MAY 2012 – WHACKS POETIC
When and how did you get started in derby?
I started at a skate clinic in April of 2010. Eduskating Rita played soccer on my team which is how I heard about derby in the first place. I went to watch her in Quad City Chaos of spring 2010 and knew I was hooked. I did whatever I could in HCRG (mainly benchmanaging the Death Row Dames) until I could start playing.
What position do you play?
I mainly pivot.
What’s your best move?
That’s a tough one. I really like the strategy and mind game parts of derby so probably calling plays in response to whatever the other team is doing (I’m allowed to call that a move right?). If not that, then I have a decent hip hit to the inside while skating backwards.
How did you pick your derby name?
I had a really hard time picking a derby name and was playing around with some sort of karate kid reference like “Whacks On!” when I came up with “Whacks Poetic” and just knew it was the right one. My number is birth my year and slang for getting kicked out of a restaurant.
What is your athletic background?
I play soccer and have a second degree black belt in karate. I also dabble in skiing and snowboarding when I can. I love playing sports in general and have a blast trying new ones. I’d never put on rollerskates before I decided to do derby though.
Who are your heroes?
I think everyone willing to work so hard behind the scenes to make our derby league successful are some of my biggest heroes. Major props to anyone on our board of directors or who has served on it in the past. On the track, I love Jess Bandit from Montreal, White Flight from Rose City and Eclipse from Naptown. They all have different styles and play different positions but they know how to get their job done!
What’s your worst injury?
Other than some bruises from falling and hitting, I’ve been relatively injury free since I started derby (knock on wood). Prior to derby I had my fair share of lumps, bruises and fractures. I think the worst was an ankle sprain that didn’t heal so I had to have surgery to fix it.
What’s been your favourite derby moment?
When I got an email from Hawkeye Fierce saying that I was allowed to start attending league practices with HCRG. I was so excited when I found out, that I drove straight to the arena and interrupted practice with my jumping up and down and shrieking. Luckily, the skaters at practice understood.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to play derby?
Watch as much as you can, spend as much time on your skates as possible (even if its just cleaning around your house) and be prepared to meet some awesome women and have a wicked time!
If I wasn’t playing derby, I’d be…
…watching derby haha!
APRIL 2012 – LORAZESLAM
When and how did you get started in derby?
I was in college taking Paramedics and my teachers were Vicadoom and Hawkeye Fierce (Both now retired HCRG skaters). After a long conversation with Vicadoom, she explained the game and convinced me to come out to a (Fresh)Meat ‘n Greet. I fell in love with the girls. Once I was on skates, I fell in love with the game. After that first Meat ‘n Greet Shawna and I (AKA Peppermental) started skating around at some local areas in Jan 2010, but officially with HCRG in March 2010.
What position do you play?
Mostly I’m the girl with the star, but I like to block a lot as well, to get out the frustrations of jamming and being the target all the time.
What’s your best move?
One of my most favorites (when it actually works out) is jumping the apex. It only works about 30% of the time, but when it does… You’re flying.
How did you pick your derby name?
Derby names — One of the things that a new derby girl looks forward to the most. I had a very long list with names like “Elmo ya Down,” “Angelina Rolley” or “Box Cutter Betty” but nothing really fit me. I asked one of my friends from HCRG (Ivy Rupted) to put out a call out for good derby names that are related to medicine, not a minute later Hawkeye Fierce suggested Lorazeslam after the drug Lorazepam. Done! My favorite number is 8 and what’s better than one of something? TWO!
What is your athletic background?
Haha… Nothing that pertains to strapping on 8 wheels… Snowboarding, volleyball, baseball, tennis, golf, badminton and anything played in gym class.
Who are your heroes?
This is a LONG list. Famous Derby heroes: Suzy HotRod, Bonnie Thunders, Juke Box, DeRanged, PsychoBabble and Atom Matrix — That’s after I started watching other derby. When I started with HCRG, I really looked up to some girls in my league, like Vicadoom, Ivy Rupted, Mean little Mama, Dicey and Carla Coma just to name a few. My all time hero is my Moma Slam.
What’s your worst injury?
Most painful and longest time to recover I’d say was when I tore a ligament in my ankle, but worst injury would probably be my broken nose.
What’s been your favourite derby moment?
I changed the question to moments because its derby and no one can have just one. My dad and I were watching the 2010 WFTDA Championships — Gotham Vs. Rocky Mountain and Bonnie Thunders juked pass DeRanged (I believe), called it off, turned around and slid on her toe stops (for what looked like miles) and just stared back at DeRanged the entire time with a smile like “Yea, I just did that”. My other favorite is just jamming in general, every time that I step out on that track with the star on my head. When you’re so nervous you could pee pretty much everywhere, you hear that double whistle and everything just goes away, all the nerves, all the people cheering, the fact that your family is watching and it’s just you and that other jammer fighting it out.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to play derby?
DO IT!! It’ll change your life!!
If I wasn’t playing derby, I’d be…
Sad.
MARCH 2012 – MEAN LITTLE MAMA
When and how did you get started in derby?
I watched derby in the 70′s and wanted to do it. I was a tomboy. I read about the Hammer City Roller Girls in 2007 and my friend and I started a league in Kitchener.
What position do you play?
I play whatever the bench manager tells me to play.
What’s your best move?
I’m known for my devastating t-bones!
How did you pick your derby name?
I had Mean Little Mama tattooed on my stomach a year before I joined derby. So I went with that.
What is your athletic background?
I figure skated. Played ringette. Hockey. Track and field. And for 30 years played fastball. And boxing before girls were allowed…
Who are your heroes?
Billy Jack from the 70s movies…
From derby? Dianne Severson… 70s derby goon extraordinaire!
What’s your worst injury?
Both knees, I’ve broken 4 fingers and my tail bone, as well as a dislocated shoulder.
What’s been your favourite derby moment?
I was jamming in Minnesota at the Roy Wilkins Coliseum in front of nearly 5000 people, and lost my helmet panty. I bent on one skate to pick it up, and was sent flying into the fans without touching the ground by 2 skaters.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to play derby?
Skate fast, turn left, hit hard, have a blast!!!
If I wasn’t playing derby, I’d be…
…Boxing!
FEBRUARY 2012 – NAUGHTY BEE
When and how did you get started in derby?
I started in May 2010. I was wandering through a parking lot at some grocery store in Buffalo and noticed this car with a big HCRG logo on the hood and had one of those “HAMILTON HAS ROLLER DERBY?!?” moments. I remember waiting outside for “the rollergirls” to come out so I could ask them about how one plays roller derby in Hamilton, but I have a really short attention span and after about two minutes got bored and wandered off. I don’t think it was too very long after that I showed up for Derby 101.
What position do you play?
I’m very good at tripping over my own feet and skating around in the pack like a lost puppy. But I like jamming the best.
What’s your best move?
Just before we took the track for the 2011 home opener we had a toast to our first game in the locker room. I opened a bottle of carbonated cherry pop in the middle of the room and it exploded everywhere and got everyones wheels all wet and sticky. I think I’d have to say that was my smoothest move so far.
How did you pick your derby name and number?
To be honest I don’t really like derby monikers, I would rather just skate under my own name. But my derby wife, Bean Stalker, gave me my name so its all sentimental-y for me. My number is 58, for 5/8″ which is the standard seam allowance in dressmaking.
What is your athletic background?
I played soccer competitively since I was a kid but stopped at around age 18. Between then and derby I would competitively dig holes and lift heavy books.
Who are your heroes?
There are a lot of people that I admire, a lot of them are my friends. Everyday people who have the courage to be who they are and who are not afraid to stand up and fight for what they believe in. I think those kind of people are heroes.
What’s your worst injury?
I was dropped on my head when I was a baby.
What’s been your favourite derby moment?
The feeling I get when jamming, when I’ve gotten away from that last blocker and I’m out of the pack. Before I remember that there is another jammer somewhere on the track and that I have a job to do there are a few seconds where its just me and my skates and absolutely nothing else matters. In that moment I feel completely free.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to play derby?
Stop thinking about it and do it. It’ll change your life. Also, make sure you pee before you get on the track.
If I wasn’t playing derby, I’d be…
Gosh, I don’t know. Roller Derby has kind of taken over my life, I can’t imagine it not being there…. I suppose I would be trying to help other people play roller derby.
JANUARY 2012 – MISS CARRIAGE
When and how did you get started in derby?
In early 2006 I heard a rumour about some sort of rollerskating gang or something like that happening out of the old Corktown Tavern. On GO Transit one morning I read an interview with Lasha, the HCRG’s founder, in VIEW Magazine and planned to email her for info as soon as I got to the office – only to see a note from her inviting me and others out. As much as I liked skating I really had no idea what this roller derby thing was all about! But it sounded like it could be fun so I dug out my aged artistic yard sale skates and hitched a ride to practice in Mississauga that week.
What position do you play?
I started out as primarily a jammer but gradually got more experience blocking and pivoting. While some might call that a triple threat, I call myself a ‘jerk of all trades’. While playing and knowing the ins and outs of one position has its benefits, there’s always so much to learn more about each role on the track, and I’m happy to help out my team in any capacity needed.
What’s your best move?
I’ve been told it’s my hipchecks, which are also my favourite way to take or give a hit. Perhaps that’s more than just a coincidence.
How did you pick your derby name and number?
I didn’t want to pick a name that made myself out to be too tough or too fast, or anything I couldn’t live up to on the track. I asked a ‘sick friend’ and he suggested Miss Carriage, and was surprised I rolled with it. Of course it refers to a miscarriage of justice, which CAN happen in a game scenario. But if I were to pick up the game today I’d likely skate under my given name. I co-run a record label and store so I do gravitate towards the rpm related numbers.
What is your athletic background?
In school it didn’t extend much past gym class but as an adult I got seriously into commuter cycling and played a few seasons of co-ed ball hockey. I started running this year and it seemed to help my skating stride until my knee started complaining about it. Beneficial or not, running reminds me why I like cycling and skating so much.
Who are your heroes?
The athlete that inspires me most is multiple Olympic medalist speed skater and cyclist Clara Hughes.
In strictly derby circles its hard to say, I’ve met so many talented and inspirational skaters so far and know there’s more out there.
What’s your worst injury?
I tore some ligaments in my knee during a game in 2009 and it kept me out of gameplay for a couple months. Visit our YouTube channel or just type ‘roller derby gross’ into an internet search engine to check it out and remind yourself to skate lower. Currently I’m healing up a broken collarbone from a bike collision – city streets scare me way more than the hardest hitters on the track!
What’s been your favourite derby moment?
That would be our league’s first bout – and mine too – in July 2006 at Burlington’s Central Arena. Close second was the Fort Wayne Derby Girls’ Fall Brawl tournament in November 2007 where the Eh! Team made it’s first tournament appearance. While those ‘big’ moments will never be repeated I still really dig the more everyday ones like finally grasping a challenging derby drill or skate skill, the first time you really click with a teammate, or successfully play a strategy as a line up.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to play derby?
Put more effort sweating hard and pushing it at practice than fretting over a skate name or how you look on the track, skate as much as possible outside of practice, pick up some sort of cross training to compliment your derby skillset and prevent injury, RICE when that happens, help out your team and your league by packing a positive and collaborative attitude. And of course HAVE FUN.
If I wasn’t playing derby, I’d be…
I can’t imagine what I’d be up to but i don’t think I’d feel as connected to Hamilton. If the past couple months out of gameplay is any indication I doubt my life would be as much fun! Roller derby is a great outlet for everyday frustrations as well as getting out there and involved with your community.
DECEMBER 2011 – BEAN STALKER
When and how did you get started in derby?
FreshMeat: May 2010
An employer (and avid HCRG fan) suggested I play. At a later date I saw an ad in a local paper for FreshMeat. I clipped the ad, bought the equipment and showed up – a week early! I had never attended a bout prior to joining.
What position do you play?
Confused Blocker.
What’s your best move?
Falling like a newborn giraffe – limbs everywhere.
How did you pick your derby name and number?
My Mum picked my name. Bean is a longstanding family nickname. My number is my height – and that’s 5’11” without the skates.
What is your athletic background?
Baseball since the age of 10;
College basketball;
Running from the law.
Who are your heroes?
My parents for supporting me regardless of whether they agree with my decisions; my boys for loving me just as I am and putting up with eggs for dinner every Wednesday when I have derby practice; and, of course, Soldier for embracing what he considers ‘quirks’ and shouting the loudest at every bout.
What’s your worst injury?
None. I’ve never sprained, broken or had anything stitched.
JINX.
What’s been your favourite derby moment?
Meeting my derby wife, Naughty Bee.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to play derby?
Pepto Bismal is a pre-game necessity, keep it in your gear bag.
If I wasn’t playing derby, I’d be…
Living in a van down by the river.
NOVEMBER 2011 – JUDGE JODIE
When and how did you get started in derby?
I was one of the original HCRG skaters in early 2006. Our first practice was the day before my 39th birthday! I started strictly as a supporter of the idea of roller derby in Hamilton, I had vivid memories of how terrible I was at rollerskating back in 80′s, so I never really thought I would actually stick around to play the game. And yet, here I am.
What position do you play?
I am a blocker and pivot.
What’s your best move?
I’m not sure I have a best move, but I am a fan of the booty block. And I always try and challenge myself to take out two players at once, every game!
How did you pick your derby name and number?
The number was easy, I was born in ’67. My name was given to me at one of our first derby events by the team. I guess I was making decisions, and trying to get things done, the name Judge Jodie was mentioned and it stuck.
What is your athletic background?
Does tap dancing count? Oh, I did play in a snow football league in university.
Who are your heroes?
To be honest, I think it is the ‘everyday hero’ that I admire the most. I am moved by individuals who take action to make positive changes in their community.
What’s your worst injury?
I have just had some major bruises and some knee issues.
What’s been your favourite derby moment?
I have two – when the Hamilton Harlots won the first Beast of the East in 2008 (an annual tournament in Montreal and the first derby road trip for many!) and playing in a tournament in Ottawa this year with a team made almost entirely of rookie skaters, and watching everything come together for the team.
What advice would you give to someone who would like to play derby?
Don’t doubt yourself. This really is a sport that anyone can find a spot that fits for them. Maybe as a skater, a ref, or as vital member of the support crew. Derby is an amazing organization to belong to.
If I wasn’t playing derby, I’d be…
…forced to clean my house and cook sometimes. Thinking about this reminds me how much I love derby!!
