This is a guest post by Disloyalist triple threat Manic Breeze.

On Sunday night, Banger Management and I arrived at the Ancaster Fairground outside of Hamilton for the first ever Ontario Skills Competition, put on by Rollerbug and Los Coños Roller Derby of Hamilton. We were full of anticipation as we put on our gear and looked around the track to size up our competition.
A plethora of fine, powerful womyn were there to represent eight leagues and fourteen teams, including (to my fear and excitement) Motorhead Molly and Killson, who both played for Team Canada in the Roller Derby World Cup in 2011. Other names were new to me, and now I can add Sofanda Beatin’ (Vicious Dishes) and Bruiseberry Pie (CN Power) to the list of womyn who dazzle and terrify me. There were 28 skaters total, one jammer and one pivot per team.
There were five events to determine which league would come away with the coveted golden peach, symbolizing the best roller derby skills in Ontario! Check out the video here to see the events explained in greater detail.
Only one player could represent her team for each of four events: a one-lap sprint, a five-lap full-contact sprint, a scrum start competition, and an obstacle course. All 28 skaters at the competition got to participate in the final showdown, a last-woman-standing event. Banger Management and I had talked about dividing the events according to our skill sets, but the event planners threw a wrench in our plans by having us draw straws to see whether the jammer or pivot would represent in the scrum start event. Unfortunately for us, we drew the jammer straw, and I lost by a hair, trying to get past four phenomenal blockers in 20 seconds. This meant, for us, that Banger would compete in the obstacle course.
In the end, it was great that the fateful straw was pulled to put me in the scrum start contest, leaving Banger to work some magic among the obstacles. There were fourteen skaters, each representing a team, who competed one-on-one, working against the clock to move on to the next round. The biggest issue skaters had in this event was control. Skaters were moving frantically to keep their speed up. As soon as they messed up one obstacle (if you knocked a bar down as you jumped it, you had to reset the bar and re-do the jump), they lost a lot of time. They could only make up their time if their opponent made a similar mistake. Banger moved fluidly through each round, with careful control and determination, and a solid display of jumping, diving, weaving, and hitting skills. It was a beautiful thing to watch! She came out on top in this event, winning our team 50 points! Banger, you are a proficient athlete and you made me so proud to be on your team!
Banger also competed in the five-lap full-contact sprint, making it through the first 2 rounds, and scoring us 20 points.
I competed for the Disloyalists in the one-lap sprint. There were 14 jammers skating in this contest, and I looked around at the experienced, long-legged, and muscular womyn around me and laughed inwardly, reminding myself that that I was here for fun. To my amazement, I beat the first jammer I was against…and then the second…and the third, and suddenly everyone else had been eliminated besides me and Killson! What? I was in the finals!? We raced, and the refs didn’t know who crossed their line first. So we lined up again, and I took some deep breaths, and stared the ref down, steadying myself with the thought that I was going to make my win obvious to him this time. The room seemed deadly quiet and I was in some sort of elevated state as the whistle blew. I pushed myself, lactic acid flooding my leg muscles — I won! 50 more points for the Disloyalists!
The final event included all 28 skaters, and the teams played strategically, working with their partner (and sometimes creating alliances with their whole league), avoiding hits, steering clear of catastrophes like the one Banger and I got eliminated in (at the exact same moment, we both fell!). Three full songs played as the numbers dwindled. The Total Knock-Outs took the win in this event, with both skaters remaining standing after all the other teams had fallen.
All in all, we came in third place at 120 points. It was an honour to compete against these adroit and talented skaters, and to get to represent KDG in this thrilling Skills Competition! Big ups to the Venus Fly Tramps, who took the victory at 160 points.

- Manic

Whew! It’s been a whirlwind of a summer for the Kingston Derby Girls so far. Our calendar’s been jam packed! On June 16, the Rogue Warriors hosted the hard-hitting (and super lovely) Oz Rollergirls, in from Oswego, New York. It’s always great to play the girls from Oz — as you may recall, the Skateful Dead played them back in April — because they’re just so darn nice. Sure, they tend to win… a little… but hey, the Rogue Warriors didn’t let it get them down. They came away from the loss having tried their best, learned a lot, and had a ton of fun!

On June 23, the Disloyalists faced off against Royal City Roller Girls’ Brute-Leggers for a game that was easily the nail biter of the century! After a hell of a fight on both sides, the Brute-Leggers narrowly (and we mean narrowly) eked out a win with a score of 145-137. Want a little taste of this amazing game? Check out just under five minutes of it here.

What’s up next for your favourite derby girls? Lots of hot and sweaty practices (hi there, July) leading up to our next bouts: a hometown double-header on July 14 (get your tickets early — this floor-only night will sell out fast!) and an away game for the Disloyalists against the formidable RVRG Riot Squad on July 21. Now things are really heating up!

KDG’s Rogue Warriors hit the highway last weekend for their first away game of the season, and brought some amazing skill and strategy, along with KDG’s indomitable spirit (and rowdy fans), to the nation’s capital. Their formidable opponents were Capital City Derby Dolls’ Dolly Rogers. It was a hard-hitting and intense bout, and the Rogues’ roster was, of course, packed with strong skaters. The Dolly Rogers took the lead early on and never relinquished it, but the Rogues never gave up, playing hard throughout the entire game, and showcasing some amazing jamming (one 24-point jam!), and powerhouse blocking. The final score was 232-82 for the Dolly Rogers – well-earned by the CCDD team, and well-fought by our Rogue Warriors.

No rest for the wicked, of course, and the Rogues are now warming up for their battle with Oswego, New York’s Oz Roller Girls on Saturday, June 16th at the Memorial Centre. This is the second KDG game this year against Oswego, so don’t miss the action as the Rogues try to settle the score following Oswego’s win over the Skateful Dead in March!

The Rogue Warriors are pushing forward to represent the Kingston Derby Girls at the next couple of bouts, both at home and away.

First they’ll face off against the Dolly Rogers in Ottawa (buy tickets), sure to be a battle of epic proportions.

Next, it’s time for our June home game: the Rogues will be battling it out against some of the toughest ladies New York State has going, the Oswego Roller Girls (buy tickets).

Stay tuned for more details, but don’t delay — get your tickets now! While you’re at it, why not show your support for our Rogues on Facebook?

On Saturday, Kingston Derby Girls’ Disloyalists headed to The Bunker in Toronto to take on Toronto Roller Derby’s D-VAS (Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Playing at Downsview Park’s Bunker, the site of the first Roller Derby World Cup, was something like playing on Wrigley Field or at Fenway Park for our team. The D-VAS team receives coaching from some of the best players in Ontario, so tensions were high. Our Disloyalist lineup featured two of the league’s recent drafts, Jamburglar and Ker-Osene, and a range of newer jammer talent, including Yo! Shanity Slam, recently drafted from the Skateful Dead.

Continuing to capitalize on their grasp of pack strategy and ability to work as one, the Disloyalists pulled quickly ahead, and though the D-VAS surged back in the second half, they were never able to close the gap between the two teams. The final score was 314 to 55 for the Disloyalists.

TORD were wonderful hosts (cheesecake brownies!) — thank you, TORD and D-VAS, for having us and for the great game. Our team did us proud in the Bunker; we’re also proud that two of our refs, Fraud Flintstone and John Eh Smackdonald, represented our zebras well on the track. The Kingston Derby Girls are earning a reputation for excellence in the derby world, and we can’t wait to see where this season continues to take us!

Read the excellent and detailed coverage of the bout by The Derby Nerd. You can even watch the bout online! The first half is here, and the second half is here. Grab some popcorn and enjoy some heavy-hitting, smart derby!

Happy birthday, Kingston Derby Girls! That’s right, today is the second anniversary of our very first practice. It is astonishing how far this league has come in such a short time: from just over fifty women who could barely stand on rollerskates and couldn’t tell a jammer from a blocker, to three teams — still over fifty women strong — of skilled, knowledgeable, bad-ass derby girls.

We showed exactly how far we’ve come last night in Ajax, where the Skateful Dead came out ahead of a strong and hard-hitting Durham farm team 115 to 67 and the Disloyalists took down Durham’s travel team, the Devils, 193 to 86. Our game MVPs were Box Punch for the Skateful Dead and Mr. Kristi for the Disloyalists. Congratulations to both teams on some beautiful, intelligent derby and many thanks to DRRD for hosting us — and for the beautiful trophies!

Want to read more about these games? The Derby Nerd was there, and caught all the action.

Tomorrow, two KDG teams are heading west on the 401 to take on Durham Region Roller Derby! The Skateful Dead will be taking on DRRD’s farm team, while the Disloyalists confront the DRRD Devils.

You may remember last August’s nailbiter bout between the Disloyalists and the DRRD Devils — it was one of the hardest-fought battles of the season, with the Disloyalists squeaking out the Devils to win 73 to 71 in the final jam. This time we’re on DRRD’s home turf, and this team is out for revenge. Both teams have been training hard in the off-season and both teams want to win!

If you’re going to be in the Durham area or the GTA, head on over to the Ajax Community Centre to watch these two epic battles for flat-track dominance. The doors open at 5:30 pm, and all the details you need are here.

Wish us luck!

On Saturday, a convoy of Kingston Derby Girls got out their passports to head south of the border for KDG’s first international roller derby bout. The Skateful Dead, led by captains Polly Slamory and Careless Whips-her and including a couple of bonus members of the Rogue Warriors, met the Oz Roller Girls of Oswego, New York, at the Armory for a clash of epic, trans-border proportions. The Oz Roller Girls, undefeated in their last eight matches, came out swinging in the first half, leaping to a huge lead in the first few jams as the Dead, under coach John A. Smackdonald and bench coach Little Orphan-Maker Annie, struggled to get used to the unusual sport-court floor and find their bearings against the hard-hitting Oswegans. Their lead stretched out quickly, and going into halftime Oswego was ahead 129-50. However, the Skateful Dead rallied at halftime, using strategic starts to their advantage and holding the inside line, shutting down the strong Oswego jammers numerous times. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and Oz took the bout 200-124. Polly Slamory and Smackinnon were named Kingston’s blocker and jammer MVPs, respectively.

The Skateful Dead played hard against a challenging team and are proud of the game they played. The Oz Roller Girls were amazing hosts, and we can’t wait to do the same for them. Oswego will be coming to play the Rogue Warriors this summer in Kingston, and Kingston will be looking to avenge their loss. Stay tuned as bout details for our coming season are revealed!

You can view some great photos of the bout here, and check out the articles about the bout in the Palladium-Times and Oswego County Today.

Whew! It’s taken a little while for the excitement to die down enough for us to type a coherent sentence, but guess where the Kingston Derby Girls all were a couple of weeks ago? Watching the first ever Roller Derby World Cup in Toronto, that’s where!

If you weren’t able to be there, or if you want to relive the best derby the world has to offer, the event was covered by Derby News Network, who archived all the footage. There’s also a nice write-up of the final between Canada and the USA — even though Canada lost that game, it should be noted that they scored more points against the US than all the other teams they’d played against, combined. Not bad, eh? And Team Canada had a sweet “beaver fever” dance to boot.

For more, check out The Derby Nerd’s detailed summary of the event. We’re so proud of our derby big sisters from Toronto Roller Derby for hosting the first ever World Cup, and for doing it so well. It was a thrill to watch all our Canadian roller derby heroes play so well. We all came back inspired to kick ass at off-skate training in the new year, and in the 2012 season!

The Disloyalists hit the road this past weekend, travelling over four hundred kilometres to Simcoe, Ontario, to take on Brantford’s Belles of the Brawl at the AUD. They brought with them a small but noisy cheering squad of friends and family for support.

The Belle City Roller Girls throw a great bout — there was a kids’ area, buttered popcorn, and — always important! — BACON! The game was fast-paced, hard-hitting, and high in penalties, and full of memorable moments — Frieda Frankenstorm’s 22-point jam, Magpie trying to call it off only to discover she wasn’t lead jammer, and a few jams when it seemed there were more players in the sin bin than on the track. In the end, your Kingston Disloyalists took the game:  122-26. Congratulations Disloyalists on a great final game of the season! Brantford were great hosts and we can’t wait to see them again soon.