I went to the inaugural bout of the fledging Houston Roller Derby league this weekend. In a word: awesome. It was held in the ballroom of the Arabia Shrine at North Braeswood and Kirby, and I’d say there were at least 500 spectators in attendance.
It’s a bit like professional wrestling. The pageantry is hilarious. Lots of spotlights, music and drunken cheering. The names are fun, too. The teams have names like Machete Betties and Psych Ward Sirens. The players names are often take-offs of famous women (Dismae West, Elle McFierce, Ashley Juggs), goofy puns (Tex Offender, Carmen Geddit, Ivana B. Sedated) or just tough-sounding monikers (Crasher, Beverly Kills, Chewcifer).
The crowd was diverse in just about every respect. I saw men, women, little kids, old folks, clean-cut suburbanites and dudes with more piercings than fingers. Just about the broadest cross-section of Houston that you could cut. Interestingly, though, the crowd was pretty much all-white, but the best player out there (“Death by Chocolate”) was black.
Here’s how the game works. Both teams line up in a big pack. Each team has a pivot in front and three blockers behind her. In the back is each teams Jammer, the only girl who can score. The teams take off at the first whistle. At the second whistle, the Jammers race ahead and elbow their way through the pack. Once they get in front of the pack, they can lap the pack for points. A Jammer scores a point for every girl she passes. Jams last two minutes, but can be called off by the lead Jammer. Here are the rules in more detail.
Basically, this leads to a couple fast chicks maneuvering about nimbly, while other chicks try to knock the hell out of them. A good time was had by all.
It was a pretty good turnout.
Members of the Psych Ward Sirens warm up.
One of the Burlesque Brawlers gets ready for action.
The play-by-play commentary sucked ass.
A bout in progress.
Next bout is Saturday, April 29. I’ve got a Knights of Columbus event, so hopefully it’ll be over in time for the bout. Roller Derby rules.
