Down & Derby in Phenix City

Ahhh, the first bout of the season! Always good for some butterflies and a few opening night jitters. I figured that starting the season off at a mixed-team scrimmage bout was a great way to get back into bout mode without some of the pressure of a sanctioned, points earning bout against our WFTDA competitors.

The teams were a mixed group comprised of skaters from Burn City (Auburn, AL) Tragic City (Birmingham, AL) Chattanooga, and of course Cakeface Killa, Erica SLAPton, Brigitte Badonkadonk and myself from Dixie. The bout was a memorial bout for Sally Slaughter from Tragic City Rollers and Danger S of Tallahassee Roller Girls, and the proceeds were donated to Spread the Love for cervical cancer research.

Trying to organize a line-up with 14 people of all different teams isn't the easiest thing to do, so there was a little confusion before the bout on how to get everything rotating smoothly. I ended up Jamming and playing middle-outside blocker in the 6 line-up rotation. I'm almost not used to that much bench time between jams, so it was refreshing not to be winded up on the jammer line. The track was concrete, and wasn't too slick at all, which made it a really fast surface to skate on. Overall, that was great, ...except for coming off turn 4 when you have less than 4 feet of out-of-bounds room to try and stop in. Let's just say I got a nasty blister from carpet burn of slamming into and sliding down that wall. Ouch!

Performance wise, for a group of girls who have never played together before, I think we did great as a team. We traded point exchanges back and forth most of the game, and came out just short in the final jam when our jammer was sent to the box. Personally, I wasn't having the best game... especially blocking, but I managed a 12 point jam, took lead jammer several times, and only went to the box once for a track cutting major. I've had some persistent shin-splints this season, and I felt like I just couldn't get my skates solidly beneath me this game. I have some major work to do before our first DDG bout for sure.

The other great thing about this bout is that it was held in my old stomping grounds in Phenix City. I hadn't been back much since I left in 2007, so it was great to have my old friends come cheer me on down there. I'm pretty sure they didn't quite know what to think of roller derby. Thanks for coming and watching!

The after party was held at the Sports Rock, but unfortunately I didn't attend that one, so I don't have any excitement to report in that department.

(Photos: Melissa Humble)

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DERBY WORLD TOUR NOTE: Phenix City, AL (Burn City Rollers) becomes stop #12 on the Derby World Tour.