The 2013 Beast of the East tournament is in the books. The 6th annual event saw 2012 champs the Vicious Dishes unable to repeat but establishing a solid base for a new generation of skaters. Former rookie squad the Total Knock-Outs advanced a bit farther and were eliminated by the 3rd place team, the Death Track Dolls. Not bad in my books! Tri-City is a force to reckoned with in women’s flat track derby, no doubt about that.
More details and analysis can be found in the Derby Nerd’s article here.
Meanwhile, back in Tri-City…the Venus Fly Tramps have been putting together a series of throwdown videos for the Dishes as they await the chance to get into the regular season for TCRG. Tramps and Dishes do timeless battle on Star Wars Day. May the Fourth Be With You, and get your backsides trackside!
We have a ton of events coming up, so here is a little overview of what you need to add to your calendar.
Venus Fly Tramps vs Violet Femmes (LMRD) in London
So this weekend the Tramps will be playing London Middlesex Roller Derby (LMRD). The Violet Femmes think they can take on the unstoppable wave of cheerful that is the Venus Fly Tramps. Pshaw.
Saturday April 20th
Doors: 5:30pm
First Whistle: 6:15pm (Tramps game at 8:15pm)
Location: Medway Arena, 119 Sherwood Forest Square, London
Plan B and Tri-City Thunder vs Hammer City Roller Girls (HCRG) in Hamilton
One more for the win, Plan B (the ‘B’ stands for badass) will be playing the HCRG Harlots and the force of nature that is the Tri-City Thunder will be playing the Eh! Team in Hamilton.
Saturday May 11th Doors: 5pm, 1st Game: 6pm, 2nd Game: 8pm
Location: Dave Andreychuk (Mountain) Arena, 25 Hester Street, Hamilton
Tickets: $13 advance, $15 door, available online here
More events!
On top of that we have appearances at Lumber Jill Wrestling, the Pride Music Festival and Animate the Trail coming up. for more details see our events page. You can also keep up to date on what’s going down by checking out our facebook page or following us on twitter.
See us at the game, then come find us at an event around town and rave about how that one skater nailed that jammer, sent her right into the suicide seats, and you were sitting right there! You nearly cried you were so excited. Or you know, whatever you want to talk about.
It was a super-intense bout that opened the 2013 season, thanks to strong showings from both teams and that rarest of derby unicorns…the Overtime Jam! Both teams had pride on the line for different reasons, as the Vicious Dishes had long held dominance within TCRG and the TKO’s, originally conceived as a rookie squad, were looking to cement their reputation as full members and stake a place in history.
I’ll let you hear the result from a skater, with a trackside report from TKO Fox Smoulder:
On April 6, 2013, in the quiet hamlet of New Hamburg, scads of roller derby fans descended on the New Hamburg Arena to witness something TRULY magical. It was the night of the Tri-City Roller Girls season opener.
Saturday night, the TKOs were matched against the Vicious Dishes. The Dishes had never lost at home before against their sister teams, and the TKOs had never won at home against their sister teams… but the TKOs have been practicing, they’ve been talking and they’ve been dreaming big.
On the night of April 6, the TKOs brought their best and most intense fight to the track to show the Dishes and the Tramps that they’re all grown up now.
There were penalties, lead changes and power jams (oh my!) and, by the end of the 2nd period, the scoreboard showed a… TIE SCORE of 133 for the TKOs and the Dishes!
One last 2 minute jam would be the deciding factor in the bout. One last 2 minute jam where no lead jammer would be called, points would be counted on the first pass and NO ONE could call it off would decide the bout that night.
The TKOs sent out their last line of the night and they fought hard. They kept the Dishes back and locked up the Dishes jammer. The TKO jammer kept going, fighting through each person in the pack to rack up points.
At the end of that nail biting, insane 2 minute jam, the scoreboard looked very different….
TKOs – 153 Vicious Dishes – 139
Mama said to knock them out and the TKOs did, in the biggest, baddest, most exciting way possible! Now, the TKOs can’t wait to paint the rest of the 2013 season black and blue – stay tuned for details on our next game and THANK YOU to all of our fans, friends, family, volunteers, NSOs and zebras for making our bouts the BEST BOUTS EVER!
Below is video from the second half, courtesy of Rockin’ Ramzi’s. The Overtime starts around six and a half minutes in. Jamming for the TKO’s in white is OvaKill, and in the black for the Dishes is Ash n’ Burn. As Fox mentioned, the jam lasts the full 2 minutes and scoring begins immediately.
What’s next? Both Total Knock-Outs and Vicious Dishes head to the Beast of the East tournament at the end of the month, where the Dishes hope to defend the championship.
After that, May the 4th be with you as a wounded-but-dangerous Dishes squad take on the crafty Venus Fly Tramps on Star Wars Day. Watch this spot for details!
Frenemies, Nemesisters…whatever you want to call it, the ladies of the Vicious Dishes and Total Knock-Outs have let it be known that even though they practice together all winter and have mad love for their leaguemates, as of April 6, it’s on.
As the Season Opener approaches, that hot-under-the-collar feeling you are experiencing is a result of TCRG competitive spirit getting moved from the back burner to the heart of the flames. The TKO’s declared their intentions to own the dance floor as well as the track about a month ago:
Recently, VD took the time to, ahem, reply:
With some of the hardest working skaters in the WFTDA living right in your backyard (your gals recently ranked well above the fold at 50th out of 149 member leagues), you’d be remiss to pass up the opportunity to find out who can back up this braggadocio with whips, blocks and power jams. Make sure to be in New Hamburg this Saturday to see who wins this battle of hype! Get your backsides trackside!
As for you Venus Fly Tramp fans, fear not, as the home season will be a round-robin. I’m sure the Tramps have something up their green sleeves. If they wore sleeves. Which they don’t. You get me.
