Toronto Roller Derby Season Opener 2011

Jammer Bambi #33 moves by Monichrome #35 and Sinead O'Clobber #87

The battling babes of the Toronto Roller Derby League have greased their wheels, grabbed their protective gear and are ready to crush each other during the opening of the 2011 flat track season. The 2010 season champions the Gore-Gore Rollergirls have got the leopard skin outfits ready to roll while the Death Track Dolls have their white, black and red uniforms stretched across their taut muscles. The first game of 2011 is scheduled for February 5, 2011 at the Hanger - doors open at 6:30pm, game at 7:30pm. The Gore-Gores destroyed the Dolls by 107 to 43 from the last score left on the board. These are pictures of the Season Opener.

The year started a lot earlier for this, the fifth season, of ToRD. The antham was sung by Natasha Biondillilo - Queer Idol 2010, while the whistle was blown by Toronto Councillor Maria Augimeri (front, in red).

See pictures of last years 2010 Season Opener here. And remember that there is a double header bout on Saturday, February 26.

Bambi #33, Brim Stone ##21:8, fan & Dust Bunny #7 and a head

Land Shark #33 with Sue Sainte Marie #71

Zebra Mafia Head Ref Penny Whistler with R'effin Adora Bell and Nicki Nine Lives

Jammer and Captain Brim Stone #21:8 tries to climb thru the Dolls

Pivot Panty Hoser #99 tries to block Jammer Brim Stone

See more pictures after the jump.

The Gore-Gore Rollergirls during player introductions

Hurlin' Wall #89 grabs Dust Bunny's uniform for some extra speed

Dust Bunny #7 shares a laugh with Land Shark #33

Dust Bunny and Panty Hoser come crashing down

Captain Brim Stone during warm up

2010 ToRD Rollergirl Downright Dirty Dawson #Z682 and with Sinead O'Clobber #87, below

The Death Track Dolls during skater introductions

Lucid Lou #12:34 tries to clear a path for Jammer Land Shark #33

Manager His Unoliness Rev. Ramirez says that the Gore-Gores win because they work so well as a team.

1 week till 2011 Toronto Roller Derby Season Opener

Update: See my coverage of the first game of the 2011 series here.

The 2011 Toronto Roller Derby (or TORD) Season Opener is one tiny week away and then the ladies of the flat track will begin a year of battles that will leave quite a few bruises and a few more rips in the lingerie.

The Saturday, February 5th first bout in the Downsview Park's Hanger will see the 2010 Champion Gore-Gore Rollergirls versus the Death Track Dolls. Doors open at 6:30pm and the game starts at 7:30pm. I can't wait for the opening night when Gore-Gore players such as Bambi and Brim Stone get physical with the Dolls players like Land Shark and Downright Dirty Dawson.

The league has this to say about the match up "The Death Track Dolls are a veritable force to be reckoned with. Led by veteran captains Betty Bomber and Dolly Parts 'Em, the team is primed for a Dollmination in 2011 with a new lineup for this season and a renewed appetite for destruction! On the other hand, the Gore-Gore Rollergirls, led by Brim Stone and Dust Bunny are not to be taken lightly. Still liking their chops from their victory at last season's championship finals, these girls have not lost their appetite for blood".

Tips for new players or, like the marines say, fresh meat can be found here. I guess a lot of people need a few good women (or sometimes a few bad women). I am intrigued by this tip: "There will be a time for semi-nudity and obnoxious self-promotion. And that time is after you've actually proven yourself on the track." Of course I disagree - there should always be time for semi-nudity.

Blizzardzilla 2011 - Snow crushes Toronto

OMG - the snow falls, nay rages, as I write this post. We will surely see the end of days as the white fluffy snow accumulates an outstanding 5 to 10 cm today. 5 to 10! We may as well get rid of our cars and all buy snowmobiles because they could never get rid of this amount of snow. Ever.

Nothing left but to count the weekends until you head out on a vacation - maybe a flight to an all inclusive resort in the Caribbean or maybe a cruise around the Mediterrean, or wait until the warmth and the sun return back to Toronto in Springzilla 2011. Now that's a lot of zillas. Contact your favourite travel agent and start booking now.

You can also count the events that are coming up in the next few weekends - the Toronto Boat Show (now), the Canadian Motorsports Expo CME (next weekend Jan 21-23), the Toronto Travel Show on the last weekend of Jan 29-30) and in the first weekend of February, that dreary cold month, is an event that will warm you up for the rest of winter. REAL WOMEN, REAL HITS, REAL HEART and lingerie - the Toronto Roller Derby Season Opener on Feb 5, 2011. (Don't forget to help save the 101 Downsview Park TTC Bus).

Roller Derby - Are you ready for Thunder?

Feel the pain as the Blood and Thunder All-Stars take over the Hanger in an international bout of flat track roller derby on Saturday, December 4, 2010. The skaters are tough, buff and my god they are hot so enjoy the post season Toronto Roller Derby match. If you aren't down with derby, slam it! It was a very tight competition as the bout came down to the wire, as the refs decided the final points the Black Mamba team took it 144 to 141 against White Trash.

Brim Stone #218

Dyna Hurtcha, Mega Bouche, Tara Part, Bambi, Lucid Lou and Mia Culprit will be among the Toronto Roller Derby All -Star players, see the rest of the wheeled warriors in Toronto's Downsview Park.

Now, in honour of the excitement, here are a few famous quotes mashed up with derby and others like they were made for women's roller derby.

Derby "isn't a contact sport, it's a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport." Duffy Daugherty.

Tama Hawk #77 & Rainbow Fight #C3P0

"The reason women don't play football is because eleven of them would never wear the same outfit in public." Phyllis Diller. And that is why women can play derby - in TORD I have yet to see a team wearing the same uniform, helmets, etc., they all have an individual touch. Here are some of the White team ready to roll.

Tama Hawk, Luludemon #44 , Rainbow Fight, Commiekaze #27 & Hustle Rose #1618

"If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn't the same as the one I was wearing, I'd run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother." Bo Jackson.

Bambi #33 brings the winning points home in the final jam

"Well, either side could win it, or it could be a draw." Murray Mexted.

See more pictures of all the action after the jump.

Crankypants the play-by-play announcer

Bambi gets inked

Eight Mean Wheeler #18

US Roller Derby star Quadzilla L.K. 23 does jumps over more and more people. I think he ended up jumping over a dozen people.

Blood and Thunder Roller Derby

Update: You can see my photos of the international Blood and Thunder All-Star game on my post here.

Cripes, that scares the crap out of me. Blood and Thunder All-Stars, this Saturday, December 4th at Downsview Park: The Hanger. The Toronto Roller Derby ladies will be joined by top talent from over North America in the last game of the season - a post season battle on wheels. Break out the new hosiery and grease those bearings.

"Taking advantage of visiting talent for the Blood and Thunder Magazine training camp, happening that weekend, players for this bout will be chosen from the top skaters attending the camp.  This bout will showcase all-star skaters from various derby leagues, including Montreal, Michigan, San Francisco, and of course Toronto.  This will be a gruelling challenge for the skaters, as competition will be high for a spot on one of the rosters.  Rumour has it that top derby coaches will be present, scouting for potential players for the first ever Roller Derby World Cup – tentatively scheduled for 2011, and to be hosted in Toronto by ToRD.

Bring your lawn chairs if you’ve got them, grab some friends, and head out to the Hangar for one last dose of hits and whips before the year ends! 

Doors open at 6:30 pm with the bout commencing at 7:30 pm.  Tickets can be purchased in advance from our ticket outlets for $12, online for $14, or at the door for $18."