Estrogen on Wheels

For those of you who have anxiously awaited our report of the Roller Derby, I am here to offer relief!  It is hard to put into words the experience we had, but it sure was a blast!  The derby was at the OKC Historic Farmer's Market, which is a really cool old building that just happens to be in a bit of a sketchy part of town.  We were unaware that it was a double header and arrived about halfway through the junior team's bout.  

Junior Team

As smart as we are, we didn't look up ahead of time the rules of roller derbies and how they are played so as we were trying to find a seat we were also trying to figure out what was going on!  Lucky for us there was a program that had the basic rules and vocabulary for the sport.  For ease of understanding the rest of the post, here is the graphic that was included to show the basic rules:

Now here's some basic vocabulary:

JAMMER: The "speed" skater who scores points by passing opponents in-bounds. (Wears the star helmet cover.) 

PIVOT: The pacesetter at the front of the pack and the last line of defense.  (Wears the striped helmet cover.) 

BLOCKERS: Play a vital, simultaneous offensive/defensive role.  They help their Jammer get through the pack while working together to keep the opposing team's Jammer from passing through.

PACK:  Has a maximum of 8 skaters (1 Pivot and 3 Blockers from each team).  It is possible for the pack to have fewer skaters due to penalties. 

LEAD JAMMER:  The first Jammer to break throuh the pack on the first pass.  She may strategically call off the jam at any time.  

GRAND SLAM:  When a Jammer laps the 0pposing team's Jammer and passes all the Blockers and Pivot, worth 5 points! 

THE BOUT: The name of the game which is made up of two 30-minute periods and one half-time.  There are unlimited jams per period; each jam lasts no longer than 2 minutes.

So now that you know the basics, I'll proceed. 

We were able to find a place to sit in some bleachers and started figuring out the game.  It was pretty intense, and it was just the junior team!  Their bout finished and the Tornado Alley Rollergirls started warming up to take on the Springfield Rollergirls.  

Warm up

Next thing we know, there's a mascot jumping around getting everyone pumped up for the main event -- that's right, they even had a MASCOT -- Oki Doki Coyote, and to be honest, he was a little creepy.  Hep and I did manage to get a picture with him towards the end of the bout. 

It took us the whole night to kind of figure out how they were scoring points, but really the best part was the intense skating.  There was one roller girl that looked like she was in her 40's and she was legit!  Her name was Twister T; she was a really good Jammer and an amazing skater!  John wanted to get a picture with her, but wasn't able to because of the awards ceremony at the end. 

Our Jammer (with the star helmet) trying to get past their Pivot

I think I was expecting there to be more fighting and bashing (I guess I was thinking more along the lines of a demolition derby - also awesome).  There were a few crash and burns, but unfortunately (or I guess fortunately) no one caught on fire (my favorite part of a demolition derby!).  

It was a pretty close bout, but we ended up losing.  Even though this was our first time even hearing about the Tornado Alley Rollergirls, I was sad that we lost.  We did had a really great time though.  Thanks Groupon!