Family & Friends Bout Day: Sunday 24th March 2013: Recap
What an exciting start for ADRD!! Our five league teams all took to the track on this day of non-public mini-bouts, strutting their stuff and getting ready to begin the 2013 season. Just in case you need a recap, they are: Mile Die Club, Road Train Rollers, Salty Dolls, Wild Hearses and Team Zebra.
We have welcomed new freshies (players), freffies (new referees and Non Skating Officials) and even a new commentator to the league, and we can’t wait for you to get to know and love them throughout the season.
We hold this day every year after some intense pre-season training, just before we hit the track for the full-on home season bouts. As usual, all bouts ran for 20 minutes each and all teams had the chance to play each other. Bout one kick-started the day with a revisit to the 2012 Grand Final match-up of Road Train Rollers versus Salty Dolls. We saw outstanding blocking from new Salty Dolls freshies Great Fight Shark, Elektra Cute and MagiCAss, some tenacious jamming from Salty freshie Girl Rex Door, and also some great blocking from Road Train Rollers freshie Babe’n’Pow. Salty Dolls fast-feet jammer Kissy Suzuki has returned from the pregnancy bench to the track in fine form and the Road Train Rollers welcome back sparkly jammer Whimsical Mimsical from an overseas jaunt, who returns with a new wild-child name: Magic Drag Queen Baby Warrior.
Both the Wild Hearses and Mile Die Club showed that they were sure contenders for the 2013 title. Despite a few injuries pre-season, the Hearses have settled into their team, with outstanding jamming by crowd favourite The Ghan and smart play all around. Freshy skaters Whips-a-Doozie, Pervine and Basement Kat played an integral part in the Hearsies’ successful plays and they will certainly be ones to watch over the coming season.
Mile Die Club came out on the track with engines flaring. Sure-fire jamming from freshie Fast Twitch Hustle (from a champion ice hockey skating background), backed up by ferocious blocking by Glasgow Roller Derby transfer Armed Bandit, saw the Dies stun their opposition. CrustBomb, returning after a world-travelling break to transfer to MDC, showed she hasn’t lost her touch and landed some great blocks on her former team, the Roadies.
And what will the home team transfers this year bring to the mix? Vaderella brings the strengths of her orbital booty and derby smarts to Mile Die, and Moxxi Riot has become a flighty Hearse jammer. This season shakes things up to pump up every jam.
Without giving too much away, it was an exciting day, and full of surprises. All teams demonstrated clever old and new strategy, working with a new WFTDA rule set (no minors, one whistle jam starts and much stricter on cutting) and feeling out the new 2013 teams on the track. If this is anything to go by, 2013 for Adelaide Roller Derby is going to be an incredible year, and the Grand Finale really is anyone’s game.
Stay tuned and make sure you are trackside for Bout 1 on Saturday 6th April, 6pm, at Adelaide Showground. This will be an almighty season opener bout: Road Train Rollers versus Salty Dolls. Tickets available online until 4pm on Friday April 5 at adrd.oztix.com.au, or from Live Clothing or Mr V Music, for $10+bf. Or get them at the door for $15. Kids under 5 always free. Applause for best outfits and signs.