First Game of the Toronto Roller Derby 2008 Season!
Gore-Gore Rollergirls vs. Smoke City Betties (May 24th, 2008)
By Emily Taylor
Sometime in the 1970's the roller derby (a "true American pastime", apparently) suffered an unfortunate fade into the background – not for the first time, mind you – the roller derby has had its fair share of both popularity and obscurity in the last century or so.
But it's back in a big way in Toronto: and it's pushy, filled with tattooed girls in short skirts, leopard print "jerseys", and extreme makeup. They're mean, and they want to win. Toronto has the largest all-female flat-track roller derby league in North America. Who knew?
On May 24th a friend of mine and I went to see the kickoff game for the 2008 Toronto Roller Derby season, the Gore-Gore Rollergirls vs. the Smoke City Betties. I had no idea how the game was played when I got there, but luckily my friend got me up to speed and there was a handy program that outlined specifics. On a very elementary level: two teams place five players onto a circuit track (three blockers (defense), one pivot (last line of defense), and one jammer (scorer)), and helmet covers differentiate these players. Points are scored by the jammers, who attempt to pass the pack and lap as many times as possible in the 2-minute "jam". At the end of each "jam", players re-form and continue with the next jam. Players can attempt to block jammers by using body parts above the hips (excluding head, hands, and forearms).
The girls bashing and crashing into each other, or even better, falling, was clearly the most interesting aspect of this sport to most of the attendees to the first game (outside of the outfits, which were really ornate and cute): the players bash each other around, some fall, some trip and take out other players and this can result in a mess of skates, hair, smeared makeup, and fishnets on the hard floor of the arena.
That being said, the first game of the season seemed a little lackluster: the Gore-Gore Rollergirls smoked the Smoke City Betties (pun intended). The Smoke City Betties put up a little bit of a fight at the beginning but seemed to lose a lot of drive as the second and third periods rolled by (and again, pun intended). Though the girls made it look easy, they were working hard, and as for any sport if the score had been more consistently even throughout the game it would have made for a more entertaining experience. The next game is June 7th at George Bell Arena in Toronto and surely as the season progresses so will the intensity of the games and the players.
It seems there is a bit of an underground movement in North America with respect to reviving the roller derby into a more mainstream sport: it's got a ways to go, but rest assured this mish mash of punk, roller skates, and athleticism will carve out a niche for itself in Toronto.
For 2008 season games and more information, check out:
http://www.torontorollerderby.com/
Sometime in the 1970's the roller derby (a "true American pastime", apparently) suffered an unfortunate fade into the background – not for the first time, mind you – the roller derby has had its fair share of both popularity and obscurity in the last century or so.
But it's back in a big way in Toronto: and it's pushy, filled with tattooed girls in short skirts, leopard print "jerseys", and extreme makeup. They're mean, and they want to win. Toronto has the largest all-female flat-track roller derby league in North America. Who knew?
On May 24th a friend of mine and I went to see the kickoff game for the 2008 Toronto Roller Derby season, the Gore-Gore Rollergirls vs. the Smoke City Betties. I had no idea how the game was played when I got there, but luckily my friend got me up to speed and there was a handy program that outlined specifics. On a very elementary level: two teams place five players onto a circuit track (three blockers (defense), one pivot (last line of defense), and one jammer (scorer)), and helmet covers differentiate these players. Points are scored by the jammers, who attempt to pass the pack and lap as many times as possible in the 2-minute "jam". At the end of each "jam", players re-form and continue with the next jam. Players can attempt to block jammers by using body parts above the hips (excluding head, hands, and forearms).
The girls bashing and crashing into each other, or even better, falling, was clearly the most interesting aspect of this sport to most of the attendees to the first game (outside of the outfits, which were really ornate and cute): the players bash each other around, some fall, some trip and take out other players and this can result in a mess of skates, hair, smeared makeup, and fishnets on the hard floor of the arena.
That being said, the first game of the season seemed a little lackluster: the Gore-Gore Rollergirls smoked the Smoke City Betties (pun intended). The Smoke City Betties put up a little bit of a fight at the beginning but seemed to lose a lot of drive as the second and third periods rolled by (and again, pun intended). Though the girls made it look easy, they were working hard, and as for any sport if the score had been more consistently even throughout the game it would have made for a more entertaining experience. The next game is June 7th at George Bell Arena in Toronto and surely as the season progresses so will the intensity of the games and the players.
It seems there is a bit of an underground movement in North America with respect to reviving the roller derby into a more mainstream sport: it's got a ways to go, but rest assured this mish mash of punk, roller skates, and athleticism will carve out a niche for itself in Toronto.
For 2008 season games and more information, check out:
http://www.torontorollerderby.com/
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