"..ROLLER DERBY IS NOT A SPORT" so declares the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, who when asked by a friend of derby why the recently held WFTDA Northwest Knockdown nationals was not covered in the paper.  This was reported to us through a MySpace bulletin from the Oly Rollers of Olympia, WA. 

There has been a follow-up to this story posted at michichan.com

This all boils down to a lack of public education about TODAY'S roller derby.

Unfortunately, many people, especially sports writers, associate derby with it's television entertainment aspect of the bygone past.  In the old days when the image of the sport was tarnished in the eyes of many by staged fights (and I am talking about fights that are really portrayed as fights, not the "extended take downs" we have in today's independent derby), as well as off track "soap opera" drama and too many similarities to professional wrestling.  Let's not forget the alligator pit.  This is the only exposure that a majority of Americans have had to derby and this is what they remember.  

The burden is now on the WFTDA, OSDA and their member leagues to educate the public to clarify that today's roller derby, while still having some of the athletic aspects of the old game, is a totally new game.  Today's derby is with real people, amateurs (in the manner that we are not paid to skate) with real lives and what happens on track is not staged.  These teams are serious groups of girls (and guys) and do it for the love of the game and for the love of skating.

Hopefully, the new video game from Frozen Codebase will help expose today's flat track game to many people across the nation including those who are not near a current league to watch a live game.  Hopefully, WFTDA or OSDA will work harder to find some television exposure other than Mav-TV, a network with very little nationwide penetration and a very very niche market.  

Education is the key here.  AZRD has hit it right with their slogan "REAL WOMEN, REAL SPORT".  That's exactly what the WFTDA game is all about.  Where WFTDA needs to come up to bat here is working on improving the public image of flat track derby.  Perhaps bringing people on board who are not skaters but have the expertise to help educate the public.  WFTDA needs to make some major improvements to their website.  Maybe turn it into a site not just for the skaters and leagues but more importantly to the fans.   Real sports have real fans and WFTDA does need to improve in supporting those fans.  Outreach and education is everything here.

Hopefully by next year's Nationals, some progress will have been made.

My only other fear is that the new Drew Barrymore movie may overdramaticize the various off-track escapades of derby and set us back a few notches from being taken seriously by the mainstream media.  I feel in some ways, the "Rollergirls" A&E series did that too.

The Oregonian later clarified their statement by claiming that roller derby is not a sport that they cover.  In their statement, sports editor Mark Hester said "We cover those with the most interest with the most emphasis - by far - on football, basketball, baseball, soccer, track and cycling.  The last three don't receive much coverage in most newspapers, but we cover them because interest in Oregon is much higher than in most parts of the U.S.".   I still think that even though roller derby may not be ready for their box-scores, they should have at least had a mention since it was a special event and it took place in their community.  I am interested in hearing how the PDX area's broadcast media (TV and radio) handled things. 

 

HELL ON WHEELS
Speaking of movies, there will be a Phoenix screening of HELL ON WHEELS on Tursday, November 20 at 8PM at Chandler Cinemas, 2140 N. Arizona Av in Chandler.  Please join the Dames' Kamikaze Kiwi aka the Midnite Movie Mamacita for this special showing and support Chandler Cinemas at the same time.

RENEGADES AND DAMES
The other night's game between the Renegade Rollergirls and Arizona Derby Dames definitely has topped the list of the most intense derby games I have ever seen (the February, 2008 Tucson vs. Texas bout had this title until the other night).  With a final score of 15-0 in favor of the Dames, I only wished the game had a little more substance where it came to the score.  Regardless, this demonstrated what I said on the last episode of REAL Derby.  The Dames were looking forward to using this bout to finally unleash themselves without the fear of penalties.   While the Dames may have won the game, the real winners of this bout were the Renegades and it was not because of how they played, but the fact of how they presented an exciting game to a warehouse full of what was obviously a lot of Dames fans and rollervirgins (those who have never seen a bout before).  With the right promotion, I am hoping that these fans stick with the Renegades as well as the Dames.  As long as the Renegades try to keep their events to Friday night, then this will work out. The Renegades have a good thing going and more people need to discover it and I hope they do.  My heart will always have a little Renegade in it.

MORE DAMES!
The AZDD has released their Season 4 2009 schedule!  Like last year, there will be 5 teams and 5 regulation doubleheader bout nights.  Like last year, the Coffin Draggers will get the bye on the final bout night, which in some ways, may put them in a disadvantage if we end up with a tight race at the end of the season.  I really think they should have given the Bombshells the bye this time around.  This year, they will also have a "battle for bronze", a third place bout on championship night.  This season's schedule is being held in the supersized Veteran's Memorial Coliseum.   Mark your calendars and demand vacation days for the following:
1/31 - Mini-tournament season opener
2/28 - Bombshells v Draggers / Beauties v Brides (MUST SEE!)
4/4 - Bombshells v Scrappers / Beauties v Draggers
5/9 - Brides v Bombshells / Draggers v Scrappers
6/13 - Scrappers v Beauties (MUST SEE!) / Draggers v Brides
7/11 - Beauties v Bombshells / Brides v Scrappers (MUST SEE!)
8/22 - Semi-finals
9/19 - Battle for Bronze / Championship Bout
Due to the conflicts between myself and the Dames management, I will not be at AZDD bouts this year unless given the green light by their management.  I hope we can someday clear these issues but for now, I will honor their wishes.

JAMMERS TO WATCH IN 2009
I have had a chance to go around to the various leagues over the past couple of months to get a taste of what they have to offer and here's who I will be keeping an eye on for 2009:

AZDD - ELLIE MAYHEM:  During the Dames/Renegades bout, Ellie was definitely fun to watch.  She even looked like an Ellie Mae with the blonde pigtails and all.  But she was also very fast and agile and was able to put up with everything that the Renegades dished out.  I believe this is the same girl who skated last year for the Brides using the name "TBD 1".  Regardless, I think that Ellie is going to be a driving force for the 2009 Runaway Brides.  Thrash is lucky to have her.

AZRD - ANGELA DARKNESS:  I have had the privilege of seeing two bouts where Angela Darkness was jamming.  First, it was the September bout where she played for the Bruisers and then last weekend where she played as a fill-in for the Brawlarinas.  From what I was told, she is a former speed skater who came over to derby.  She has the speed an agility that derby needs.  While she contributed to the Brawlies in their victory, her skills were more notable during the September bout when she played for the Bruisers.  The only thing she really needs to work on is staying out of the box when jamming.  Overall, she's a great addition to AZRD and I hope she finds her way to the TCTs.

TRD - SKELETOR: At first you wonder, why the name Skeletor???   I don't know.  When I think of Skeletor, I think of Castle Graystone, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoons.  But I had a chance to see TRD's Skeletor jamming at the recent expo bout at DMAFB.  Like Angela and Ellie, she definitely has the agility and was able to manage the pack very well.  The best news of all is that she will be playing on the Furious Truckstop Waitresses, my favorite TRD team (especially now since Helen Wheels is on the Iron Curtain).  I am looking forward to a great 2009 TRD season, but please, that name???

RENEGADES - EVERYONE: For the RRG, I really can't pick one skater out because I think that all of the skaters who jam for the Renegades are awesome.  This league has some of the best trained skaters and spending that time in the bowls at the skate parks here in Phoenix is really paying off.  

NATIONALS
I have said it before and I will say it again, we can sum up the Nationals with only one word, "GOTHAM".  This year's was one wild tournament.  I am glad to see Gotham win but I would have loved to have seen them up against Texas.  A special congratulations goes out to Duke City Derby who was the total longshot coming into this tourney and they did the best they could over Gotham.  Hopefully, Muffin, Sabrosa and the other Munecas won the afterparty!  

BRATS
This Sunday, please join me at Bladeworld for the Tucson Derby Brats bout.  The Injustice League will play the Natural Disasters.  This is the future of derby, folks!  For only $5, you can see this future.  Please make plans on Sunday to be there.  

Well derby fans, that's it for now.  We'll see you at the Brats or at AZRD in December.  I will hopefully have some 2009 DLT dates here pretty soon.

with derby love...
Michi-chan
=m

http://www.michichan.com

(opinions are those of Michelle herself and do not reflect the opinion of any affiliated association.)

(CC)2008 Michi-chan Rollersports Productions - article may be distributed through Creative Commons share-alike attribution licensing.  Photos are copyrighted (C) 2008 MCRSP and are used here with permission of the photographer.