2011 in Review

Lost in weekly practices, the run up to bouts and the signing up for bootcamps, it's hard to believe the year has passed so quickly. 2011 draws to a close on a very different Blitz Dames than it welcomed it, but while we've made a lot of changes, our spirit remains the same! Here's a rundown of this year's achievements.

Just Awesome proves Outstandingly Awesome
Being off skates for an injury is an unfortunate aspect of derby no player looks forward to. This year the very lovely Just Awesome had to take time off to rest her knee, but in the meantime took on the demanding and stressful role of line-up manager. This requires indepth knowledge of tactics, skaters' abilities and how not to fall apart when faced with fourteen adrenaline-loaded rollergirls.

Claiming New Territory
Halfway through the year we made the transition from spreading our three practices across two venues, to our new home, the Birmingham Futsul Arena. At first we were uncertain of the sports tile floor, but we soon realised that our wheels on the tiles sounded like a helicopter. The only problem is the excess of blue gives one an urge to do the breast stroke while skating in a pace line.

A New Drill Sergent
Previously the strange guy who skated so fast he was often called for a multiplayer block on his own, the Blitz Dames voted Rex Tangle in as their coach and he's stepped up to the challenge admirably. The hardest part no doubt is to get us to shut up and do the damn drill. About six months after he was appointed, I finally figured out what his name is about. Rex Tangle. Rectangle. Get it???

Supplies
We are proud to announce we finally have our own online store, where you can buy merch to support us and look mighty fine at the same time. Coming soon, sweat, blood and tear stained items from our top skaters! (Subject to availability.)

Bouts Hosted
Although this year had its share of away bouts, we also hosted a handful of at home double headers, giving our B team skaters a chance to show their skills. The Bout production team had a lot of new members this year, but they functioned professionally and pulled off several stellar events.

The World Cup
This year there was a little thing known as the Blood and Thunder, First Roller Derby World Cup ever, held in Toronto, Canada. You might have seen that Violet Attack's hot pants were there! Infact, Violet Attack were also there, representing Team England, while Roisin Roulette represented Team Ireland. To celebrate we made an Attack of the Rollergirls tshirts. We offered to make a similar shirt for RR, but she just gave us an unnerving stare and asked if we were feeling lucky.

Pretty good work for a year! Roll on 2012!

~ Daphne du Gorier #905

Daphne Does Derby: All Ireland Roller Derby Vs Blitz Dames and All Star Challenge

Daphne du Gorier #905 played her first ever bout for the Blitz Dames travel team on Saturday, and it was against the Irish World Cup Squad! Here is her take on the day:

"Today the Birmingham Blitz Dames played host to two fantastic bouts against the All Ireland team representing Ireland in the Roller Derby World Cup. The first was with the Blitz Dames, while the second pitted the Irish team against an All-Star lineup made up of teams from the Midlands, termed the Midlands Massive.

The BBD bout was my first time bouting for the A team, while the second was much anticipated as it gave me a chance to watch some of my roller derby crushes play at close quarters.

The All Ireland team took an early lead which they maintained throughout the game using their formidable blockers to create a solid defence even the nippiest of jammers had problems getting through. The Dames were at a clear disadvantage with two skaters playing on the A team for the first time, Violet Attack only jamming and Roisin Roulette playing for the other team! Despite this, we made AIRD fight for their points. In the second half the dames adjusted their game and Izzy Dauntless and Thunderkat made some great blocks while Suzette la Flamme and Nico Warrior racked up the points in some beautiful passes.

As virgin voyages go, I couldn’t have asked for a better bout. The atmosphere was relaxed and I was confident in the positions and lineups I was being played in.

The game ended with a score of BBD 55 AIRD 244 but the dames felt satisfied with their performance and grateful to AIRD for the opportunity. No sooner had the teams done their laps of honour, the Midlands Massive team started to warm up, and excitement was in the air!

The second bout was one that proved just how much of a spectator sport derby is. As if seeing Violet Attack, Helen Fury, Nuclear Miss-ile, Voodoo Ray, Inky Minx and Kid Block skating on a team together wasn’t enough, we had the tiny but deadly Mosquito jamming like it was going out of fashion, some mind blowing power jams and BB Bombshell slicing through the pack while skating on one foot as her toe guard had come loose.

Getting to watch this bout was a real treat as you get a completely different perspective from when you’re on track. I quickly fell in love with Zola Blood who darted off the jam line like she’d never heard of inertia, and ChemiKill Hazard (who was awarded MVP) also captured my heart. Crow Jane who I had been looking forward to seeing sadly went off with an injury but not before putting up a good fight for the AIRD team. Between these fearsome ladies, Violet Attack and Roisin Roulette, I had a hard time knowing who to cheer for and gave myself a sore throat from all the screaming.

It was a fantastic day from start to finish with a great effort from all the skaters, refs, NSOs and the BBD bout production team. Thank you to everyone who made my first A-team bout such a fantastic experience. Hope to see you all on track some time.

(If I’ve made any mistakes or not linked to profiles where available, let me know and I’ll edit!)"

Blog post taken from http://daphnedoesderby.tumblr.com where Daphne blogs about all things derby on a regular basis.

The Rolling Dead...

On Saturday Birmingham Blitz Dames and Leicester's Dolly Rockit Rollers faced off against each other in not one, but two bouts!

The first bout; Dawn of the Dames vs the Raggy Dollz was the Blitz Dames' B Team's first ever bout. With a little help from a couple of friends from Wolverhampton Honour Rollers and the Norfolk Brawds, they took on DRR's B Team. The final score was Dawn of the Dames 84 - 123 Raggy Dollz.

The second bout was a BBD vs DRR A team bout. After a hard fought hour of fast jamming, hard hitting roller derby, the final score was BBD 86 - 120 Dolly Rockit Rollers.

It was a double win for the visitors (at our first ever bout in our swanky new venue; Birmingham Futsal Arena), and a fun, zombie filled afternoon all round.

Dames and Dukes at Dodgebrawl

Photo by Jason Ruffell

Last Saturday Birmingham Blitz Dames Violet Attack, Sleazy Rider, Roisin Roulette, Nina Nunchucks and our bench coach Rex Tangle took part in the UK's first ever co-ed bout at Dodgebrawl! (Plus BBD Line Up Manager extraordinaire, Just Awesome did line ups on the day!)

The Dames and Dukes were on a mixed team forming the Purple Cobras and were up against mixed team, the Average Joes.

The final score was Purple Cobras 118, Average Joes 123.... so close!

Rex Tangle got the award for Best Jammer and Violet Attack the award for Best Jammer. Nice one!

The Spy Who Shoved Me!

The final score at The Spy Who Shoved Me was Blitz Dames 120, Severn Roller Torrent 56.

Huge thanks to our old mates SRT for being such wonderful hosts and giving us a great bout!

Mixed Scrim Fun with the Harlots

The Dames would like to thank our friends the Hellfire Harlots for joining us once again for a mixed scrimmage last Saturday.

The mixed team scrimmage was loads of fun and ended in an astounding victory for the black team!

Thanks to everyone who helped the scrimmage run so smoothly.


If any other leagues would like to visit us for a scrimmage, as a league or mixed teams, drop us an email at info@blitzdames.com

Fabulous Skatefest!

Despite the bout not starting until 11.30pm(!) the Dames had a great time with their friends Severn Roller Torrent at Skatefest. The final score was Birmingham Blitz Dames 102 - 54 Severn Roller Torrent. Thanks to Skatefest ofr having us and to everyone who helped out on the day.

We'd also like to thank everyone from leagues all over the UK (and the world!) who have sent us messages of support during the riots in Birmingham. We really appreciate your thoughts at this time. It's amazing how the roller derby community pulls together!