See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Merle Exit
Brooklyn Daily
Saturday is your last chance this year to cheer on Brooklyn’s home team — in roller derby.
The Brooklyn Bombshells are gearing up for their final home game on July 19th against the Manhattan Mayhem at Coney Island’s Abe Stark Skating Arena.
The two teams are part of Gotham Girls Roller Derby, a do-it-yourself league run collectively by its members that competes nationwide through the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.
Other teams under the Gotham Girls’ banner include the Queens of Pain, the Wall Street Traitors, and the Grand Central Terminators — all of which practice out of the Crash Pad in Williamsburg.
The players have clever nicknames as well — including Brutal Noodle, Bunny McBones, Full Metal Jackie, Pippi Strongsocking, and Vicious van GoGo — and the pseudonyms are an important part of a derby dame’s identity.
“We all have interesting names that we choose ourselves,” said Raggedy Animal of the Brooklyn Bombshells, who insisted on being identified only by her derby name. “For some, it’s based on their name — such as Evilicious whose first name is Eva. Others could be based on their interest or even work life. Papierschnitt — the German word for ‘paper cutter’ — works as a paper maker. The name change is in the spirit of old-school roller derby of fun frivolity.”
The sport isn’t all fun and games, and can get pretty rough when opposing teams’ “jammers” and “blockers” collide. Teams score points each time its jammers skate past a line on the circular track. The blockers are tasked with preventing opposing jammers from completing a circuit — and protecting their own jammers from opposing blockers.
The Gotham Girl league has four home teams, which play each other leading up to a final tournament in September, and most of those players also participate in the four travel teams, which compete against teams from other cities — and even other countries — for rank in international standings. Gotham Girl’s All Star travel team is ranked No. 1 in the world by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.
Raggedy is now in her ninth season on the track. Gotham Girl Roller Derby started in 2005 and she became a fan. She tried out the next year and was drafted by the Brooklyn Bombshells.
Would-be players start with a recreation league coached by Gotham Girls players, and many don’t get drafted by a team for a few years. But some girls are getting a head start with Gotham Girls Junior Derby, a league for girls and young women aged 8–17-years-old. In fact, Saturday’s Brooklyn Bombshells match is part of a double-header, with the city’s junior league taking on the Cleveland Junior Roller Derby Association.
Interest in the sport is also growing with spectators.
“We’ve been selling out, which makes us extremely happy, and the audiences have been amazingly supportive and raucous,” said Raggedy. “Games have been exciting, with a lot of hard competition and point changes.”
The Abe Stark Arena will allow both trackside seating and seating in the stands for Saturday’s matches. If you want to sit trackside, you’ll have to arrive early, and bring your own folding chair — but it’s the closest you can get to the action without lacing up your skates.
Brooklyn Bombshells vs. Manhattan Mayhem at Abe Stark Skating Arena [1902 W 19th St. between W. 21st Street and the Parachute Jump in Coney Island. (718) 946–3135] June 19, doors open at 4 pm, match starts at 5 pm, $19.99.