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Have a safe, fun, and exciting Fourth of July!

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prettyscarrie1

Derby Name: Pretty Scarrie

Number: #80 MPH

Team(s): Hard  Knockers and Burning River All-Stars

Position(s): Pivot, Blocker, Wanna-Be Jammer

What brought you to roller derby?
The A&E reality show “Roller Girls” about 5 years ago  – I got addicted to watching it.  When I heard the buzz about cleveland putting together a league by an article I read on cleveland.com, I knew it was something I just had to do.

What made you want to play and what keeps you playing?
The early days of building the league from scratch were really special.   At first I, I just wanted to see if I could do it (just be a skater and not embarrass myself).  After that, I wanted stay around and be part of it and see how far we could go with bringing roller derby to the city of Cleveland.  Now I continue to play for the love and constant challenge of the sport as well as the opportunity to play other cities.  I feel extremely fortunate to be an All-Star.

Hard Knockers are in a place they have never been, what is happening there?
Yes, the HK’s have had some tough breaks the past two seasons, but don’t count us out.
NONE OF OUR BOUTS HAVE EVER BEEN BLOW OUT LOSSES.
We always keep the fans at the edge of their seats -  better yet – we get them out of their seats, standing up and cheering…   No fans leave early when we play…

If you could steal another member from the league and put her on the knockers, who would you take and why?
Wow – you are just starting trouble with that question, so I will politely decline to answer….

What has been the best moment of your derby career so far?
This season – although it’s been tough for the Hard Knockers as a team, I feel that my individual derby skills have advanced to a new level.  Im really starting to think like a jammer.

What do you like/dislike most about the travel team bouts?
I LOVE being an All-Star.  Its truly an honor to be picked to represent the league and our city.  Playing travel bouts are also a much higher level of strategy and athleticism.  I love playing against girls that I don’t know – or have only seen or heard of.  Its very intimidating at times, but SO exciting.

Who do you have the toughest time against on the track?
Where do I start?  There are SO many good skaters, that I honestly can’t pick just one. Now that I jam for the HK’s, I notice things differently.  Skaters like Stroker Ace, Ivanna Destroya and E. Gargiulo  are a real challenge to get around because they are so smart and patient.  They can control the speed of the pack. Getting trapped and trying to get around one of them is tough, two is nearly impossible When Halochic cuts a hard lateral, then clobbers you and sends you flying into the suicide seats, it doesn’t feel too good. Professor Booty is just RELENTLESS.

What do you think is ahead for derby as a sport?
I think (hope) derby will continue to evolve and be recognized as a legitimate sport.

What skates/gear are you currently using?
Riedell “Phase” skates – with some customization from Rich at Skater’s Edge.  I wear ankle strap stabilizers as well. All of my pads are TSG.  I like the TSG force knee pads in particular.  I wear Gladiator gaskets under them. My helmet is one of a kind – It was a “hand me down” from my son from when he used to skate board.  I don’t think its any name brand in particular.   Its silver chrome and covered with bullet holes! (Stickers – but they sure do look realistic!)   I love this helmet because it’s from my son, and because it’s the only silver chrome helmet I have ever seen.  Rich has been trying to locate another one for me, unsuccessfully for a while now.

How does it feel to be on the header of sk8intheface?
I feel like I’m not worthy of being there, as well as, extremely flattered and grateful.

What has been the worst injury you have received?
The beginning of last season, I bruised my left lower quad muscle right where it attaches to the knee cap. Luckily I didn’t tear anything, but I was off skates (and miserable) for about 3 months.  I also think I tore something or damaged something permanently in my right rotator cuff during our first season, because every time I raise my arm over my head to stretch, I can feel something pop inside. I never actually got treatment for it, so I don’t know for sure.  I just dealt with the pain and it eventually got better..  The popping thing doesn’t actually hurt and I have full range of motion, so I figured that’s good enough.  Maybe someday (if I re-injure it) I will go get it looked at.

How long do you feel you will play derby for?
My goal is a minimum of 5 years, or until my body falls apart.

what is your favorite movie of all time?
The Goonies

What are your thoughts on the new venue?
There are a lot of positive things about the new venue.  Overall I am happy.  I do miss the polished concrete floor from our old venue.  The sport court is taking a little time to get used to.

How has derby changed your life?
When I joined the league in 2006, I was a really unhappy person.  I could never have predicted all the twists and turns that took place since and how extremely rewarding and positive of an experience it has been.
Here are my top 10 experiences – in order!
(10) Learning how to skate backwards (at Brook Park skate before the league was really a league).   Mommy’s Little Monster and The Validator were the first friends I made.
(9) Being picked to be a Hard Knocker.
(8) Skating down Euclid Ave. in the pouring rain (and I mean POURING) with The Validator and Rouge Cheddar after some PR event.
(7) Serving as Skaters Relations director and working to make the league a success.
(6) Skating in Black & Blue – 11/26/2006 – our first EVER public event.
(5) Being awarded “Hardest Hitter” and “Most Feared” in 2007 the inaugural season of BRRG.
(4) Serving as Executive Director of the league for 2008 and seeing how much progress and how much all of us had accomplished together.
(3) Being picked to serve as Assistant Captain for the Hard Knockers 2009
(2) Playing for the BRRG All-Stars!!!!

(1) Becoming my own hero.

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By Bettie Shocker
What a question to ask! Roller Derby means something different to each person involved. For me, it meant proving to myself that I could do something that looked scary and fun and hard all at the same time.
I was finished with graduate school, my two daughters were finishing school and heading to college, and my husband was no longer racing [bicycles]. So, the focus was on something for me to do—for me. Brian brought home a flier for the BRRG, we watched a bout, and I was hooked. I talked to Stir-Fry, signed on as a referee, and from there it is history.
I instantly became involved in every way that I could. I found the women fascinating and friendly and wonderful. I joined the best fresh meat class ever. I made some really great friends; there was thumb wrestling over who was going to be my derby wife—Sin-A-Bomb beat Check Republic so now I am a widow. I was named “President of the Fresh Meat” and this meant a great deal to me. The draft party was scary and nerve wrecking because I wondered and hoped for weeks that I would be wearing polka dots…. I do.
Notice how I have not yet mentioned skating, because roller derby is so much more than a pair of skates! Sure, you have to practice…and practice…and practice, but it is often the times away from the rink that make derby special. That is, until you have your first victory over the Steamers after the most fun you have ever had on the rink. Skating and hitting and blocking some of your new friends is the most fun I could ever have. Afterwards, you drink a beer and laugh with each other about the hits and the falls.
Then you move on to the next season, say goodbye to old friends and make new ones. You learn to work with new people, take on new roles, and grow as a person and a skater. The game becomes more important; the rules, the nuances, the strategies, the competitiveness all become more of your life. You dream of beating the Hellbombers, knowing you can do it but is slips from your grasp. You keep striving towards the goals you have set for yourself and your team. Life gets in the way, you get sick, you lose some of your focus, but you keep on keeping on, hoping that your team can continue being the great team that it has evolved into over the past three years…with the best fans ever!
Roller Derby has meant that I could do something for myself that looked scary and fun and hard all at the same time and guess what? It is and I am doing it!

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souleater

Derby Name: Soul Eater

Number: #53 (It was originally supposed to be infinity, but when I realized what a pain getting a custom number would be, I decided to go to a regular number. Then I thought, how can I do something in relation to my name for my number. I realized 5 and a backwards 3 would be my initials: SE. I used to have a backwards 3 on all my jerseys, but got tired of explaining that “yes, I do know it’s backwards, and here’s why…” to drunk people at loud after parties.)

Team(s): The Rolling Pin-Ups and The Burning River All-Stars

Position(s): It changes, but lately I’ve been pivot a lot and I’ve also been training as a jammer, although my rib injury put a temporary hold on that. I’ll step up and do whatever the team needs.

What brought you to the world of roller derby? A few years ago I got back into playing soccer after taking time off from sports during college, and although I like soccer, I was never in love with it. I was thinking of checking out what other sports were in the area when I heard they were forming a roller derby league in Cleveland. Without seeing a bout, reading the rules, or having any clue what it was other than the vague memories of what I had seen on TV as a kid, I made it to a registration meeting and joined up. I’ve been in love since!

How has your life changed since roller derby? I am in the best shape of my life thanks to roller derby. I worked out a little and tried to eat healthy before, but I was never too motivated just for the sake of fitness. Since I’ve joined roller derby, I’ve learned so much about nutrition and cross-training just to better my performance, it has really improved my overall health. I also met the love of my life, Stroker Ace, at the registration meeting, and my life hasn’t been the same since (for the better of course!).

Last year you were nominated for biggest bitch, yet you seem so sweet, how can this be? Haven’t you heard me screaming at my teammates, or  “barking” as it has been called, from Turn 2?! I may seem sweet off the track, but I’ve been known to be a bossy little b*tch on the track. I’m also not one to sugar coat anything and can be a little abrupt, which I’ve been trying to work on, but sometimes you just have to call it how you see it.

How did you come about your name? Just like any derby girl, I went through the names I wanted and realized they were all taken. I was set on being Goldie Roxx until I found out it was too close some other derby names for me to have it. So I spent months trying to find something, then realized I already had one. I have two ex-boyfriends that said I’m an “eater of souls.” That sounded like a title, and not a name, so I changed it to Soul Eater.

You are dating Stroker Ace, does it make it difficult to play against her? Nah, not at all. Actually it helps keep us motivated. When one of us wants to be lazy and lay around the house instead of going for a run or working out, we’ll talk some smack about the other’s team and how it’s okay for them to lose, or something like that. The only thing that’s hard is that we spend a lot of time with derby related events, and being on separate teams means separate team practices, team meetings, etc. There are some weeks we don’t even get a night to ourselves between all of it. Luckily we’ve been on the All-Stars together so far, which has been nice, especially with the traveling and additional practices it requires.

What your hopes for roller derby in general? I would love for roller derby to become more accessible and with more options to girls and women around the world. It’s becoming a reality little by little, thanks to all the new leagues popping up around the world, not just WFTDA or WFTDA-aspiring leagues, but also recreational and junior leagues.  Most sports have all sorts of leagues, from pee wee, high school and college, to “beer leagues,” to more competitive and serious leagues that have tournaments, roller derby should be no exception. A handful of adult women in a few major cities shouldn’t be the only ones that have the chance to play this awesome sport!

What album having you been enjoying most recently? Album? I live off my iPod these days, which is always on shuffle. I guess Shiny Toy Guns, We Are Pilots, and the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack, since it’s the most recent music I’ve downloaded.

What is your favorite derby memory? My favorite? There are so many! I think the most amazing day of derby was our league’s first public bout, Black & Blue 1, and its after party. Our league had worked so hard for so long, and to finally see our hard work come to fruition and produce a successful event was great. Everyone was so happy, it was a true celebration. I felt like I was in a movie it was so surreal.

You are on the sk8intheface header, how does that feel? When I saw it at first I thought “wow I’m making an aweful face,” but I’m still very flattered to have made the header!

If you could take a skater from another team and put them on the Pin-ups, who would you take? Stroker Ace, of course! Mostly because it would be nice not to have separate team obligations, but it doesn’t hurt that she’s an awesome skater too.

You were just out due to injury, how hard is it to just watch? It sucks!!! I’ve skated every bout that The Rolling Pin-Ups and The Burning River All-Stars have had until last month. It was kind of cool to be able to watch and enjoy, but I wanted to put on my skates and help my teams so badly! Especially the Cincinnati game… I played against their B team early last year and was looking forward to finally getting to play their A team, and on top of that it was such a close game! Since I couldn’t skate, all I could do was scream my head off, but at least I had the honor of being Turn 2 for a day :)

What are your ’09 season goals? I am working on becoming a great overall skater. I would love to be able to step up to any position in roller derby and just rock it without a sweat. Winning Best Pivot or Triple Threat this year would be pretty sweet, but dethroning Ivanna Destroya (who won Best Pivot for the past 2 years) and Stroker Ace  (who won Triple Threat for the past 2 years) will be no easy feat! Always keep the bar high, right? :)

What are your thoughts/feelings on the new venue? I like it a lot so far. I’m not a huge fan of sport court because it slows the play down a little, but it’s good training for when The All-Stars play against teams that have sport court, which is pretty common.
Pinups are a skeleton crew this year, how do you feel you will fare? We’re going to do just fine. It is making our individual skaters stronger because everyone has to step it up and play a lot. Our recent victory against the Cleveland Steamers is a testament to that. We had 5 less skaters than they did, skating with 9 people, and we still pulled out a win, exhausting as it was for all of us. Every skater on our team currently has a positive attitude and is truly a team player, which makes all the difference, win or lose.

Do you have a favorite quote? “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

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CoCoSparx

Derby Name:  CoCo Sparx

Number:  4

Team(s):  Hellbombers & the All-Stars

Position(s):  For the Hellbombers, primarily jammer & pivot.  For the All-Stars, I’ve done everything; started with the team being told that I wasn’t a good enough jammer and I was going to be blocking only.  After jamming as a pinch jammer a couple times, they moved me to jamming only.  Now I’m in limbo again as they’ve added some ace jammers to the All-Stars roster and my blocking has improved.  So… I guess that means I play all positions.

How did you learn of roller derby?  I got a MySpace message saying “Hi, we’re looking to start a women’s roller derby league in Cleveland.  We’re looking for girls who are 21+ and have health insurance.”  I didn’t really know what roller derby was, but I knew it involved roller skating, which I was decent at, and I’d already been looking to find a sports team to play on but hadn’t found the right one.  I figured I’d check it out.

What made you decide you wanted to play roller derby?   My parents were dead set against it.  Haha, but seriously, when I told my dad that I was joining a roller derby league, he sighed loudly and said, “Lindsay, we raised you better than that.”  True quote, he’ll deny it now, but he said it.  I kept going to practices out of stubbornness.  After a couple of months it dawned on me that I was   ACTUALLY playing roller derby, and that I LIKED it.  By then everyone was a lot more supportive.

If you had to choose between Jammer or Blocker which would you choose and why?  That’s actually a hard question, since I like different things about each position.  I’m going to say I would choose to be a pivot.  That way a I block & can jam if my jammer passes me the star.  Best of both worlds.

You seem to turn your rookies into fierce assassins, how do you do this?  I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.  But seriously, we’ve always tried to pick girls that we thought not only skated well, but that we knew would work well with our team; the ones who show they want to work as a unit, not as an individual.

What do you hope to accomplish in the realm of roller derby?  Whatever I can.  I’d love to see our All-Star team go to regionals this year (which is a very definite possibility), and even nationals someday.  A few people have asked me how long I plan on doing this.  Even at 26 & 1/2 years old, I’m still one of the younger girls on our league.  I look at some of the really amazing skaters across the country, and they might be 10 years older than me.  I’ve got a long time yet before I’m thinking of retiring.

You recently froze on the Jam line (Fort Wayne), care to enlighten people what happened there :)Hey, thanks for bringing that up.  But here’s what happened.  As I was skating up to the jam line, it dawned on me that I had a little bit of a wedgie.  So, instead of squatting down into may take-off stance & flashing a fish-belly white butt cheek at the crowd, I quickly yanked it out.  So as I’m waiting for the whistle to go, I hear this really girly-sounding voice yell, “Hyuk, quit pickin’ yer wedgie!”  And all I could think was, “OMG! They’re talking about my butt!”  Next thing I knew, they other jammer took off and I was left standing on the line looking like a moron.  If I ever find out who that girly-sounding hillbilly was, I swear….

What skates are you currently using?  Reidell 965 Minx boots, Powerdyne Triton plates, and a combo of Radar Zodiac (red) & Radar Mojo (black) wheels.

What has been your greatest achievement in Derby so far?  I think getting nominated for Triple Threat last year, even though I didn’t win.  I knew I was a pretty good jammer, but at the time, I’d always thought of myself as a big wimp in the pack.  I guess I was just a big eye-opener to find out that I was not a big wimp.

What were your feelings, when you saw yourself on the sk8intheface header?  I had no idea that my mouthguard made me look like I had hillbilly teeth.  It’s a great header though, nicely done.

What do you love most about roller derby?  Your mom.  No, that’s wrong.  I like the camaraderie, I like the competition, I like the fishnets, I like the travel, I like the feeling of getting your ass handed to you with a hard hit but knowing that I can get up and keep going, I like the strategy, I like the fans, I like hearing my name over a loudspeaker (or up in lights, like in Cincinnati!), I like the after-parties, I like the look on people’s faces when I tell them I play roller derby… I could go on & on.

You are engaged to the ref “Oliver Pist”, how has that changed the game for you?  I definitely see the game from the refs point of view now.  I try not to argue about small calls that were or were not missed, because really, refs are *gasp* human and can’t see every little thing.  If it doesn’t get called, I don’t take my mind out of the game anymore; just keep going because getting pissed about it only ruins my focus on the game.

What was the inspiration behind your name?  There really wasn’t much of one.  The original name I wanted was registered already and I couldn’t think of anything else.  I just liked the way the words sounded.  No irony, no cleverness, no little pop-culture reference, just liked the sound.

Which do you like better, cats or dogs?  I think I’m more of a cat person.  Pist & I just got a puppy in January, and she’s making me warm up to dogs.  But as it stands right now, I like MY dog and my friends’ dogs, but I love ALL cats.  I’ve never seen a cat I didn’t want to pick up and squeeze and cuddle and talk to in a ridiculously high-pitched voice.

Last year you won best booty (then showed us all why), any pressure in keeping that award in 2009?  I won Best Booty in 2007 too, so I had plenty of pressure last year.  The competition was tough, and I was sure that Hannah Bull was going to take home the giant trophy.  It really was a shock when they called my name.  I felt like Christina Aguilera when she won the Grammy for Best New Artist.  So shocked that yes, I felt the need to flash the goods.  For 2009, I’m seeing some stiff competition again.  We’ve got girls like Primp, Slammy, Syren, Booty… winning again isn’t going to be easy.  I may have to campaign this year by not wearing pants at all.

What do you think is necessary to propel the sport of roller derby further?   Everyone has to be on the same page, and right now, a lot of cities are not on the same page with their aims for roller derby.  Everyone has a different idea of what roller derby SHOULD be, and until everyone shares one vision, I think it’s going to be very difficult to get roller derby on the mainstream radar.  However, organizations like WFTDA (Women’s Flat Track Derby Association) are working very hard to streamline that vision and get everyone on the same page.  Many WFTDA leagues are getting a lot of mainstream recognition and are promoting a very good and positive image of roller derby to the mainstream audience.

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www.cleveland.com

Welcome to the world of Stealth Bomber, Eva Lucien and Betty Shocker.

Welcome to the world of women’s roller derby.

“A lot of people think this is staged like it was on TV,” said Kelly Collins, of Euclid. “But all the hits here are real.”

You can read the full story HERE

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halochic

Derby Name: Halochic
Number: 45
Team(s): Cleveland Steamers
Position(s): Blocker, Pivot, rare occasional jammer

What was the inspiration behind your name? It was a mash-up suggested by AOL for a screen name

How long have you been in the league? 3 years, since day 1

How did you learn of the league? a friend told me and took me to the first meeting

What has been your favorite derby bout? where we beat the Pinups last season

Who is your arch enemy on the track? hmmm….I don’t have one- you’ll have to ask them. LOL

You’ve seen a lot of people come and go from the Steamer’s how are you feeling about your current squad? It’s always rough to have a team full of new people, but we have a new fabulous captain this year and she has made numerous training drills to help us train our newbies. I feel confident in our new team and new skills.

Blocker’s seem to not be in the lime-light, does this bother you? In my eyes, blockers are the lime light. Blockers have the big take outs-blockers are the most feared-I like being a blocker

You were nominated for two awards last year, what are your 2009 goals? Be most feared first of all. Then be hardest hitter-then beat the Knockers

What are your thoughts on this years’ venue change? anything that saves our league money and has pluses for our fans-more parking, bigger and so forth – are a good thing in my book

What is your worst injury from derby? I twisted my ankle at travel team practice. It put me out for a few weeks, took me off the Roster for Naptown, and I had to wear an ankle brace for a few months

The travel team has a tough schedule this year, how do you feel about that? I don’t think our schedule was tough. Perhaps the teams we played were tough. I want to play more away games!! and more home travel team games as well!

Besides derby what do you do for fun? hang out with friends at the bar, play Xbox 360, bowl

You are in sk8intheface’s header graphic, what were your thought when you first saw that? I thought it was only me and then saw other people were in the photo- it was cool to be in the lime light though

What are your thoughts on the Turn Two Boys? who wouldn’t want super sexy hardcore fans? anybody that travels to see us rocks ass in my book!!

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Who is going to win The Hazard Cup in 2009!?!?!?

  • THE ROLLING PIN-UPS (31%, 18 Votes)
  • THE CLEVELAND STEAMERS (28%, 16 Votes)
  • THE HARD KNOCKERS (21%, 12 Votes)
  • THE HELLBOMBERS (20%, 12 Votes)

Total Voters: 58

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I got twenty bucks for the first successful leg whip I see!

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