Thrill-HER Double Header

What a weekend! This by far turned into my favorite bout weekend yet.

Dixie Derby closed out our home season with a doubleheader this weekend, dubbed "Thrill-HER" as a tribute to Michael Jackson.

To kick it off, our "B" team, The Ragin' Rockets, took on the Chattanooga Roller Girls. Again, some of our recently graduated freshmeat made their derby debut and did exceptionally well! I was put on a 4-jammer rotation for this one, which was very different for me as I felt extremely well rested throughout the game. Besides a small incident in my first jam of the 1st period (I broke another finger... AGAIN), I felt great for this game. Our super speedy stats people have already distributed the stats (kudos stat nerds!) I jammed a total of 7 jams, got lead jammer 4 of those 7, and scored a total of 32 points. Not too shabby! Only landed in the box twice... once for an alleged forearm major and once for a major track cut. No minors, which means I played a damn clean game! (or I didn't get caught~ mmuwahahaha) Might be liking this whole jamming thing a bit more again. The final score was Ragin' Rockets 110 - Chattanooga 56.

During the final jam, I escaped to the locker room to do a super quick change for the between game Thriller performance. Everyone was really excited and the performance went really well! It landed us a spot on several TV stations, and the crowd went wild with it. That was really fun to do, and I'm super glad I got to participate in the performance. It looked great with all the smoke and lights. We even had our own great Michael Jackson lookalike... it worked out perfectly that it all happened on what would have been Michael's 51st birthday too.

After I got my zombie on, it was time to race back to the locker room and get ready for Bout #2 with the DDG All-Stars. Yuppers, I skated in BOTH games. I wasn't jamming in the All-Star game, but let me tell you... that marathon Stomp weekend really prepped me for this. 2 bouts back-to-back? Cake!

So they had me playing the middle-in position for this game. I hadn't ever played that position, and its not really one I'm comfortable with, but I guess I didn't do too bad. I managed 3 or 4 take-downs, which for a beanpole like me isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. Wooohooo! I was pretty excited! Stats say I again didn't commit any major or minors at ALL in the All-Star game, which means either A) I'm not hitting enough or B) the refs seem to not see me, haha. Oh well! The game was really intense... we battled back and forth with the mixed team of Smooth Criminals, but in a buzzer beater they pulled out a one point victory. Final Score: DDG All-Stars 115, Smooth Criminals 116.

We didn't have time to really be down about it, because a special guest grabbed the mic right after the final buzzer. Big congratulations to (BOA) Bitch on Arrival who was proposed to (and accepted) at the end of the All-Star game! Much derby love!

View DDG Photo Album **** View eRacer X Photo Album ****

More DDG photos

Up Next: DDG vs. Classic City in Athens, GA -- September 12th

Photos: Ian McAlister, Angela Zaborny

THRILLER from GO Magazine & Huntsville Times

Just a sneak peak at what's coming this weekend...

Go Thriller

http://videos.al.com/huntsville-times/2009/08/go_thriller.html

I'm also going to be zombied out for Thriller, just another reason to come watch us get our zombie on!

Mobile Madness

This weekend, Dixie Derby's Ragin' Rockets (B-Team) headed down to the LA (Lower Alabama) coast to take on the Mobile Roller Girls in Mobile, AL.

The trip is about a 6 hour drive, and the team was all scattered among several different cars heading down, so we all arrived at varying times.

I rode down early with Asian Invasion, Hell Razor and BOA so we wouldn't have the stress of sitting in a car for 6 hours before the bout. We arrived in Mobile around 10:30pm on Friday night. Ever the lame-o, I decided to crash out early so that I'd be in tip-top shape for the bout on Saturday night while the others explored the hotel amenities.

Not one to ever let a chance for sunshine, ocean water and white sand escape me, a few of us headed out to the beach in Gulf Shores for a little R&R before the game. I'm kinda glad I left early that morning, because apparently while I was laying on the sand and letting the ocean breeze blow, all hell was breaking loose at the hotel.

Talk about a commute from hell... some of the girls chose to leave early Saturday morning, and encountered engine failure about 90 miles from Mobile, leaving 4 people stranded on the side of the road only 3 hours before the bout started. So, after much logistical nightmare, Therapissed's hubby drove out to pick the stranded hitchhikers up. They made it in time, and we'd worry later about getting them all home. (Pain Russell had her own scary return home as well, when a tire exploded on her)

The bout was only the 3rd B-team game of the season, and was the skating debut for 4 of our recently graduated fresh meats: Blazin' Barbie, Chemical X, Zero Factorial, and Therapissed. They did awesome in their first bout!

And what a bout it was... it was the first game in which I stayed on the jammer rotation for the whole game. It felt GREAT to get through the pack! I managed a 19 point jam (YAY!) in the beginning of the first period, which put us up and we never looked back! There were some pretty intense plays, with a lot of our girls taking high blocks to the face. The bout was pretty physical and tempers were getting pretty high, but we finished with a victory of 111-86! I am so proud of all the great teamwork from all the girls and what a great job Hell Razor did coaching with Bama Bruiser as bench manager.

The afterparty was at a bar called Veet's, conveniently located about 3 blocks from our hotel. They had an awesome Captain Morgan statue right in the doorway for some seriously hilarious photo ops (more to come when I get ahold of Asian's camera). The Mobile ladies hosted a great party along with the tradition of Indian Leg Wrestling. Our own D'Sassy Apache was a BEAST in the leg wrestling wars and took down player after player... way to represent for DDG, Sassy!

Around 11, we all headed back to the SkyView Lounge on the top floor of our hotel, because we were tipped off by the awesome staff at the Holiday Inn that Absolut Vodka was going to be there giving away free shots all night. Free Booze + Derby Girls = 1 hell of a good time. We even gave a brief preview to our upcoming Thrill-HER show on the dance floor when Bama Bruiser, M'Shell O'Bomb-her, and I pulled out some of the Thriller dance (not easy, as it was the radio version and not the video version). All said and done, I think I ended up in bed around 3:30am. GREAT night!

More eRacer X Photos from Mobile -- Dixie Derby Girls Photos from Mobile

Up Next: Thrill-HER! Saturday, August 29th VBC South Hall -- Huntsville, AL

THRILL-HER

Its coming up fast... you're coming, RIGHT?!? Who in their right mind would MISS this?

DDG Thrill- Her promo

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=61882631

Derby Awesomeness

What do you get when you have 6 derby teams, an entire auditorium worth of floor space at the Rocket City Rumble and the CUPID SHUFFLE comes on?

Derby Dancin' AWESOMENESS!

Derby Dancin

Bust ASS in Hawaii or BUST!

So a few of the Dixie Derby Girls are heading across the ocean to do battle with the Pacific Roller Girls in Honolulu, Hawaii over Labor Day weekend.

On August 30th, there will be a Burlesque show put on by some individual skaters (Cathouse Canaries) to help raise funds for Hawaii. Trust me, you don't want to miss this! It will be held at Partners at 7pm.

Can't make the show? If you can spare a latte or two, please donate here:



THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
HUGS & BRUISES,
eRacer X, Asian Invasion, Hell Razor, Sweet Lucy, Lola Pihrana, Ebbin Flow, & Miss Trie

Honky Tonk Stomp

I just got back from probably one of the cooler derby events I've attended thus far in my short derby career, the Honky Tonk Stomp. It's the Tennesee state championship tournament: Memphis vs. Nashville vs. Knoxville. This year was Memphis' turn to host, so a bunch of us Dixie Girls drove up to watch.

I personally love watching the Nashville team play. They are phenomenal this year, and they have a very distinct skating style that I really covet. I always learn a lot from watching them play, and this weekend was no exception. They ended up winning the Stomp and taking the State Championship. Congrats NRG!

Saturday night, we headed out to the afterparties. Yes, as in Parties: PLURAL. The hosted event was a pub crawl, which is what we started off with... but we quickly hopped a cab with the Nashville girls to Beale Street and hit up a club there. Around 1:30am, about 12 of us piled into Hell Razor's Escape to hop back to the hotel (I was in the trunk with 2 other people). The hotel had a wonderful pool, so Asian Invasion and I continued the party out there with the rest of the Nashville girls. Somewhere around 5am, I finally hit the pillow...

That being said, my 9am wake up call came entirely too early. Sunday's activities were a full day of mini-bouts (7 total), which ChaChee, Asian Invasion, Hell Razor, Blazin' Barbie, FemiFist, Pinky Tuscadero and I had all signed up to play. My apparent insanity for derby caused me to sign up for all 7 bouts... yes, 7 back-to-back, full tilt bouts equaling out to a record 6 hours on skates for me.

The bouts were "themed", so our Dixie team was mixed up among the different sides along with skaters from all different leagues in the region. These were the bouts (the teams I played with are in BOLD):

• Steak vs. Tofu (Carnivores vs. Vegetarians)
  This was a tight bout, coming down to the last jam. Our jammer was in the box, so we didn't get to score in the deciding last jam.
  Final Score: 53-61


• Dumptrucks vs. Beanpoles (No explanation necessary)
  This was the bout that I originally had much anxiety over. The idea of facing off against the powerhouse blockers was a little scary, I'll admit it. Everyone had expected to watch the beanpoles get pumelled, but us little bean poles held our own against the biggest, baddest blockers out there! Wooohooo Beanpoles!
  Final Score: 75-25


• Generation X vs. Millenials (Born in 1979 or earlier vs. Born in 1980 or later)
  This was a fun game... nothing noteworthy that I remember. I tried to eat a banana before this bout and was feeling pretty quesy.
  Final Score: Not sure, but Millenials won!


• Inked vs. Clean Slates (Tattooed vs. Not-Tattooed)
  This may as well have been Dumptrucks vs. Beanpoles Part 2: Revenge of the Dumptruck, because let me tell you, they had some serious power on that team with the extra force of some really solid jammers. That was by far the roughest most demanding bout of the day, compounded by the fact that we only had 8 skaters on our team. I just wanted it to be over.
  Final Score: 109-19


• Breeders vs. Baby Eaters (Skaters with kids vs. Skaters without)
  This was the most exciting bout of the day. Most of our Dixie team was on the Baby Eaters team (with the exception of Femi), so that was comforting. ChaChee was trading scoring runs with Memphis' Lil Cinner most of the bout, and at the end of the regulation jam period, the score was tied. ChaChee faced off against Lil Cinner again in overtime, and squeaked out a victory over the Breeders with the help of Hell Razor, who delivered a massive critical hit to push ChaChee to the front.
  Final Score: 44-45


• Bizarro Derby Black vs. White (Everyone skates clock-wise)
  Bizarro was exactly that... BIZZARO. I think the bout was pretty evenly matched because most of us were just trying to get used to skating and blocking in the opposite direction. The refs had a little fun with this one too... we were edged out at the last minute on this one.
  Final Score: 32-35


• Fresh Meat Black vs. White (Newbies vs. Newbies)
  I was really looking forward to jamming on this one, but after only about 4 hours sleep and playing for a solid 5 hours, I just didn't have the fuel in the tank to make it happen. I jammed twice, but took myself out of the jammer rotation because it was more than I could exert myself at that point. I concentrated on playing power, which is my new favorite position, and where I feel most comfortable. The white team had some really good newbies, and our team had some really fresh meat girls playing for the first time, so we couldn't answer their runs.
  Final Score: 37-106

Overall, I'm very proud that I accomplished the insane task of skating for 6 hours straight. I'm sore as hell, but I feel pretty accomplished and learned a ton.

View photos of eRacer X from the Honky Tonk Stomp

Next up: Dixie Derby's Ragin' Rockets are playing Mobile away in 2 weeks!

Hi I'm eRacer X #X9!

Well, since Roller Derby has now become such a big part of my life, it makes sense that it now take over its own niche blog.

For those who know me as Erica Ortiz, the drag racer, you may not know that during the off-season and while the crappy economy has me sidelined, I've picked up another high speed, adrenaline rushing sport.... ROLLER DERBY.

I always loved skating, but after middle school, felt like a tool going to the rink without borrowing someone's tween or kiddie to "chaperone". So, I hadn't put on a pair of skates in probably upwards of 15 years when I heard about the Dixie Derby Girls here in Huntsville, AL.

Instantly, I fell in love. Hard hits, fast speed, fun personas, and cute ass attire..... I'm hooked. I started attending practice in December 2008, and in April I skated my first bout as eRacerX #X9. My goal is to become a badass jammer, but you know... adjusting to a track with corners and curves... yea, that takes some time. I'm used to my speed in a straight line and balls to the wall!

I picked my derby name eRacer X as a play on Speed Racer's mysterious brother Racer X. Originally the first racecar driver in the family, Rex Racer went to the dark side of mysterious by faking death and coming back as Racer X, a vigilante determined to put a stop to corruption on the track. Known as the Harbinger of BOOM-- fast and dangerous, erasing the competition just comes easily... Since Racer X drove Car #9, I adopted my number as X9.

So this blog will probably be a commentary on my life as a Dixie Derby Girl...and trust me, what happens at the afterparty WILL be the talk on the internets for days!