that includes community leaders Smarty Pants of the Texas Rollergirls and Bob Noxious of Brown Paper Tickets, and is working to inaugurate a Junior Advisory Board, as well.
GIRLS N TRACK what do we do? Girls on Track Foundation’s mission is to give girls in their teens more access to the sport of roller derby. As an alternative sport with strong female role models we know that roller derby appeals to girls that might not feel like they “fit in” with the mainstream sports options. Girls on Track is working on several initiatives to help make Junior Derby an option for more girls by funding programs that promote awareness and improve access. The organization is developing its own programs, as well as raising money to fund existing initiatives. For example:
● Intro to roller derby programming (“Derby in a Day”) that adult and junior leagues can present with minimal equipment to their local community groups like Girl Scouts, summer camps, and youth organizations. The program helps introduce the sport, showing how it builds teamwork, leadership, and presents strong female role models in an easy, no-commitment way. Participants get to have fun and experience roller derby in fun ‘sock derby’ games. ● A webinar series featuring celebrity skaters and athletes, where current junior derby players can ask questions and be inspired by leaders in the community.
● A grant program to provide financial support to initiatives by junior leagues, allowing them to reach more girls in their teens, and remove barriers to entry ● Connection-making projects to promote sharing of best practices among junior leagues, and increase recruitment and retention.
● Financial support of events that promote our organization’s values and mission ● ... and a lot more!
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where do we operate? Our Directors are based in North America, but our vision is global. Girls on Track is an organization that supports junior derby everywhere it exists now and in the future.
how can you help? Spread the word! Girls on Track will be at the World Cup, the Big O, RollerCon and more events in 2018 and beyond. Stop by one of our booths or get involved online.
You may already have seen Girls on Track booths at recent roller derby events. In 2017, Girls on Track made appearances thanks to the generosity of several event organizers, including The Big O, Best of the West, JRDA Championships, and RollerCon! We’re looking forward to supporting those events and the World Cup in 2018. Would you like to see Girls on Track at your event? Get in touch to discuss it!
â—? Junior Roller Derby Leagues can become Girls on Track affiliates. Affiliates are eligible to apply for funding, access programs and resources to help your league grow and succeed, nominate league members for our Advisory Boards, and lots more.
â—? Become an individual supporter! Help us decide how to spend Girls on Track funds, get our GOTF Insider supporters newsletter, pilot test new initiatives, rock our sweet t-shirt and more!
� Partner with us. We’re always looking for leagues, organizations and businesses to further our mission. � Volunteer with Girls on Track. We need smart, talented people like you to help us develop programs, work on administrative tasks and more, including marketing, graphic design, and fundraising campaigns.
Imagine your life if you’d had roller derby in your teens. Help Girls on Track make that a reality for the next generation of girls!H
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For more information, please check us out at girlsontrackfoundation.org fiveonfivemag.com | Winter 2017
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