As the sport of roller derby progresses, ILWR is striving to stay competitive. In order to do that we need a practice space we can use year round. We’ve been searching for 4 years now and have yet to have a place to call our own. So, we’ve decided to extend this search to the community. Not only will you be helping us continue to bring you the action-packed entertainment we know you love, but we have some pretty nice prizes for whomever can find us our home.

We are looking for a space that is a minimum of 100 feet x 65 feet of open floor area. It is preferred that there be no obstructions or columns, but depending on placement, we can work around them. The floor surface should be dry and as level as possible; wood, concrete, tile, etc. are all acceptable surfaces. Our league owns a portable floor that we can lay down to protect the surface underneath and provide a safe skating surface for us. Access to a restroom, electricity, storage space, and heat are preferred. The damp weather this year has been figuratively raining on our parade, so climate control would be a big plus.

ILWR is a non-profit organization seeking a space that is financially sustainable for our league. We are willing to trade advertising for rent and/or rent being considered a tax-deductible donation to the league.

Our coverage through WFTDA insurance includes General Liability and Excess Liability in the amount of $5 million, aggregate, as well as accidental medical coverage for skaters. We can provide references from previous facility managers if requested.

If you have a suggestion or a lead – please enter as much information as you know in our form.

Saturday, September 24th

Members of the Ithaca League of Women Rollers will be rolling on the Rhine!

Presented by The History Center in Tompkins County and the West End Waterfront District Association of Ithaca, this daylong street fair, taking place in Ithaca’s historic Waterfront District, celebrates the ‘bad old days’ of Ithaca’s Waterfront.

Look out for our “bad” rollergirls rolling along the Rhine all day Saturday, September 24. They have bout tickets, league info, buttons, and are quick on their feet. Catch them while you can!

More Info about the Rhiner’s Fest.

• Ithaca League of Women Rollers
• Roc City Roller Derby
• Queen City Roller Girls
• Gotham Girls Roller Derby
• Long Island Roller Rebels
• Central New York Roller Derby
• Hudson Valley Roller Derby

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) is the international governing body for the sport of women’s flat track roller derby, and a membership organization for leagues to collaborate and network. The WFTDA sets standards for rules, seasons, and safety, and determines guidelines for the national and international athletic competitions of member leagues. There are currently 124 WFTDA member leagues and 65 leagues in the WFTDA Apprentice Program.

Founded in 2004, the WFTDA promotes and fosters the sport of women’s flat track roller derby by facilitating the development of athletic ability, sportswomanship, and goodwill among member leagues.

The governing philosophy of the WFTDA is “by the skaters, for the skaters.” Female skaters are primary owners, managers, and/or operators of each member league and of the association. Operational tasks include setting standards for rules, seasons, and safety, and determining guidelines for the national and international athletic competitions of member leagues.

Post-tournament Update: The SufferJets are trickling back to Ithaca after competing at the Empire Skate Showdown on Saturday, September 3. Our skaters had a terrific time with a chance to play in 4 thirty minute bouts. The tournament style was double elimination with nine teams and 17 bouts.

Starting off the first bracket against our sister league Assault City Roller Derby, the SufferJets went in for a fight, after having lost an early season private scrimmage with ACRD this past spring. Always a great team to bout against, in a quick thirty minutes the final score was 128-21, a solid win for the SufferJets.

This win meant we next would play the Gotham Girls Roller Derby’s Wall Street Traitors. In an excellent match-up the skaters of both teams were fighting for every point. Final score: 59-38, a win for the SufferJets. An especially meaningful win since the SufferJets suffered losses to the Traitors at both the ESS last year (final score 32-53) and at their recent May home game in Ithaca (final score 102-125).

Something about this win made us very happy – check out the photo set from superfan Liz Hoyt: SufferJets vs. Traitors. Ultimately we were the only team able to beat the Traitors out of their 7 games.

Following these two high notes of the day, the SufferJets had several hours over the afternoon to watch some of the other bouts, grab a bit to eat, get new gear and merch from the many vendors representing including Black Mamba, Five Stride Skate Shop and our own CinderBlockerElla.

The action started again at 6pm with a bout versus Central New York Roller Derby (CNYRD). In a true showdown the two teams battled it out in an intense game! SufferJets jammers suffered quite a few penalties giving CNYRD some more chances to focus on scoring – ultimately helping them to edge in a win – final score: 35-46 – one of the lowest scoring bouts of the day – a testament to the very defensive play of both teams.

And finally the fourth bout, a decisive bout (for the SufferJets) that would decide if the winners would go on for one more game or finish at 4 bouts, the SufferJets took on the Long Island Roller Rebels, also hosts of ESS. Here the SufferJets were working hard to get jams going (many stalls initiated by LIRR just in front of the jam line by kneeling or holding a wall in front of the jammers). A tough bout and a long day finally took its toll, and the SufferJets were overtaken by LIRR 56-115.

The action didn’t stop there! Bouts continued into the late evening as the teams who made it into the championship brackets continued playing: Wall Street Traitors, CNYRD, Hellions of Troy (an amazing comeback from last year’s last place!), and Long Island Roller Rebels.

The Traitors, satisfying the double-elimination structure of this year’s tournament, then went on to play CNYRD twice in a row, winning both times.  This placed the Traitors first, CNYRD second and the Hellions of Troy third. A great day for derby in New York, and almost all New York state leagues participated in the tournament. We are very grateful for all the hard work by the tournament hosts, Long Island Roller Rebels, and the many volunteers, bout officials and referees in putting together and coordinating such an excellent tournament. Can’t wait for next year!

A tradition following bouts is for each team to acknowledge outstanding play exhibited by one of their opponents,  and our very own Momo-A-Gogo was awarded this honor for ILWR at the Empire Skate Showdown.

Momo-A-Gogo MVP for ILWR ESS 2011

Photo sets from the tournament are coming in from the many dedicated photographers who so generously share their expertise and photographic eye!

Please take a look & as always please credit the photographer:

Manish Gosalia – ACRD vs ILWR

Manish Gosalia – Traitors vs ILWR

Pete Rodriquez – ESS 2011
(go to the flickr set: ESS 2011)

Sean Hale – Rollerderby Photography – ACRD vs ILWR

Luna Obscura – CNYRD vs ILWR

Luna Obscura – LIRR vs ILWR

As more photosets show up we’ll try to post them.

A rare photo here showcasing the volunteer photographers gathered for LIRR.  Usually you won’t find these folks in front of a camera

Look for ILWR’s B team – the Ithaca BlueStockings to play the Crown City Rollerz in an exciting rematch on September 10th in Ithaca. More info here. Both the SufferJets and the BlueStockings will close out the 2011 home season with a final match at Cass Park Rink in Ithaca on October 1. The SufferJets will play Philly Roller Girl’s Independence Dolls and the BlueStockings will play Hudson Valley’s zomBsquad. We hope to see you enjoying one of our final 2011 home bouts soon!

Empire Skate Showdown Strikes Back 2011 Final Scores from all 17 bouts: (courtesy of DNN-Derby News Network)

Coney Island Freakshows 53
Union Squares 213
(men’s derby)

Assault City 21
Ithaca 122

Roc City 72
Long Island 70

Hudson Valley 40
Hellions of Troy 67

Albany 37
Central NY 80

Ithaca 59
Gotham Wall Street Traitors 38

Long Island 88
Assault City 18

Albany 10
Gotham Wall Street Traitors 189

Hudson Valley 19
Long Island 86

Hellions of Troy 74
Roc City 71

Ithaca 35
Central NY 46

Roc City 71
Gotham Wall Street Traitors 77

Long Island 115
Ithaca 39

Central NY 86
Hellions of Troy 32

Long Island 25
Gotham Wall Street Traitors 64

Gotham Wall Street Traitors 115
Hellions of Troy 23

Central NY 26
Gotham Wall Street Traitors 93

Central NY 41
Gotham Wall Street Traitors 92

Ithaca’s SufferJets and BlueStockings want more jeerleaders, dangit!

Help lead crowds of up to a thousand jazzed fans with cheers, skits, energy, and fun.

Bring a skill, bring enthusiasm, bring it on!

Men or women age 18 and up. You come with the heart – we can teach the rest.

Man up, Woman up, Suit up! Tryouts are Sunday, August 21st at 6:30 pm. in NE Ithaca.

Contact kungfoolfighter@hotmail.co​m or 607-351-1088 for location and more details.

Share the Facebook invite!

We’ve also had a fabulous response to our ILWR Tile Drive - it’s not too late to get your name on the track! The Ithaca League of Women Rollers Tile Drive campaign allows fans and sponsors to virtually “purchase” the floor tiles that make up our skating surface, starting at just $20/tile. Each contribution gets us closer to our $15,000 facility improvement funding goal!

Check our bout programs and see all the local businesses that support roller derby. You rock, we roll.

Tiohero Tours | Cayuga Radio Group | Volvo Rents Construction Equipment | Miller’s Motorworks | Simply Red Bistro | Bodyworks Massage | Advance Moving Co., Inc. | Clayburg Creative | Gorges Web Development & Internet Solutions | The Rhine House | Delilah’s on Cayuga | The Westy | GreenStar Natural Foods Market | Planned Parenthood | Angry Mom Records | Red Feet Wine Market & Spirit Provisions | BSI Production | Inn on Columbia | incandescent software | Cayuga Xpress | Collegetown Family Dental | Communiqué Design & Marketing | Ithaca Carshare | Tom Murray of Pyramid Brokerage | B&W Restaurant Supply | Photographers: Lauren Comly & Peter Korolov | Your Name Here?

	Platinum Skates Angry Mom Records Cayuga Xpress Cayuga Radio Group
	Golden Skates Planned Parenthood
	Silver Skates Delilah’s on Cayuga Damiani Wine Cellers Collegetown Family Dental (new office of Fall Creek Dentistry) Red Feet Wine Market & Spirit Provisions Gorges Web Development & Internet Solutions Ithaca Carshare
	Black & Blue After Party Sponsors Delilah’s on Cayuga The Westy The Rhine House
	Skater Sponsors SufferJets GreenStar Cooperative Market – MaMadusa Planned Parenthood – Pl Anne B Simply Red Bistro – Chairman Meow Chapter House Brew Pub – Gunder n Lightning Ithaca Bakery – AKT*47 Momo-a-Gogo – Anonymous Ithaca Carshare – CamArrow Rasa Spa – Fat Dracula BlueStockings Life’s So Sweet Chocolates – Sugar Blitz Pure Romance by Alexa – Rage Against the Vagene ILWR Inn on Columbia – Coach Tiny Bubbles

Psychedelic Nightmare & Spunky Bruzer

by Spunky Bruzer
Ithaca League of Women Rollers
BlueStockings Team Member

On Thursday, April 7, Psychedelic Nightmare and I had the honor of being invited to help a group of Elmira College students do a truly unique presentation for “Daring Girls Day” as part of their Women in Society class.

The students did their homework and shared information on the history of roller derby and the current version of the sport. Then they had a little fun and broke up the class into small teams and made them choose derby names and team names. After which, me and Nightmare judged them on their creativity by choosing which team we would like to join. Throughout the class we jumped in with our perspectives as participants in the sport and how it has affected our lives, plus we got to do a few demos. And at the end we helped the class play a little sock derby! All in all, it was a VERY fun way to spend two hours and I’m pretty sure we have some new fans. So look for a band of EC students at our bouts!

And the best part?… the girls aced the assignment!

Elmira College Students with BlueStockings Team Members

Rachel Ferro’s Highlights of April 17 Ithaca SufferJets vs. Roc City Roller Derby

Ithaca SufferJets vs. Roc City Rollers from Floralia Films on Vimeo.

Highlights from the March 27 ILWR SufferJets vs QCRG Suicidal Saucies Bout at Buffalo

Shatterbug’s Photos!

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

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

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!