Tag Archives: South Jersey Derby

Skaters bring ‘jam’ to Delco

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From the Delco Times:http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/02/23/news/doc49a220bf7cd23718518432.txt

Skaters bring ‘jam’ to Delco

By CINDY SCHARR, cscharr@delcotimes.com

ASTON — A whistle blows and the jam begins.

For the next 90 seconds, a pack of men and women “blockers” skate around CN Skate Palace as two “jammers,” who start at the back of the pack, try to break through and pass. Points are awarded each time a “jammer” passes a member of the opposing team.

Kansas City Bombers, they’re not. But the enthusiasm of the participants in the second annual Smorgasbout Roller Derby is hard to deny.

“It’s awesome,” said Ashley Baker, aka “Breakher Baker” of the South Jersey Derby Girls, taking a break from skating.

“Being on a team with awesome girls, its great,” said the 29-year-old Voorhees, N.J., resident. “It’s a real release from school and work.”

Baker has been skating in the South Jersey Derby League for about one year, though her skating experience goes way back.

“I actually was a waitress on skates for Sonic when I was in high school,” she said.

Although co-ed roller derby hasn’t been around Delaware County in more than two decades, the sport is catching on again in New Jersey. Judging by the fans at CN Skate Palace Sunday, there are some new fans on this side of the Commodore Barry, as well.

Juanita Emmens, of Chester, said she saw the Smorgasbout Roller Derby write up in the Daily Times and decided to go to the event to see what it was all about.

“It’s exciting,” said Emmens while watching her first roller derby in person. “I’d come back.”

The skaters range in age from 18 to their mid-40s.

The skaters all wore their numbers on the back of their T-shirts, along with their skating names: Classy Chassis, Sloppy Jo, Mrs. Chicken and Wags to name a few. They practice once a week and have a game two to three times a month.

“It’s really not as rough and tumble as the ’80s professional leagues made it,” said Jeff Finger, of Somerdale, N.J., watching as the skaters made their way around the rink. “Nobody gets hurt, although a couple of times a player or two has had to come off to ice their knees.”

Finger’s girlfriend, Kelly Sukovich, is training with the South Jersey league.

While she wasn’t skating, she was there helping to raise money for the league.

“It’s still very competitive though,” Finger said, smiling, as one of the skaters took a tumble and slid into the fans.

Derby skaters roll from Jersey

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From the Delco Timeshttp://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/02/20/entertainment/doc499d7ae217f95551824479.txt

Derby skaters roll from Jersey

ASTON —- Two local New Jersey Roller Derby leagues are crossing the Commodore Barry Bridge this Sunday to duke it out at the CN Skate Palace.

Some of the area’s best male and female skaters will be rolling in the second annual Smorgasbout, described as “an after-holiday derby feast with a side of whoop-ass” that is hosted by South Jersey Derby.

The food-themed event will feature two mixed-league teams, the Salad Bar Brawlers versus the Line Cutters, and will not only host non-stop roller derby action, but will also incorporate a large bake sale.

SJD, a co-ed roller derby league featuring local men and women, will be bringing fast skating, hip checks and lots of adrenaline to area derby fans, who haven’t seen co-ed roller derby in the area since the Philadelphia Warriors disbanded in the late 80s.

Part of the Old School Derby Association (OSDA), SJD is quickly gaining a reputation for hard-hitting blockers, and fast-dodging jammers. Their game is a fast-paced, no theatrics wallop.

The game will consist of three, 20-minute periods, and will feature contests at half-time.

Skaters from the Penn Jersey She-Devils, as well as, visiting league, the Richmond (Va.) Derby Demons, will also be participating.

The Penn Jersey team is coached by derby legends, Judy Sowinski and Arnold “Skip” Shoen, who are sending 14 skaters to the event.

Teams will go skate-to-skate at 5 p.m. with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. at the skate center at 471 Concord Road. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.sjderbygirls.com for $10, or for $12 at the door. Children under 6 are free.

With Names That Could Kill, Women Rev Up Roller Derby

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This is an article in the New York Times about Roller Derby in New Jersey and includes South Jersey Derby and Penn Jersey She Devils.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/nyregion/new-jersey/09rollernj.html

With Names That Could Kill, Women Rev Up Roller Derby

By TAMMY LA GORCE
Published: November 7, 2008
WOMEN’S roller derby is undoubtedly having a moment in New Jersey; at least seven leagues, with more than a dozen teams, have sprouted statewide since 2005. (Some leagues have only a single team.) But Mickey Taylor, a construction worker from New Milford who answers to Bone Saw when she skates with the Northern Nightmares, isn’t complacent about the long-term prospects for her favorite pastime.

Right now, “it’s bubbling,” said Ms. Taylor, 29, who wore fishnets under sapphire-blue shorts and a leather dog collar around her neck at the Branch Brook Park Roller Skating Center here. On a recent Friday night, her 12-member Nightmares had a bout against the Hub City Hellrazors, both part of the Newark-based Garden State Rollergirls League, formed in 2006. “The problem is, people love the idea of it, but nobody’s coming out to see it,” Ms. Taylor said. “We need some big sponsors.”

According to many team captains, a national resurgence in the sport started after A&E broadcast the 2006 series “Rollergirls,” based on the Texas Lonestars. Ms. Taylor is not alone, however, in worrying that the sport that once spawned a national craze is headed for the same fate it met in the mid-1970s, when it skidded from the popular consciousness as unceremoniously as the Bee Gees.

“We have crowd participation and people love us,” said Chris Manzella, a k a Dee Licious, a 30-year-old advertising executive from Morristown. “We get 200-plus coming out to bouts.” She is also the owner of the Morristown Madams League, which formed in 2006 and skates at the Morristown Roller Hockey Rink. Still, “with a recession at our door, are people going to spend money to come out and see us?”

“I don’t know,” Ms. Manzella said.

For now, although “leagues form, dissolve and merge on the regular,” said Tracy Williams, managing editor of the Web site Derby News Network, based in Baltimore, thousands of 18- to 60-year-old New Jersey women are as serious about roller derby as skate names like Predator in Chief, Betty Brawl and Joy Collision may suggest.

They head out to practice several nights a week, especially from August to November when most bouts take place, leaving behind their families and jobs to don helmets and attitudes perhaps too serious for a sport that sometimes includes spanking in the penalty box. Bouts are infrequent, sometimes taking place only once every six weeks, and are either interleague or against teams within a radius of a five-hour drive. Because the new incarnation of roller derby is still strictly amateur, each team counts on its own coordinator to arrange bouts, which are open to the public and generally cost $10 to $15.

A typical bout starts with loud rock music, often provided rinkside by a house band. Once a referee blows the opening whistle, five heavily padded women from each team take to the rink to try to stop the opposing team’s jammer, or point scorer, from advancing through a crowd of blockers during two 30-minute periods. Heckling by the crowd is typical; rude hand gestures are commonplace.

“It’s like football on skates,” said Melissa Morera, 33, a k a Mos Deathly, president and founder of the Deptford-based South Jersey Derby Girls, which formed in 2007. “You have to have a lot of endurance.

“You also have to be pretty aggressive, although we have some women who aren’t aggressive normally outside of derby,” said Ms. Morera, of Mullica Hill, a co-owner of an insurance marketing company. “They’re just fast and they want to stay in shape.”

In New Jersey, two governing bodies guide the play. While most leagues follow the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association rules, at least two leagues subscribe to the practices put forth by the Old School Derby Association, based in Levittown, Pa., and known for allowing tougher, more punishing hits.

Among them are the Trenton-based Penn-Jersey She Devils, which counts a derby celebrity on the coaching staff. Judy Sowinski, 68, of Ocean City, a k a the Polish Ace, started skating professionally in 1958 and retired in the mid-1980s.

“I was very fortunate,” Ms. Sowinski said. “I got paid. But there’s no money in it now, even though some of the girls are very talented.” Her outlook on the future of roller derby is too pragmatic, probably, to placate devoted players.

“You don’t know at this point,” Ms. Sowinski said. “It could become a huge hit again or it could go right down the tubes like it did before.”

South Jersey Championship review

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This Weekend Rocked My Socks Off! (Great post from Myra Venge)

So knowing the amount of driving to be done, the excitement experienced by this weekend’s events have left me with a renewed excitement for roller derby, which totally surpassed the extra mileage and gas money it took to make it all happen. It was completely worth while.

Teammate Wry Cooter and I went North of the Mason Dixon line this weekend to help out South Jersey Derby in their league’s Championship game. Held in the convention center at Wildwood, NJ, the Big Rig Betties and Rollin’ Barren Bandits battled it out to see which was the best South Jersey team. Luckily, Wry and I were on the same team: the Rollin’ Barren Bandits.

First of all, I must say that the event couldn’t have had a better location. For those of you who haven’t been there, the Wildwood Convention Center is on the boardwalk, and our rink was placed with a magnificent oceanview backdrop through the windowed wall. While I had skated on polished concrete before, I had never had the pleasure to play a game on it, and I must say that I think I prefer it to polished wood and sport court. It was fast and smooth…like skating on glass. Thank goodness my wheels had enough grip to keep me from sliding too much. However, the concrete doesn’t give at all like wood or sport court, and so I now have very faint bruises on my wrists from where my wrist guards dissipated the impact.

I hadn’t played with my team’s members before, but between jams and periods I think we did a stellar job of collaborating together on plays and position changes. The game itself was neck and neck until the very last jam, when the Bandits got ahead with 3 points for the win.

The next day, we added Miss Chievous to our party, and headed up the Jersey coast to the National Roller Derby Hall of Fame in New York since they were revealing the names of the 2008 inductees. Once there we had an awesome time meeting and talking with roller derby greats like Judy Arnold, Little Richard Brown, and Judy Sowinski. As always, Gary Powers was a most gracious host, and the collection memorabilia that he offers for display cannot be beat! It was a true pleasure.

Make sure to check out the pictures from this weekend. My only regret was that I didn’t take more…

South Jersey Update

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South Jersey Derby – League Name and coed travel team.
South Jersey Derby Girls – Female division and travel team.
South Jersey Derby Deviants – Men’s Division and travel team.
Rollin’ Barren Bandits – interleague team.
Big Rig Betties – interleague team.

South Jersey Derby to Open their Interleague Season

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: sjderbygirls@yahoo.com
Phone: (484) 483-0619

Deptford — South Jersey Derby, a co-ed roller derby league featuring fierce local men and women are at it again, Saturday, May 17, at the Deptford Skating Center in Westville.

Bringing the derby revival to area fans, two interleague teams, the Big Rigs, sponsored by local trucking company J.W. Transportation, and the Rollin Barren Bandits, go skate-to-skate in the Red, White & Bruise.

Kickstarting the 2008 season, each team will feature seven of the area’s toughest skaters, including a Buena mother and son, and two Mullica Hill sisters — all on opposite teams.

The game will consist of two, 30-minute periods, and will feature live music and entertainment at half-time.

A tailgating party featuring local band, Cheezy and the Crackers, will start outside the rink at 5 PM. Doors to the event open at 7 PM, with the game starting at 7:30.

Be sure to follow the team to O’Malley’s in Gloucester City for an after-game celebration.

Part of the Old School Derby Association (OSDA), SJD is quickly gaining a reputation for hard-hitting blockers, and fast-dodging jammers. Their game is a fast-paced, no theatrics wallop.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door; kids 6 and under are half price. Tickets are available online at www.sjderbygirls.com/events.html

—

South Jersey Derby was established in March 2007 with the hopes of bringing the thrill and excitement of this classic game to South Jersey while promoting sportsmanship and community involvement. SJD has received much attention from local media, including the Courier Post and the Atlantic City Press. In just over one year, it has seen growth from just two women skating together at the Washington Lake Park to its current size of more than 30 skaters.