Skater of the Month: Astra Knot

Welcome to our monthly feature on the blog where we help you all get to know our players a little better! This month, we're featuring our 2014 team Chair:

Skater Name: Astra Knot

Number: 321 (Blast off, get it?! LOL)

Story Behind the Name: After thinking about a bunch of different things, I decided to combine two of my favorite things in life. I like space and knitting, hence Astra Knot.

Hometown: Duluth, MN

Derby Experience: I've been skating for several years now, and though I spend most of my time as a blocker, I'm having fun jamming at scrimamages, too.

*Just a side note for you all, too, Astra may be our outgoing team Chair, but she was just voted in as one of our 2015 Co-Captains and has also coached Freshmeat in the past. 

Sports background: I used to play on a volleyball team and loved it. I grew up in Minnesota so there's also been some skiing in my life, LOL... but now it's all Derby!

Why Derby: I was dragged to watch a game originally and realised as I was watching what a fun way it is to release aggression. The more I watched, the more I wanted to learn about derby and the more I figured out that I wanted to play! Plus, teammates are awesome and you get to knock girls down. What could be better?

Derby Style: Hmmm...aggressive? Hard blocking...knock 'em down! *grins* Also knowing and playing to the rules. That way I know what I'm talking about when I contest a call or try to strategize a big upcoming jam. 

Derby Goals: To play hard, but fair and to have fun whether we win or lose. 

Outside of Derby: I teach high school, which I love, but can ...let's just say drive me to find release in hitting girls at Derby, LOL. I love to curl up and knit, read mystery novels, and take naps whenever I can!

Skater of the Month: Meryl Creep

Welcome to our monthly feature on the blog where we help you all get to know our players a little better! This month, we're featuring the other half of the Pair O' Dice City Rollers' awesome co-captain duo: 

Skater name: Meryl Creep

Number: 9

Story behind the name: Well, my husband found great joy in trying to find me a name. He wanted people to call me Fugly Motha because he figured people would just call me Fugly!!

Hometown: Springfield, MA. 

Derby Experience: I have been skating for a little over four years

Sports background: I did gymnastics for eighteen years.  I was the captain of my high school gymnastics team. I was on a team for a year in college and then coached in my 20's.  My coach died this summer and I reflected a lot on my childhood as an athlete. As a gymnast I competed under what used to be Classes. I was Class 2 - above that was Class 1 and then Elite.  My best event was the balance beam. I was fourth in the state on that event and fourth in Western Mass in that event, as well. After an injury, I had to leave gymnastics.  I was also a diver and a diving coach before I came to Derby. 

Why Derby:  One day, I watched the movie Whip It and then googled roller derby. I found a league in the area and went to their fresh meat night! I love derby because it gave me back something I was missing in my life. I am a mom, a teacher, a wife and I didn't feel I was me. I was always a jock! I was a gymnast for the majority of my youth. I played soccer, softball, and was a diver. I was a diving coach and a gymnastics coach. I missed being physical.

Derby Style: I think my derby style is aggressive, but I am also a team player. I have also become much more vocal in my playing these past two years. 

Derby Goals: To see how far I can get my body to go, what my body can learn, and to really get back into jamming. 

Favorite Players: Besides myself? LOL. I love watching the Gotham Girls. Philly is an awesome team to watch.  I really end up watching a lot of tournament play. 

Outside of Derby: In "real life," I am a Special Education teacher, teaching high school English to students with reading and language disabilities. Aside from Derby, I also love drinking (J/K!!), reading, watching movies, and motorcycle riding with my husband and friends. I want to get back into working out at the gym. Oh yeah, tattoos... but I don't know if that counts as a hobby? *grins* 

Things I Have Learned about Derby: I've learned that I have good days and bad, but that no matter what, I can be strong. 

Highlights from the Oct. 26th Bout - Pair O' Dice City Rollers vs. Worcester Warheads

Starting off the line...

This past Sunday was POD's final game of the 2014 season.  Though we lost, we were playing against Worcester Roller Derby's Warheads and the Worcester Roller Derby Organization is a WFTDA League so they strive to play competitively at the national level.  POD as a team takes the attitude that we do our best in every game and if we can give these ladies a run for their money then we're doing just fine! As always, POD grew stronger as the game progressed and we showed WoRD in the end that we just won't quit.

In fact, during the game we built some beautiful walls!!

Vixen, Ballistic Miss L, and the Italian Assassin holding strong.

Suga Burn, Donny Brook, and Meryl Creep hold off the opposing jammer.

Astra Knot, Vicious Aloysuis, and Meryl Creep brace for impact. 

We gave and took some great hits!

Astra Knot (in her first game back since breaking her leg...)
gives it good to the opposing jammer.

Ballistic Miss L takes out the opposing jammer, while also making room
for Vixen, POD's jammer, to squeak through.

Haulin' Sass takes a lickin' and keeps on kickin' 

We worked to play strongly both offensively and defensively, utilizing strategies we've been working on for the last few months in practice.

Astra Knot sweeps their line to make a hole for jammer, Suga Burn, to sneak through.

The Italian Assassin helps to hold up one of WoRD's blockers
while POD jammer, Vixen, just edges past another player.   

While POD jammer, Killer Kush, fights to get by, the POD blockers
reform a solid wall, ready for the WoRD jammer to try to come through. 

After a successful star pass, one of PODs blockers,
Vicious Aloysius, becomes jammer and proves she can hold her own.

Though the final score doesn't necessarily reflect it, POD's jammers turned things up a notch in the second half, including one final jam by Vixen, who scored a whopping 25 points in that jam alone! 

Donny Brook holding off a blocker as she jams. 

Pandora catching her breath as she skates up to fight the pack again.

Vixen racing back to the pack, hoping to score again. 

Meryl Creep looking ahead for a clear path through the opposing wall.

FINAL SCORE: 

MVPs:

Congratulations to Ballistic Miss L and Vixen from POD
and Megzatron and Nikko from WoRD! 

Thank you to everyone who has attended one of our games this season.  

We hope to see you again next year! 

Special thanks to Eric Wallis Photography, one of our fabulous sponsors, for all the above photos!

VIDEO - Beat City Bedrockers Vs. Pair O'Dice City Roller Derby

Great match up between the Beat City Bedrockers and Pair O'Dice City Roller Derby.  The game was a close one and ended in the first win for POD for this season.

POD 144 -  Bedrockers - 111

MVP's - Beat City Bedrockers & the POD City Roller Derby

Congrats to the MVP's of the game.   Lolli  and Frisky for the Bedrockers and  Criminal Wrecker and MoJo for POD City.   This was MoJo's first MVP ever Woo Hoo  :)

See the  full game video Here!

HARD vs POD Pow Wowing

Team Pow-Wow   Also See the action packed video here.

Skater of the Month: Suga Burn

This month we're going to start a new feature on the blog to help you all get to know our players a little better! To start off, we're featuring one of the Pair O' Dice City Rollers' co-captains: 

Skater name: Suga Burn

Number: 250

Story behind the name: Derby related injury - I got a huge 2nd-degree burn on my arm making mexican chocolate marshmallows for the ref room. The number is the point where sugar reaches the "hard ball" stage in candymaking. I am actually not into derby names that much, but people who use their real names tend to be...more "gooder" than I am.  Also I have a last name that no one can pronounce.

Hometown: Timber Ridge, VA, basically a sheep farm by the side of the highway

Derby experience: Three years on skates, this is my second season playing.  I was briefly a ref which was an unmitigated disaster.

Sports background: My dad was a runner and babysat by bringing us along to his track workouts. Through high school I was pretty active, but avoided organized sports because I sucked at them and in the south that is a Big Deal.  In college I did club rugby, ultimate frisbee, karate, and got kicked off the rowing team for not passing the swim test.  Post-college I got into ultrarunning and long course triathlon.   

Why derby:  I am pretty sure that originally I wandered in because summer ultimate had ended for the year and I was bored and looking for something to do during the winter, and honestly after almost 10 years in the same co-ed sports league the drama had built up.  I have no idea why I stuck with it, to be honest, except that it was the winter - the league was new and had no organized fresh meat process and picking up the skills was wicked hard for me.  Glad I did though - the game is very mental and always challenging, as I put it “no matter how good you are, you will always find a way to hilariously suck.”  Plus, roller skating turns out to be sort of fun (because the last time I skated pre-derby I broke my ankle so bad I needed 3 surgeries which was not fun).

Derby style: Calm, composed, and rules-minded blocker in bouts.  Shenanijammer extraordinaire, who often comes close to fouling out in scrimmage.  If the refs don’t have homework after a scrimmage, I failed miserably.

Photo by Eric Wallis Photography

Why Pair O' Dice: I came to POD after I had gone inactive for a while after my first season.  I really love that the entire league is one team and everyone is treated equally and empowered. I also love that derby is treated as a sport, not a part-time job.  It was time for me to feed other parts of my life and I am really happy with the balance.

Derby goals: Inspire a WFTDA clarification or rules rewrite ala No Big Deal (will become a jammer if necessary to do so).  I also really want to get involved with Fresh Meat and Scrimmage 101 training.  With the right sequence of training I know that skaters have more fun and become more well-rounded and empowered.

Favorite players: Lil Paine and Artoo Detonate from Boston.  I also adore Chantilly Mace from Bay Area because she full on nopetopuses out (legally) when she is just over a jam.  Crawling through the pack?  Getting hit out and just standing there, refusing to go back? Yep. In an alternate universe where I was an elite jammer, that would SO be me.

Photo by Danielle "Daneurysm" Millea

Gear: Suede and croco leather Riedell 965s with custom plates, Zombie 98a wheels (still not hard enough), 187 knee pads, Scabs elbow and gaskets, Triple 8 wrist guards, S-1 helmet, Crazy Bounce toestops, and 2.4 sisu mouthguard.  Smartwool socks, capris, and lots of bandanas.

Outside of derby:  I have degrees in geological and geotechnical engineering from Columbia and MIT.  I recently hit that point in my career where I am expected to manage, not do, and it forced a re-evaluation of my priorities.  Currently launching a brand new career in social entrepreneurship. This spring I applied for and was selected for the Education Pioneers Data Analyst Fellowship; I am currently in the placement process for it which is both exciting and frustrating on a daily basis.  I also make candy, grow things, make objects, and like riding my bike and such outside.  Also always have a freelance gig cause/economy - gotta diversify.

Things I have learned about derby:  There are at least 6 ways to do a transition and one of them will make sense to everyone.  Fishnets don’t work once you start wearing gaskets.  When it stops being fun, take a break. Interskate 91 South is all-request on Wednesday nights and they play video (I request Marky Mark and Salt ‘n Pepa every time). NSOs always have cookies.

Highlights from the Sept. 7, 2014 Bout - Pair O' Dice City Rollers vs. Elm City Derby Damez

Jammer Donny Brook races out of the pack!

Last Sunday, we played our second game of the season against the Elm City Derby Damez. This home game went really well, and though we lost, it wasn't by too much, and we played really strongly as a team!  Here are some of the highlights:

Final Score: POD 173 to EC 219

Jammer Donny Brook working her way through the pack!

A solid POD wall holding off EC's jammer.

MoJo and Donny Brook take on EC's jammer.

Working both offense and defense in the pack!

POD blockers working together to hold off the EC jammer.

Jammer Von Wolfe looks ahead for a clear path.

The game MVPs.
Congrats Meryl Creep and Pandora's Squeezebox from POD
and Mongol and Don't Care Bear from Elm City! 

In this game, POD's jammers, pivots, and blockers alike could all feel the difference in how much more easily we worked as a team.  In the three months since our away game with Elm City, the team worked hard on strategy, communication, and endurance...and it showed.  If you weren't at the game, you'll have to come see the next home game on October 26th to experience it for yourself!

Special thanks to Eric Wallis Photography, 

one of our fabulous sponsors, for all the above photos!