Greatest Roller Derby Show on Earth – Sep 11
In conjunction with the Second Annual Rhiner Festival, the Ithaca League of Women Rollers is throwing their derby rule book out the window to present:
The Rhiner’s Brawl—The Greatest Show on Earth on September 11th at Cass Park Rink.
Come get an eye- and ear-full of this freakshow spectacle as Ithaca’s favorite rollergirls team up as The Tailed vs. The Tutu’d for this very special derby event. The arena will come alive with trumpeting Klezmer horns, heckling clowns, jousting acrobats, mesmerizing magician, balloon twisters, fabulous face painting, and all around Tom foolery that will give you a stitch in your side at this throwback to 20’s era circus show—fun for the entire family!
Cass Park will open their doors at 6:00 pm and the antics will start rolling at 6:30. A suggested donation of $5 for kids and $10 for adults makes this event possible. A portion of the bout proceeds will go to support the Tompkins County History Center. Spectators are encouraged follow the circus to Moonshine Island Speakeasy at Castaways after the Brawl, where bout spectators will receive a free glass of hooch.
Cass Park Rink
701 Taughannock Blvd
ILWR @ the Empire State Showdown Sep 4
Located in Long Island, NY
Please visit the Empire Skate Showdown website for more info on location and ticketing.
Teams from all over the Empire State will converge upon Long Island for the EMPIRE SKATE SHOWDOWN! An intense, single day event that brings together skaters from the Canadian border to the Eastern tip of Montauk battling it out in true Roller Derby fashion to see which team will be left standing to take home the ESSD Trophy!
8 Teams – 2 Tracks – 12 Bouts
Doors @ 1pm – First Whistle @ 2pm
Teams Competing:
Long Island Roller Rebels
GGRD’s Wall Street Traitors
Hudson Valley Horrors
Hellions of Troy
Albany All-Stars
Ithaca League of Women Rollers
Central New York Roller Derby
Assault City
Tickets available @ Brown Paper Tickets or from any Long Island Roller Rebel
$20 in advance/$25 @ the door
Roller Derby Double Header – Aug 28
SufferJets vs Long Island Roller Rebels
BlueStockings vs Rideau Valley Vixens
$10 for Adults $5 Kids suggested donation.
Pro-rated Season Tickets Only Available Online or at the Ticket Center on the Ithaca Commons.
Doors Open at 6:00pm • Whistle Blows at 6:30pm
A portion of the proceeds will go to support Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services of Ithaca.
After-Bout Party at WildFire Lounge – 106 S. Cayuga St., Ithaca
CASS PARK RINK | 701 Taughannock Boulevard Ithaca, NY
(607) 273-9211
“Wreck” Roller Derby – Every Wednesday!
What is Wreck Derby?
Wreck Derby is a chance to learn the basic skills of flat-track roller derby. This is a perfect way to learn the game if you are considering trying out for our league next year, or just for some great exercise. We’ll cover the basics and skip the bone-crushing hits! You learn the game with some modified blocking rules. Come skate, and meet some amazing women!!
Please see the details below and register here>>
If you would like to borrow skates and/or gear please make sure to provide that info on the registration form.
Dates: Every Wednesday – July 21 – October 6
Time: 7-830 PM for practice – please arrive by 6:45pm to gear up.
Location: Cass Park Rink, 701 Taughannock Blvd.
Fee: $5 per session + $3 rental gear (ask about a discount if you sign up for all sessions)
Submit your fees by PayPal here:
Who can join?: Women 18 and up!
Your trainers will be members of the Ithaca League of Women Rollers including: Chairman Meow, MaMadusa, Velma Vex, Bee Bee DeVille, and Momo-A-Gogo.
Please bring:
*QUAD ROLLER SKATES
*HELMET
*WRIST GUARDS
*ELBOW & KNEE PADS
WATER BOTTLE
MOUTH GUARD
*If you don’t have these items we can rent them to you. We’ll do our best to locate a pair of rental skates for you until you get your own. If we don’t have your size available, or you drop in and we didn’t know you were coming, you can also do your first night on rollerblades, if you already skate.
Knee and Elbow pads, (see below for details on recommended styles), wrist guards, a mouth guard and a skate helmet are required items. You can find starter items at any skateboard, or sports store, but remember to look for good padding! We have very limited spare items of safety gear, but it is first come, first serve, and size is limited. We recommend you buy your gear in advance, or borrow some. Rollerblading pads will work for your first night out, and a bike helmet will suffice too. Don’t be shy, come on out and try it!
1) Skates
Quad roller skates or quad speed skates are required.
Artistic boots or speed boots are your choices. Artistic boots are higher and offer more ankle support if you have weak ankles, but provide less ankle mobility for roller derby skating. It’s a personal choice, and trust us, your starter skates may last a very long time, but will not be your last pair if you like roller derby! Speed boots are the derby skate boot, of course, so it’s your best bet. We will strengthen those ankles in no time! If you do not have skates today, we have limited loaners available, but we will need to know when you plan to attend and what shoe size/skate size you need.
2) Safety equipment
a) Knees
Although we will let you skate with any pads of your choice, we recommend a skateboard/skating knee pad with at least 1 ½ inches of padding. This is so that you can learn to fall safely, and to perform exercises on your skates more comfortably. Recommended brands are Triple 8, 187 and Fatboy for skaters over 150 lbs, and Pro-Tec Street. These pads work for skateboarding and aggressive skating and offer the best protection for you.
b) Elbows
Same as above. Some falls we teach require elbow pads to connect with the floor, and we want you to be protected.
c) Wrists
A wrist guard protects the weak wrist joint from injury when you use your hands to prevent a fall, which is common for beginners when they fall backwards.
d) Mouth guard
You can pick a boil-and-bite mouth guard up at any sports/hockey equipment type store. We recommend you pay the little bit extra for a SHOCK DOCTOR mouth guard, as it comes with insurance. In case you fall and face-plant, you want your smile to stay pretty! Plus, it helps prevent concussions from biting down hard and suddenly during a fall.
e) Helmet
We recommend a skate or skateboard helmet, but any helmet certified for skating or cycling is acceptable for beginners.
For first timers:
Rollerblades, rollerblade starter pads, bike helmets, and low-level mouth guards are accepted for first-timers that are just trying it out.
We have very limited, first-come, first-serve extra pieces of gear, and loaner skates, but we don’t recommend that you depend on it! Please obtain your own safety equipment, even if you are borrowing it, or getting loaner skates from ILWR.
Otherwise, your first night can include some off-skate training and off-skate advice on what to work on until you have skates, and you can observe the practice to see if you are excited by it and want to come back. Please don’t be shy and don’t be scared. We start you off very slow and protected and teach you how to safely skate, stop, and even fall without injury.
Sample Skate Session
15 minutes free skate for warm-up
05 minutes stretch and introduction
30 minutes: Beginner instructions and Advanced Drills to work on new and improve existing skills. May include endurance training, or strength training drills.
30 minutes: Combined skating and practice time, or drills, that will range from pack work, to speed and endurance training, from agility to balance or strength training, derby scenario drills, or games for fun.
05 minutes free skate cool-down
05 minutes stretching
Total: 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
Here’s a quick introduction to the basics of Flat-track Roller Derby:
BlueStockings vs Black Ice Brawlers -July 31
The Ithaca League of Women Rollers is pleased to announce their homecoming to Ithaca’s Cass Park Rink on Saturday, July 31 for a roller derby extravaganza in collaboration with Ithaca Foodnet Meals on Wheels, and an even greater surprise for fans—the Ithaca debut of their newest team—the BlueStockings.
For the brevity minded:
5-6 pm – Bike, walk, roll, or stroll the Cayuga Waterfront Trail
530-7pm – Chicken BBQ Tailgate Party
7pm – Doors Open, Game starts at 730pm
The BlueStockings have been rocking the roller derby world— bouting on tracks as far away as Vermont and as near as Cortland. Undefeated after five games in their inaugural 2010 season, these girls have a message: the new roller girls on the block mean business.
On July, 31 at Cass Park Rink, the babes in blue will take on Vermont’s Green Mountain Derby Dames, who will be out for revenge after the BlueStockings socked it to them in May with a final score of 216 to 60.
The July, 31 event kicks off at 5 pm as Ithaca’s flagship team, the SufferJets, invite the community to join them as they roll along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail to raise money for Ithaca Foodnet Meals on Wheels. Walk, ride, roll, or stroll the bike path with the SufferJets and then come back to the Cass Rink parking lot to support Ithaca Foodnet Meals on Wheels Chicken BBQ Tailgate Party from 5:30 pm until the bout begins at 7 pm. A $10 ticket gets you a generous chicken dinner plus a chance to win dinner and an evening’s stay at local resort, Geneva on the Lake. Tailgate party music will be provided by the Johnny Russo trio.
Doors for the Roller Derby will open at 7 pm and the first whistle blows at 7:30 pm. A suggested donation of $10 for adults and $5 for kids keeps our derby dolls rolling. Discounted season passes good for the remaining 5 games of ILWR’s home season are available through the league’s website. Passes are also available at the Ticket Center at Center Ithaca on the Ithaca Commons.
To kick off the action, Bobby Narco (the Pavarotti of Roller Derby) will sing “The Star Spangled Banner”. Bout-time music will be provided by DJs Bob and Luke and the Fall Creek Brass Band. A portion of the bout proceeds will go to support Ithaca Foodnet Meals on Wheels. A vivacious after party will be held at Castaway’s, 401 Taughannock Blvd. Cass Park Rink is located at 701 Taughannock Blvd.
Come support Ithaca Foodnet Meals on Wheels, a fantastic local organization that provides meals for our homebound elderly and disabled neighbors. And stick around to meet your newest Ithaca Roller Derby Stars—the Ithaca BlueStockings!
The SufferJets take on Buffalo—June 26
The Ithaca SufferJets are coming down with Full Moon Fever as they get ready to take on Buffalo’s Devil Dollies in honor of Valentina Tereshkova—the first woman in space—on Saturday June 26th at the J.M. McDonald Sports Complex in Cortland.
This will be the Ithaca League’s final bout of the season in their springtime Cortland home, as they return to Ithaca’s Cass Park Rink in July.
The bout promises to be one of the closest matches of the season; at their last meeting in 2009 the Ithaca SufferJets beat the Devil Dollies by just one point earned in the final seconds of the game. Come support your SufferJets as they duke it out to maintain dominance over the Dollies.
Music will be provided by ILWR DJ’s Bob and Luke, who will be joined by the spirited Fall Creek Brass Band. Ithaca’s Running to Places Theater Company will perform a special suffrage-inspired halftime show.
Doors open at 6:30 pm and the first whistle blows at 7 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults. Kids aged 12 and under are admitted for free. Tickets for this bout and the entire 2010 season are now available here. Tickets also available at the Ticket Center at Center Ithaca on the Ithaca Commons. For information on riding the ILWR Fan Van from Ithaca to Cortland, e-mail events@ithacarollerdery.com
The J.M. McDonald Sports Complex is located at 4292 Fairgrounds Drive in Cortland. Join the SufferJets after the bout at The Dark Horse Tavern in downtown Cortland.
A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to support the JM McDonald Center— hosts of ILWR’s 2010 spring season.
Get your moonwalk on…
Wanted! Sports reporter for ILWR home bouts
WANTED: The Ithaca League of Women Rollers seeks sports reporter(s) to cover ILWR home bouts in the reporting style of Derby News Network. The qualified reporter(s) will be required to attend ILWR home games and develop bout recaps (500-700 words) the following day for League approval and release by 5 pm on days following the bouts. Official stats will be provided by the League to aid in bout re-cap development. Compensation includes event press pass, $50 per bout, or $75 per double-header. Interested candidates should submit a brief writing sample to publicrelations@ithacarollerderby.com
What’s all this “Battle for the Bean” buzz a *bout*?
What’s all this “Battle for the Bean” buzz a *bout*?
The Ithaca League of Women Rollers (ILWR) is partnering with Coffee Mania and Gimme! Coffee for its first-ever intraleague bout on Sunday, May 16, at the J. M. McDonald Sports Complex in Cortland, the league’s springtime home track.
For this special one-time event the two ILWR teams, the SufferJets and BlueStockings, will be ground and re-blended to form two high-octane teams—Team Gimme! and Team Coffee Mania. Same skaters, same game, new rosters, different uniforms. Whether you wear Gimme! red or Mania purple, you’ll be able to cheer for your favorite ILWR skaters as these one-time teammates turn on each other for this special event—the Battle for the Bean. Come and enjoy free coffee tastings, learn more about how beans are roasted, and find out which of these two local coffee houses will take home the Big Bean.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m., and the first whistle blows at 5:00 for this Sunday evening event. Tickets are $10 for adults. Kids aged 12 and under are admitted for free. Tickets for this bout and the entire 2010 season are now available through the league’s newly designed website, http://www.ithacarollerderby.com. Tickets are also available at the Ticket Center at Center Ithaca on the Ithaca Commons. Spirited music will be played by the Ithaca College Pep Band and official ILWR DJs Bob and Luke. For information on riding the ILWR Fan Van from Ithaca to Cortland, e-mail events@ithacarollerdery.com.
Join us for this special Sunday roller derby extravaganza! The J. M. McDonald Sports Complex is located at 4292 Fairgrounds Drive in Cortland. Join your favorite skaters after the bout for more fun and music at the Darkhorse in downtown Cortland.
A portion of the evening’s proceeds will support the Women’s Opportunity Center of Ithaca. This bout is generously sponsored by Gimme! Coffee and Coffee Mania in addition to our season-long sponsors.
4.17.2010 Bout Recaps
The Ithaca League of Women Rollers kicked off their home 2010 season at the J.M McDonald Sports Complex in Cortland, NY with a double header, which included the debut bout for the burgeoning league’s second team, the Ithaca BlueStockings.
The Ithaca League of Women Rollers operates as two travel teams with an A/B structure. Roughly 1500 fans came to see the Ithaca Bluestockings debut bout against Syracuse’s Assault City Roller Derby’s new B travel team. Syracuse dominated the first few jams of the game. However, in the sixth jam, the Bluestockings took control of the game and kept it the rest of the game, with a generous lead at halftime of 101 to Assault City’s 56.
Coordinated team work between Bluestockings’ Thunder Vittles, Lady Dismantle, Jenna Vendetta and their communicative Pivot, Chrysteria, kept Assault City’s Jammers from posing much of a threat in the second half, while BlueStocking jammers Pl Anne B and Cold War continued to rack up points for Ithaca. When not jamming, AKT*47 played tough defense in the back.
Highlights from the Syracuse team include Raging Ruby forcing her way through the pack on several successful jams, with help from blockers Dixie Dregs, and Erynn Go Brawl. But it was Assault City’s Dolly Foxx who earned the most points for Assault City with 43 points over the course of the game. That was no match, however, to Cold War’s incredible 95 point debut game!
Final score for the Ithaca Bluestockings first bout: 187-106 Ithaca
Blue Stockings vs. Assault City:
1st Half: Blue Stockings – 101, Assault City – 56
2nd Half: Blue Stockings – 86, Assault City – 50
Final: Blue Stockings – 187, Assault City – 106
In the second game of the night, Ithaca’s veteran team, the Ithaca SufferJets, played their first home bout of the season against Rochester’s Roc City Roller Derby after returning home from their first away bout of the season against Buffalo’s Queen City Suicidal Saucies (114- 128, Saucies). Despite that it was Roc City’s first game of the season they dominated the game with a fast pack that outskated the SufferJets. A brutal hitting force of Roc City’s Lethal Lorelei and Stabbity Ann proved to be a tough force for Ithaca’s Jammers.
SufferJet, Brutal Vroom, kept Roc City’s pack on their feet with her awesome combination of defensive and offensive blocking while playing her cleanest game ever. Her team mates, Chairman Meow and HitzNGigglz, played as a strong defensive duo, but suffered as Hitz’ four majors in the second half kept her tied up in the box.
Ithaca rookie jammer, Hooty McBooty, jamming for the first time, had a stellar 7 point jam in the 15th jam of the first period, but it was SufferJet jammer, Golden Diapers, who kept her home crowd happy with a total of 51 points in the game, earned with her signature quick feet and effective jumps around her contenders.
Although Roc City’s points were nearly evenly distributed between jammers Asa Clubs, Thea Pocolypse, and Toxin Dioxin, it was Toxin Dioxin that emerged as the team’s top jammer with an average of 4.22 points scored per jam throughout her 9 jams of the night.
In the twelfth jam of the second half, as Roc City jammer, Asa Clubs, sat in the box, Golden Diapers’ power jam was cut short when her hand signal for her pack to slow down was misinterpreted as calling off the jam, robbing the SufferJets of much needed points. The prematurely ended jam left the SufferJets with their closest score of the evening 81 -84.
However, when Asa Clubs emerged from the box in time for jam 13, she dominated Ithaca’s Sarabellum in a 9-0 jam from which the SufferJets never recovered.
With 35 seconds on the clock, jammer Sarabellum called her jam stragetically so fellow jammer, Golden Diapers, could earn one more full jam on the clock, but Roc City ‘s Thea Pocalypse earned lead jammer status in the final jam making their dominance clear to the final jam of the game.
Roc City heads home for their own home season opener on May 8th against Long Island Roller Rebels, while Ithaca will host their first-ever intra-league bout on May 16th.
SufferJets vs. Roc City
1st Half: SufferJets – 49, Roc City – 57
2nd Half: SufferJets – 44, Roc City – 50
Final: SufferJets – 93, Roc City – 107
Ready to Roll
Ready to Roll by Luke Fenchel
Roller Derby is a high octane mash-up of sport, spectacle and performance, and thanks to teams like the SufferJets and the Ithaca League of Women Rollers, lately it’s been gaining traction in hip communities across the country. But although the League is associated with other New York roller derby teams and a larger national roller derby revival, the way our girls roll is distinctly Ithacan.
Read the rest in The Ithaca Post.
Ithaca BlueStockings Win 187 to 106 in First Outing
L to R: Chrysteria #46 | LittILL MissILL #M74 | Rollin' Polanski #13 | Velma Vex #40 | Galactic Cowgirl #27 PHOTO by Erik Cherchio
The Ithaca Blue Stockings women’s roller derby team trounced Syracuse in their first appearance. Meanwhile, the Ithaca Sufferjets narrowly lost to Rochester. Read the details in the Ithaca Independent >>
Roller Derby Season is Here!
The Ithaca League of Women Rollers (ILWR) is ready to roll out their 2010 home season, bound to be bigger and better than ever. ILWR and its flagship team, the Ithaca SufferJets, are happy to announce the newest ILWR team, the Ithaca BlueStockings, who will make their debut at the league double header on April 17th at the JM McDonald Sports Complex in Cortland—the league’s springtime home track.
The BlueStockings will kick off the double header against Syracuse’s Assault City Roller Derby. The SufferJets will keep the night rolling when they take on Rochester’s Roc City Roller Derby. Enjoy music by the Snake Oil Salesmen and the Fall Creek Brass Band at halftime with DJs Bob and Luke spinning bout-time tracks.
Doors open at 4:30 pm and the first whistle blows at 5 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults. Kids aged 12 and under are admitted for free. Tickets for this bout and the entire 2010 season are now available through the leagues newly-designed website, http://www.ithacarollerderby.com. Tickets also available at the Ticket Center at Center Ithaca on the Ithaca Commons. For information on riding the ILWR Fan Van from Ithaca to Cortland, e-mail events@ithacarollerdery.com.
The J.M. McDonald Sports Complex is located at 4292 Fairgrounds Drive in Cortland. Join your favorite skaters after the bout for more fun and music at Hairy Tony’s Pub and Fare in downtown Cortland.
A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to support the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation.
Get ready to roll!
Junior Derby is Rolling Into Ithaca!
ILWR’s SufferJets and BlueStockings welcome
Ithaca’s newest roller girls. If you’re ready to roll,
register now for a hot summer of roller derby.
Roller Derby’s Sisterhood
Ithaca’s SufferJets may have ironic skate names and elaborate uniforms,
but on the track, it’s all business
By Rachel Dickinson
Smithsonian.com, October 02, 2009
