The difference is in the D

KO challenging Red Rager at the The first NW"champs" tournament. Eugene, OR 2009

This past weekend I had a wonderful opportunity.  I got to announce at the NW Jr Championships.  The 6th one, actually.  OK, that in and of itself wasn't so rare, I have announced at every single one of them.  What *was* rare was that this year the team I started with won the champs for the first time after coming in second or third for all 6 championships.

Junior derby has changed much in the intervening years.  The level of play at the upper echelons has skyrocketed to the point that those who choose to continue playing derby are stepping directly from their junior teams onto some of the elite Division 1 WFTDA or highly ranked USARS teams.  But we all know this.  That isn't so rare either, and it's not really that surprising that the level of play continues to improve.  No, what was different this year was the defense, discipline and dedication.

In the past, a star jammer would dominate.  In the age of one minute penalties, a power jam could mean a 30-40 point swing.  Even with the 30 second penalties, 20-25 points in a power jam is not unheard of, but this year there seems to have been a focus by the top tier teams on some *serious* defense; strangling those power jams down to a single 5 point pass, maybe 2.  In the final game, the highest scoring in a power jam was 14 points.  That kind of defense changes the game.

Jam after jam would be one or two or maybe even a full four point pass before calling it off and holding the other team scoreless.  Jammers had to not only have the speed of the past, but the power and agility to deal with soul crushing formations and heads up play. The jammers would have to rely on those defenses to have more than a single pass.  The teams with the strongest defenses were able to rattle off 10-15 point jams while holding the opposing jammer in the pack or off the track.  They would force their opponents to play at their own pace. That kind of defense wins championships.

But that kind of defense also requires some serious discipline.  The teams I saw having the most success this weekend skated and worked like a well oiled machine.  Even their cheers were done with discipline and their warm-ups?  They plain looked scary.  Through drill and practice they worked as one.  On the track, they worked as one voice, each of them knowing their places and doing their jobs.  They entered with a plan and they made that plan happen.  That kind of discipline wins championships.

And that kind of discipline requires some serious dedication.  The entire team has to buy into the program.  They each have to dedicate themselves not only to being the best they can be, but being the best their team can be.  The must practice hard to maintain that discipline and execute that defense.  They must buy in fully to the team's program and philosophy, and dedicate themselves to their coaches, teammates and themselves.  Only in doing so can they achieve the level of play required.  That kind of dedication wins championships.

Defense, discipline and dedication.  While each and every team who came to champs this year could have smashed those teams who showed up on a blistering hot July weekend in Springfield, OR at the Willamalane sports complex in 2009, the top three separated themselves just that much farther.  They skated well together and they executed well.  And the difference was very clearly in the D.

 My profound and heartfelt congratulations to I5 (third place), Reservoir Dolls (2nd place) and the Galaxy Girls (1st place).  I look very froward to seeing I5 and The Galaxy Girls take it to the rest of the nation at the JRDA champs at the Showare Center in Kent. July 10-12 and to all of the skaters on those teams and other making up Team USA West for the world cup.  It's going to be an excellent time!

An oddly sexist argument against Co-ed junior derby

Co-ed derby is real.  It exists.  It happens quite a lot, really.  With the advent of the MRDA and more leagues popping up in smaller market areas or scraping to get enough kids to have fun for the season, we are seeing more and more junior leagues opening their doors to the boys who are becoming increasingly interested in roller derby.  It's not a bad thing, really.  The boys love to skate just as much as the girls do.  The problem comes in when we start talking about games and playing against leagues.

Some of those leagues are all girls.  That's all well and good.  It's a good thing.  The empowerment of women was and is a cornerstone of the modern roller derby endeavor.  Women finding their strength and power in a sport of their own is an awesome thing which I was able to witness first hand with my kid and the kids of many others.  Those leagues choosing not to skate against boys for the reason of female empowerment and choosing to skate only against girls in the further-ment of that goal?  I can respect that.

But there is another argument. A darker argument.  One which, I feel, crosses the line into blatant sexism.  The argument that boys should not be skating against girls because they are stronger and more aggressive.  It stems from some very old arguments and, I think, is one of the worst places these discussions can go.  It goes a little like this...

So a co-ed team plays against an all girls team.  The boys on the co-ed team are some very awesome skaters and play aggressively.  Not to the level of "douchy", to be sure, but definitely aggressive.  They have put a lot of work into their skating and they are one of the strong elements helping their team win that game.  Those boys are then pointed out as a problem in the game play.  It is said that if they weren't there, that the team would be "very different" and might not win.  Not because they are good skaters, but because they are male.

This?  This feeds into the patriarchal thoughts that men are somehow better than women. It strips down the ability of every girl playing against them and says that they lost because they are female; because they are weaker and less aggressive.  It takes all of the hard work and dedication these young women have put into being the best derby players they can be and tells them that they will never be as good as the boys, because boys?  Boys are just stronger than they are.  And you know what?  It's just not true.

Yes, males and females have anatomical and some hormonal differences which require a different style of skating in order to most effectively use their bodies in the sport, but those differences do NOT make either binary better than the other.  Men have a higher center of balance which is directly offset by the lower center of balance of women.  It changes the way they each skate, but with proper training can be equalized quickly... and is.

As far as aggression?  Several studies have found that male and female teens engage in aggressive behavior almost equally, especially when a combination of social and physical aggression is looked at.  Young men and women are equally likely to lash out socially and physically.  This is also born out on the track where there are both aggressive girls and boys.  The boys don't tend to be more aggressive than their fellow skaters, they are simply being looked at more closely.

Because of the bias of perception this "putting them under the microscope" brings, they are seen to be skating more aggressively, or feel coerced to tone down their skating so they are NOT perceived as aggressive.  I would argue that actually is a disservice to them, their team, and their opponents since the young men are forced to not bring their entire ability to the track.

That does not happen to the young women.  It's actually well rooted in patriarchal thinking, and is part of the problem which the feminist movement seeks to fight.  In fact, I would also argue that the concentration on the males on their team actually belittles their own contributions.  It brings the argument, "They aren't good enough without the boys".  That's patently wrong!

So bring your arguments for a separate co-ed division based on female empowerment and girls skating against girls with that goal in mind.  I accept that.  I actually support it.  But do NOT try to tell me that my daughter, and the daughters of every other parent in the junior derby world, are somehow lesser than the young men skating.  It's sexist, and it's just plain wrong.

ETA (from my daughter, KO) - To be fair it also strips down the male skater in question, saying he hasn't worked to get his skill, he hasn't put in effort, he's just somehow "better" which also bugs the hell out of me. People have no right to strip down anothers skill level or something they enjoy based on something as small as gender

ETA - Some reading.  These are some of the sources I looked at in writing this article.  There were some people asking for it.

http://mcclellandinstitute.arizona.edu/.../ResearchLink1...http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zTV_rbq_oFMC...

http://yas.sagepub.com/content/34/4/497.short

http://www.amazon.com/Playing-With-Boys.../dp/B0062GKD76

Hello again!

It's been nearly a year since I wrote anything on here.  Welcome back.  This is probably going to become more of an opinion place than a "covering NW Jr derby" place.  As I have transitioned away from running the leagues and my daughter has graduated to adult derby, I find myself doing a very different job.  As the NW regional rep for the JRDA, I am more in the "how should Jr Derby look?" mode.

And here's the first thoughts.

There was an article on Hellarad recently about the new v old style roller derby.  Not the strategy or rules or whatnot, but the old, edgy, punk rock style vs the new, athletic style.  You can read it here:

No-skirt-no-justice

For all you new stylers?  I get it.  You like the athleticism.  It's what you do sports for.  The competition level needs to be high, the discipline needs to be there.  Winning is important, and coming together as a team to win is paramount.  The skills need to be constantly improving and the coaching has to be on point.  Getting to the top of the heap shows success.  The old paradigm didn't have that drive, so the old ways have to go.

You *like* that the old community is kind of dying. But that community, that edge, that joy in doing something just plain SO AWESOME was what attracted my daughter to the sport. It was a sport for the "rest of the people." Not the jocks, but for those more on the fringe of socially acceptable.  It's what brought me to volunteer countless hours, to drive countless miles covering these kids and to volunteer my time as an NSO, as an announcer, as an administrator and to support this sport with everything I have.

There were kids who had not done ANY other sport. When they found roller derby, it helped them to enjoy the sport and competition. They bonded together hardcore. They were a family and a community. They bonded over the bruises and the bumps, they learned how to be powerful.

They expressed themselves in every way both on and off the track. they would wear whatever they wanted to along with their uniform. They would paint cool designs on their faces and rip their tights (just a little, young ladies) and a matching pair of brightly colored socks was nowhere to be seen. They trained pretty hard and they got pretty good. They chose derby names and they loved them.

And now those same individuals are being told to pack up their mismatched, colorful socks and to put away their face paint, because roller derby is SOOPER SERIAL. It's a sport, and sport means winning. Winning means team, and athletics and all looking the same so we're intimidating and professional. The new kids have soccer, swimming, softball and all manner of other sports they also do and they bring that discipline with them.

Has it improved the level of play?  Yeah, I have to admit it has.  But these players are more disciplined, less prone to dissolving into giggles, less likely to have dance-offs on the jammer line or sing-alongs during official times outs.  In moving towards a higher level of athleticism, what are we leaving behind?

Derby used to be "edgy". Now, if it keeps on as it is, it might as well be Lacrosse.

This year I am going to be taking a big step back from some of the things I have been doing in Roller Derby. I will be stepping back from announcing and from writing.

When I first started my NW Jr Derby Blog, there were 6 teams competing in the NW. Now, there are far, far more. There is no way I can cover all of the Jr derby I would want to in order to be true to what I think the blog should be, a balanced look at all of the junior derby in the area regardless of league. I just plain cannot travel THAT much and I felt as though I was concentrating only on those leagues which formed the original core, what had become the "A" teams of the region.

As far as announcing, I never really feel comfortable doing it. I think I do reasonable at play by play, but I sound more like a radio announcer describing the action on the track. Everyone knows what's going on on the track, they can see it. If I were doing an audio feed, that might be needed. I just don't feel that competent at color. I think there are plenty of others who do the job better than I will, and junior leagues now have enough respect that they don't usually need someone like me (an amateur) to step up.

Who knows, this decision may not happen to last through the season. I might find some bouts to go to and see some things I feel need writing about. I may be at a bout and have someone hand me a mic (it happens more than I thought it could), but I will definitely be more ready to have a stopwatch in my hand or a score sheet in front of me. or, heck, nothing at all but the action to watch and cheering for my favorites to be done.

NW Jr Derby Champs 2013

So, I started out this weekend at NW derby champs with the goal of writing the most kick ass recaps I could think up.  They would be full of stats and breakdowns and show who won what and why using all the numbers.  They would have shout outs to skaters from both teams in each one, but there's someone else for that this time, and he does it very well.

If derby were fiction, or faked as it used to be, the story of this weekend would have been one about a group of kids who have struggled to regain the top of the pile over the last few seasons finally coming together and getting the trophy as nine of them were graduating from junior derby this season and would never again have a chance at the prize.  But this is not fiction, roller derby is not faked, and that's not the story I get to tell.

Instead I get a raw story, a true story, a gritty story.  I get to look in on a tournament of teams struggling against overwhelming odds, teenagers battling fatigue and their own bodies, last minute victories, incredible heart, and heart-wrenching mistakes.  It's a story about teams with too few players, players in their last season, players who have struggled personally or as a team to get to where they are.  A first season team fighting incredibly hard only to fall just shy, still holding their heads high, confident in the fact that they did something hundreds of others cannot.  A team which has fallen from the top, and a team which has risen to new heights, a team solidifying claims to greatness.  One which has to look once again to next year, and a team rebuilding their confidence.

In short, it's the story of A team Pacific Northwest Junior Roller Derby. Championships.

6th place - Port Scandalous Roller Punks
All season long, this team struggled along with a short roster.  They had, at most, 10 skaters on their team at any one game,  They played a brutal double elimination format at Wild West and kept in against opponents outside the area despite being so short handed.  But this past weekend, as with most of the ranked games this season, that short team hurt.

They started both games strong, but as the game progressed and their 2 jammer rotation started to show wear along with a blocker rotation which only allowed for 3 of them to rest any one jam, the points stopped coming as briskly, and the other teams were able to capitalize.

In the 5th place bout, they again started out VERY strong, blasting out to an impressive lead, but the Dolls had T-wrecks-Her's number, and she was not able to break free for her usually huge point gains.  It was clear midway through the second half that she was beginning to run out of gas.  Thankfully, they added in another jammer to the rotation and were able to struggle back to within 25 with less than a minute left and a power jam up!  In the end, they fell just short, missing out on 5th place by a mere 15 points.  Not bad for a team of 9 skaters!

Tournament results -
Loss to Rosebuds 260-179
Loss to Reservoir Dolls 185-170

My MVP selections:
T-Wrecks-Her
Cookie Dozer

5th place - Emerald City Junior Gems Reservoir Dolls
The Dolls.  I have watched some serious flashes of brilliance from them this season which were simply not quite enough to get past the other teams this year.  They would put together some impressive runs, but then fall victim to penalty trouble and things would kind of disintegrate for them. 

In their first bout, they gave up 8 power jams to a strong Kitsap team.  Kitsap was able to take full advantage of those errors.   Despite that, they led against the D-Bombers through most of the first game, only to fall victim to penalties in the last 3 jams.

In their second bout, they gave up just as many power jams, but were able to kill the penalties against the Roller Punks with greater effectiveness.  That's what I am talking about.  The flashes of brilliance were more frequent, and they were really playing as a team.  Their defence was tighter and they were able to handle the Roller Punks jammers better.  A wild, back and forth affair finally gave way halfway through the second half, and they were able to ward off a late game rally to take 5th in the tournament.

Tournament results - 
Loss to D-bombers 211-200
Win vs Roller Punks 185-170

My MVP Selections:
Beautiful Deadly
Neal Cassady

4th place - Rose City Rosebuds
They were undefeated last year.  No one could touch them, despite some very valiant efforts.  They played strong in the clutch and held off assaults with strong, secure pack play and some incredible physicality.  This year they had strong, physical play but there was something missing in a few of their bouts.  Against the Roller Punks they showed some of their old form.  They were controlling lead jammer and the clock, but gave up power jams in the 1st, 5th, 11th and 13th jams of the half which gave the Punks the lead despite being held scoreless in 7 of the 20 first half jams.  The second half against the Punks was really where we saw the team playing their game.  13 scoreless jams for the Punks, capitalizing on power jams, and controlling lead jammer. They were everywhere the Punks were trying to be, hips, shoulders and jammers flying.

In the game vs the Galaxy Girls, it was just plain brutal.  Both teams were engaged in a slugging match in the pack and the jammers were struggling to string together points.  Most jams on both sides were not only single digit, but most of them were also less than four points.  It seemed more that the jammers would throw themselves at the pack with their hands slamming their hips to call off the jam and praying they were able to get past just one opponent before the fourth whistle or before the opposing jammer could close.

It wasn't until halfway through the first half that Galaxy was able to put a 7 jam, 36-0 run together which broke thing open.  While points remained hard to come by, Galaxy was able to squeak through for lead and control the points and clock despite the Buds' use of every jammer in their arsenal.

Against the D-Bombers?  They were scoreless in 21 out of 46 jams.  Power jams were where they were scoring points, but the D-Bombers were playing a physical game to match the best Portland could bring.  the Buds found themselves behind for the entirety of the second half.  Not a position they were used to, and you could see it in their determination as they fought hard to regain the lead.  They finally caught a break in the last few jams, with a massive power 37-4 run bringing them to within 5, but an out of bounds block in the final jam saw their comeback quelled and their jammer in the box.

Tournament Results - 
Win vs Roller Punks 260-179
Loss to Galaxy Girls 221-124
Loss to D-Bombers 206-196

My MVP Selections:
Tempest Fugit
Jesus Feist

3rd place - Kitsap Derby Brats D-Bombers
What can I say?  This team was the surprise of the season.  Virtually winless in ranked play every year, the bottom of the pile in every tournament, but this year?  They really brought it together.  That's not to say they didn't have their issues, after all they were in fourth place coming into the tournament, but their PF/PA through the season and their performance in the Championships have made me a believer.

And they broke my bracket.

Against the Reservoir Dolls, I mentioned already that they struggled in the first half, but what they were able to put together in a come from behind position was not something they have been able to do in the past; take advantage of the mistakes of their opponents.  Down by by 28, they clawed their way back to tie at 172 each at the tail end of the game, then rallied again down by 19 to take an 11 point victory.  A site to behold!

Against I5, well... it was another tale.  I5 did what I5 does.  They locked down the track and scored points. The Bombers were able to throw together some great series of leads jammers, but the I5 blockers seemed to have a homing beacon on the yellow and black star and the best amounted to a 15-0 run over 4 jams.

And then the surprise. This game was just plain awesome to watch.  To take on the titans, the team you have never beaten in the 5 years they have been playing tournaments together, and to finally get that victory?  There's the payoff of what has clearly been some seriously hard work on the part of the D-Bombers over this last season.

Tournament Results:
Win vs Reservoir Dolls 211-220
Loss vs I5 294-162
Win vs Rosebuds 206-196

My MVP Selections:
Aqua KnockYouOut
T-Pain

2nd place - Seattle Derby Brats Galaxy Girls
This team is wow.  This team is agility, flash, brilliance, waterfalling, strategy, speed... everything you could possibly want in an exciting roller derby bout, and they never fail to deliver on that promise.  I have watched these girls grow through the years and now, as about half the team graduates from junior derby?  I can't help but shed a tear both of sorrow and of joy.  Sorrow for what the junior world will be missing, and joy for what the adult world is gaining.

I've already gone through their game against the Rose buds, so let's take on the game against I5.  Galaxy led through the entire first half.  They came out swinging and had I5 on the ropes, up by 50 until an I5 power jam brought it to within 28... then up by 54 until a jammer was sent back to the bench and I5 clawed back 30 of those points.

The second half saw I5 swinging away and locking down the pack.  They gained the lead four jams into the second half and never lost it again.  Galaxy managed to threaten in the final couple of jams, drawing to 28 points down, but in a game that tight, 28 points is not easy.

Tournament results:
Win vs Rosebuds 221-124
Loss to I5 285-254

My MVP Selections - 
Enurgizer Bunny
Lilly Lightning
Rosie D Kreamher

1st place - I5 Rollergirls
Fundamentals.  This team has them in spades.  Their flash is in the speed of their jammers, not in the pack.  In the pack, it's work time and they do it more effectively than any other junior team out there.  They drill hard, they practice hard, they play hard.  They work as a single unit and their discipline on the track is undeniable.  This season was theirs from start to finish, and they just put the exclamation point on a perfect year.  CONGRATULATIONS!

Tournament results:
Win vs D-Bombers 294-162
Win vs Galaxy Girls 285-254

My MVP Selections:
Lex Celerator
Dee Stroir
Hunter

My MVP team from the 2013 NW Junior Derby Championships

Lex Celerator

Dee Stroir

Hunter

Enurgizer Bunny

Lilly Lightning

Rosie D Kreamher

Aqua KnockYouOut

T-Pain

Tempest Fugit

Jesus Feist

Beautiful Deadly

Neal Cassady

T-Wrecks-Her

Cookie Dozer

Looking back to look forward

Normally in a preview, we look at the teams playing, say how closely matched they all are and how we're looking forward to some awesome competition as a means of drumming up interest in the event and showing how much we love and respect each team.  I love and respect each team.  These bouts are going to be the best derby you'll see on the junior circuit, and be better than a lot of derby on the senior circuit.

You will see future stars who are graduating this year (SDB graduating the highest number, many of whom are already trying out for and making adult teams), you will see fast, heads up derby. You will see physical play, and you will see incredible heart.  Five of these teams have met over the last five years at about this time of year in tournament play and the results have always been astounding.  This year, Port Scandalous offered up the Roller Punks to the NW Jr Derby Championships.

  Last year catapulted the juniors onto the scene with the bout between I5 and Rosebuds getting people's attention at Wild West and holding it through champs.  This year saw the world looking in on the junior teams via video streams at Wild West, and this champs is going to be awesome as well.

But this year we have seen a bit of separation amongst the teams.  And this year, I am going to delve into a little of what I have seen over the last season to give a bit of a look into what we will see this weekend as the 2013 Jr Derby championships get under way.

Over to the right of the blog, you will see the standings.  This is pretty straight forward, showing the win/loss and the PF/PA of each team as they wen through the season.  Let's dig a little deeper.

I5 Rollergirls - 5-0 through the season in ranked play and losing only one game all season (to Grave Danger), this team has been nearly unstoppable.  Looking at the PF/PA, we see that they ended the season scoring 662 more points than their opponents in 5 games.  That's an average victory of 132.4 points.  Pretty impressive, no?  But let's look a little closer.  They beat the Galaxy Girls by 3 points, the Rosebuds by 137 points, the D-Bombers by 69 points, Reservoir Dolls by 250 and Port Scandalous by 202.  In tournament play at Wild west, they faced the Rosebuds a couple more times and also defeated them, but by MUCH closer scores.  Given what they have accomplished so far this season, they are my pick as the ones to beat this weekend.

SDB Galaxy Girls - 4-1, but two of those games were skin of the teeth affairs.  Against I5, they lost by 3 in a game which was a nail-biter from beginning to end.  Against the Rosebuds they won by 3 in a game which could definitely have gone the other way except for a missed time out opportunity with the Galaxy jammer in the box and 26 seconds on the clock.  Rosebuds vindicated themselves against SDB at Wild West in an un-ranked bout, but only won by 23.  Clearly, this team is well matched against I5 and Portland, but when it comes to KDB, Port Scandalous and Reservoir Dolls, there is some more daylight.  I think they have the best chance of spoiling I5's run this season.

Rose City Rosebuds - 3-2.  After last season's undefeated run, they fell victim to the a couple of painful losses to I5 and Galaxy.  Against Galaxy Girls was the missed time out, and against I5 it was missing some of their upper level skaters as well as some serious penalty trouble.  They proved at Wild West that they can handle SDB, but lost twice to I5... and all three games were very close. Coming into this weekend, they have a huge chance to show that the losses don't mean a thing. They have to play one more game to get there (the top 2 ranked teams get a bye in the first round), but look for them to be fighting hard to get into that final round.

KDB D-Bombers - 2-3.  Perennially the team with the no win seasons in the past, the D-Bombers really pumped it up this season, snagging a couple of wins over Port Scandalous and the Reservoir Dolls.  While their average PF/PA ran to the negative at -48.6, they were able to prove that they are a team to be reckoned with.  Their three losses came to the top 3 teams, and those losses were by significant amounts.  This is where we begin to see the separation in the 6 Premier level teams.

ECJG Reservoir Dolls - At 1-4 through the season, the Reservoir Dolls have been a bit of an enigma for me.  Watching them play, they seem to be doing everything right, but losing the battle in the pack.  Add to that some serious penalty trouble in the games and a seeming vulnerability in keeping their heads in the game and you see them where they are today.  If they can resolve those problems coming into the tournament, they should definitely be able to win through.

Port Scandalous Roller Punks - 0-5.  They may be 0-5, but this team has been up against one thing this season which has held them back.  They only have 8-9 people playing in any given game.  They play hard, they play well.  Their star jammer (T-Wrecksher) currently holds the record for a single power jam at 44 points.  They keep in games for a good long while, but the fatigue and penalties stack up.  In their last game against I-5, they ended up with 6 players for the last 10 minutes due to two foul-outs.  One need only look at the fact that they have a better average PF/PA (-81.6 to RD's -103.4) to see that they really are a better team than their record shows.

So now we come to the Championships.  A bit of a different format this year, not opting for the punishing double elimination tournament and moving to a much easier seeded tournament a-la the WFTDA tournament model.

I have made my predictions and have saved off my filled out bracket.  It should be really interesting to see how this turns out!

Find out more at http://www.nwjrderbychamps.com/ and sign up to follow the action on twitter @NWJRRollerDerby !  Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets and are the same price at the door (no convenience fee!)

Day 1 at the Big O

Here we are at the Big O tournament!  4 teams facing off, including 3 of the NW A teams and the up and coming Cinder Kittens.  3 ranked bouts through the weekend, with I5 taking on the Reservoir Dolls and the Kitsap Derby Brats D-Bombers and the Dolls taking on the Kitsap D-Bombers.

Day one saw two of those ranked bout with I5 playing both of their ranked bouts in the first day.

9am found me bright eyed and bushy tailed (OK, so I hadn't had my coffee at that point) and ready to record the action!  The game started off pretty close, but I5 steadily pulled away, snagging lead jammer status an impressive 80% of the 20 jams in the first half.

While the Kitsap defense was holding firm, limiting the damage for a good portion of the half, the I5 power jams and some incredibly impressive walls with Lex Celerator jamming allowed I5 to shoot out to a 134-77 lead in the first half.

The second half started the bleeding all over again for Kitsap as Little Mean Sunshine was called for a cut track and out of play penalties combined to give I5's Dee Stroir a 20 point power jam.  Lex Celerator and Short Fuse added to the total with 5-0 and 12-0 decisions respectively in their jams.  Within 5 minutes of the first half, I5 had outscored the D-Bombers 37-0.

From there the Kitsap defense began to really step up.  Gaine Slayer and Red Rager combining with Quarter Pounder to stymie  the I5 jammers, holding them largely to single digit passes while Aqua Knock You Out, Little Mean Sunshine and Champ Pain grabbed their points and called things off, often without lead jammer status (I5 had a 66% lead jammer status in the second half).

The damage of the first half and the huge decision in the beginning of the second proved too much to overcome for the D-bombers and at the end, I5 found themselves with the win 251-182.

The next bout found the Kitsap Derby brats on the track once again, this time against the Lava City Cinder Kittens.  I had the opportunity to see the Kittens at last year's Big O tourney, and I remember being impressed with the huge amount of heart and the spark of brilliance I saw in this team.  While they were beaten big by everyone they played last year, it was clear they were an up and coming team who would be a force to be reckoned with very soon.

This year, they have thus far proven themselves as a definite force to be watched for  on the NW junior derby circuit.  While they did lose their bout to Kitsap (242-160), skaters Erma Gherd, Jabba the Butt and Scruffy Nerf Herder along with the rest of the Kitten s definitely held their own far more than the scoreboard attests.

Next up was the I5 Rollergirls skating against the home team Reservoir Dolls.  I was announcing this game as well, so stats were not really possible, but I5 continued their impressive roll this season.

The Reservoir Dolls got themselves into foul trouble early, allowing I5 to shoot out to a huge 206-44 lead in the first half.  Hunter, Liv Vicious, Lex Celerator, Izzie Exterminated, Audrey Headburn, Archer and all of the rest of the I5 squad taking their shifts as blockers combined to cause an incredible number of penalties for the Dolls.  When the smoke cleared, the Dolls had two players foul out and one skater ejected for an egregious out of bounds block.

When all was said and done, the I5 Roller Girls continued to an undefeated 4-0 record with a final 355-105.

Finally came the last junior game of Day 1, the Lava City Cinder Kittens against the Reservoir Dolls.  The Dolls played a lot cleaner in this one, the penalty trouble largely evaporating.  The Cinder Kittens were holding their own against the A level squad finding themselves on the lower end of a 153-80 halftime score.

The second half found the Cinder Kittens coming out with claws bared.  They fought and clawed their way through the ubiquitous scrum starts, earning lead and taking advantage of power jam opportunities.  About halfway through the second half, they had fought their way to within 35 points before Roma Mafia and Beautiful Deadly put the game out of reach and took the victory home 273-185.

Day one is in the books, and an AWESOME amount of junior derby action was witnessed.  Tomorrow will find me on the Mic at 9am as Emerald City takes on Kitsap Derby Brats D-Bombers in the final junior bout of the weekend.  I am told by one team that this is a ranked bout and by another that it isn't, so I will diligently try to determine the facts... After all, I have a press pass.  Facts are what I should do to earn it, right?