Statesman: Derby Tournament Coverage
Here’s a brief article (follow the link for more - requires free login) about the WFTDA Championship Tournament in Austin this past weekend.
Roller derby tournament comes home to Austin
Texas Rollergirls helped repopularize the sport in the early 2000s.
By Patrick George
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, October 01, 2007
(more content at the web site, including photos and video)Austinites helped bring it back, and now they’ve brought it home.
The city behind the revival of women’s roller derby played host to the 2007 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Championship Tournament this weekend. Skaters and fans from as far away as London united for one purpose: to watch feisty, tightly clothed women tackle, slam and pummel each other to the ground as they skate around a track.
Three thousand people — eight teams from across the United States plus equally raucous spectators — crammed into the Austin Convention Center. The event was hosted by Austin’s own Texas Rollergirls, one of the driving forces behind the sport’s rescue from 1970s obscurity, and the 2006 national champions.
“Everybody’s always gunning for Texas,” said Jenny “Apocalippz” Olender, who skates for the Texas Rollergirls. “We are the godmothers of roller derby, and it’s our responsibility to advance the sport.”When the Rollergirls started competing in Austin in 2001, the sport’s popularity quickly spread until it became a national phenomenon, Olender said. This year’s tournament was special for participants because it meant the sport was coming back to its hometown.
“When we started Rollergirls, there were a few people who knew in their hearts that we could bring it to this level,” said Melissa
“Melicious” Joulwan, author of “Rollergirl: Totally True Tales From the Track,” which was published in February. “It’s really fun to have it back here in Austin.”
The sport is not for the faint of heart. During four 10-minute periods, four women from each team battle it out to protect their jammer, a sprint skater who earns points by lapping members of the opposing team. The defensive players can block using body parts above the hips except for their hands and heads, which often results in skaters crashing to the ground or getting launched into the air.
It gets rough sometimes. Olender said she broke her ankle twice last year.
“Last night, a girl flew over a photographer’s head,” Joulwan said Sunday. “Every once in a while, you see people go into the audience.”
The scene also features rock ‘n’ roll music and brutal takedowns by skaters in fishnet stockings with derby names such as “Reyna Terror,” “Bettie Rage” and “Agatha Frisky.”
“I like alternative sports,” said Greg Scott, a fan from Minneapolis who came to Austin for the tournament. “It’s more exciting. All kinds of stuff can happen.”
Although the Kansas City Roller Warriors rolled away with the title, the Rollergirls’ Lara Bell said that might not be such a bad thing.
“It means it’s a real sport when we don’t win anymore,” said Bell, whose derby name is “Lucille Brawl.”
“We’re passing it on.”
pgeorge@statesman.com; 445-3851