Roller Derby in Austin

By Ki Gray and Dane Smith

In 2001, what started as an idea at the smoky 6th street club Casino El Camino, quickly gained steam among like-minded women of Austin, and the roller derby was reborn. Though many of those who started up the comeback hadn’t skated for decades, the gung ho spirit spawned one of Austin’s favorite new events.

The original roller derby league, under the name Bad Girl Good Woman (BGGW), had their first bout at Skate World in 2001 to 400 fans. By the end of the first season, they were skating to a fan base of 1300. BGGW was guided by four She-E-Os (derby talk for CEOs), but after one player had a serious injury in 2003, 80% of the BGGW broke off from the league to start their own. The new league, now known as the Texas Rollergirls, ran a democratic organization with each player having a say in decisions. The original Bad Girl Good Woman players regrouped as TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls, resulting in Austin being the proud owner of two separate Roller Derby Leagues.

Though the rules in each league vary slightly, both are based on the roller skating endurance race created by promoter Leo Seltzer in the 1930s. There are four 10 minute periods with two teams racing around the track with flashy outfits, tough-girl names, and tons of attitude and antics, which sometimes include impromptu pillow fights and spanking line penalties. In keeping with the punk attitude of the event, rock and roll bands play during every half time. The main difference between the two leagues is the track itself. The Texas Rollergirls race on flat tracks with audience members lined up inches away from the track, which can result in many rollergirl/audience member collisions. The TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls purchased an original roller derby banked track used in the 70s and 80s, making them the first all-girl league to ever skate on a banked track (the original roller derbies were coed.)

The buzz of the roller derbies made for exciting news stories, and soon rollergirls were on the radio, television, and in local papers. A couple years later, Austin’s roller derbies became national news, and an article from the New York Times spawned interest among TV production companies who wanted to tell their story. In 2006, the Lonestar Rollergirls were featured in a 13 part series on A&E called “Rollergirls”, which followed team members and showcased the dichotomy between their roller skating personas, and their normal, every day lives. Local film company Crashcam Films also documented the rollergirls and released a movie titled “Hell On Wheels”, which has played at over 10 film festivals worldwide.

Soon, women from around the country began to show interest in starting their own leagues, and contacted the Texas Rollergirls for guidance. The Austin women created a United League Committee to set the groundwork for a national flat-track league, and personally shared tips and ideas with budding leagues to help get them up to speed. In 2007, Austin hosted the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association Championship Tournament. Three thousand skaters and fans came from all over the world to watch as eight U.S. teams battle it out on the track. Though the Kansas City Roller Warriors took home the prize, it made Austin’s Rollergirls proud. What was just a fun idea started by a group of friends had blossomed into a revived national goodtime sport.

scape Realty provides information on their website about Austin real estate. They post up to date analysis on their Austin real estate blog along with a Austin MLS search for home buyers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ki_Gray

Want Some Speed – How About Roller Skates

By Zach Hunt

Most people remember professional roller girls playing roller derby from TV during the 1970’s. Skaters race around an oval track and score points as the jammer laps members of the opposing team’s modern roller girls are not paid or on tv but they play because they love the sport. In 2001, long after America forgot about roller derby, a group of fierce women from Texas set about reviving the sport. In 2006, ’s own group of fierce females banded together to create ’s first and only roller derby league. Three years later the Lilac City Roller Girls continue to whip, block, jam and skate women of all ages into shape.

There are benefits:

Skating works every major muscle group on the body
Great for your core stability and cardio
Skating moderately will burn 330 calories

Under the vigorous training of the Lilac City Roller Girls, your body will burn 600 calories in one hour (that’s more than 1 hour running or biking)

What will it take for you to join the roller girls?

Obviously, you need the proper equipment. The Lilac City Roller Girls list quad roller skates, knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, mouth guard and a helmet as your best bet for staying safe. Once your gear is secure, the “fresh meat” coach will take you under her wing to teach you the ropes. There are physical tests you will have to pass to join the ranks of skaters. ’s roller girls are ready and willing to teach you the skills to pass the test necessary for team placement.

Endurance 20 min of skating to warm up
Posture and stride
Speed 5 laps in one minute 20 laps in five minutes, 3 second recovery from falls
Agility crossovers, stops, hopping from foot to foot, whips and pushed, pacing lines, weaving lines, and one foot gluides
Falls left and right knees, baseball slides, single knew and turn and four point fall
Blocking giving and receiving hits

Under the Lilac City brand, roller girls range in age from 18 to 47 in the adult league.They also have a junior league designed for girls 10-18. You have to love the roller derby. These women come together to form a non profit league that is completely run by the athletes. It takes physical dedication, a commitment to the league and your team, a competitive edge and a love for the community that supports them.

Realistically I’m not interested in becoming a Roller Girl, but skating could be fun.

Zach Hunt is a Spokane Boot Camp expert and the owner of Physzique, a personal fitness coaching company in Spokane, WA helping people to look and feel great.

Go here: Personal Trainers Spokane for more info on these services and more great fitness tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zach_Hunt

We Admit It… We Screwed UP.

Ok we admit it, we screwed up.

It’s been brought to our attention, from loyal community members like you, that we’re going about this contest thing all wrong.

And you know what? WE AGREE.

THE BUGS

• We never actually defined what makes up the Perfect Derby Girl
• We (meaning the actual company) are not league members, so who are we to pick the winners.
• We’ve ended up looking like sexist jackasses and appealing mostly to the dudes who just want to see yet another girl in fishnets, and not to you, the Roller Derby World.

SO WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

We’ve decided to change a few things around and we hope that you’ll forgive us for the rubbish above.

Lets define what the Perfect Derby Girl is, shall we -

The perfect derby girl is the whole package. She has pride in herself and the team. She’s always willing to help you up and bust some skulls to get the point. She’s dedicated to the team and the sport and she’s always on the rink floor ready to go. This girl has got to have style and personality, nice or not.

CONGRATULATIONS! You’re a judge. That’s right, we’re leaving the judging up to you. We figured, who better to pick the winners than you, the community. Makes sense (sorry we were so blind to the obvious before).

HERE’S HOW THE JUDGING WILL WORK

Contestants will enter the same way as before and the rules are same too. You can read them here. We did add one more rule.

As for the judging…

On September 1st we will post all of the contestants for you to vote.

All voting will end at midnight on September 2nd. We’ll count the votes and announce the lucky ladies on the 3rd.

You can vote via Twitter, email, and in the comments of the voting post.

WITH ALL THAT SAID

For all of you that have already sent in your pics, THANKS. You don’t have to worry. Your still in the contest and we’ve made a note that you entered before we changed any rules. YOUR SAFE

We want to thank those of you, like Stephanie, that gave us comments and ideas to make this whole thing a much better contest than we could have imagined.

Good Luck!