LVRG vs. Auld Reekie Roller Girls - Bout Wrap Up - 6/27/13

Traveling over 3300 miles, United Kingdom’s Auld Reekie Roller Girls (ARRG) overcame jet lag and some mild culture shock last night to play against the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls (LVRG). 

From the first whistle, Auld Reekie’s team, the Twisted Thistles, were no joke and immediately gained lead jammer status and a 14-0 advantage.  But immediately after, LVRG’s jammer Toxic Shock was escorted through the pack by blockers Hell Razin’ Hussy and Loogie Vuitton to respond by getting lead jammer status for LVRG. 

The game play went back and forth for a few jams, building the score up to 51-37 (ARRG) after 15 minutes passed in the first half. However, the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls quickly regained composure and took advantage of the Auld Reekie’s blockers getting penalties.  With the help of LVRG jammers Betty Switch and Ginga Railed U, LVRG caught up and became the points leader with a score of 58-67.

LVRG’s blockers Evol Kitty and Rose Beef (before having her jersey ripped) showed their strategic skills by forcing cut majors on the jammers from Edinburgh, which helped LVRG capitalize on some much needed power jams. With 3 minutes left in the first half of game play, LVRG was up in points 65-90.  LVRG blockers, lead by Captain Lin Diesel, Levelin Levi, Helen DaRink and Daisy Destructo, held ARRG to a tight score by forming solid defensive walls and pushing out their jammers. The score at the end of the first half favored LVRG, 77-94.

At the start of the second half, ARRG came out with intensity lead by jammer Admiral Attackbar #1111 and by some deadly hitting by blocker Minnie Riot #7.  This burst of energy from ARRG resulted in some much needed points, which caught the score up to 97-98 (LVRG) with 24 minutes left in the game.  Soon after, LVRG’s Chikki Sixx showed some impressive blocking holding back ARRG’s jammer and giving LVRG’s MJ SlamHer the opportunity to score points.

LVRG found themselves with some penalty trouble late in the second half, which opened the door for the Auld Reekie Roller girls. ARRG used this advantage and creeped their score up to 112-98 with 20 minutes left in the half.  LVRG Jammer Arista Crash did her best to fight through the pack and get lead, and nudged LVRG’s score up again by a few points.

With a win still within reach, LVRG got penalty heavy sending both blockers and jammers to the penalty box giving ARRG some power jams.  Auld Reekie’s Twisted Thistles showed no mercy and pulled ahead to a 160-106 lead by taking advantage of their power jams.  With 6 minutes left in the half, ARRG was awarded two additional power jams and closed the door on LVRG.  The final score brought a win to ARRG with a final score of 190-123.

MVPs:

LVRG- Betty Switch # 90 (Jammer) , Evol Kitty #150 (Blocker)

ARRG- Admiral Attackbar #1111 (Jammer), Mo B Quick #66 (Blocker)

Looking ahead, the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls’ next game is on July 13^th against New River Valley Roller Derby from Christianburg, VA.

Find us online at: http://www.lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

All functions will be held at the Independence Family Fun Center, 4345 Independence Dr, Schnecksville, PA.

For more information about becoming a skater or official, contact us at join@lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

A big thank you to all of the volunteers, officials, friends, and family that make our team the best in the Lehigh Valley. This is as much your team as it is ours. Thank you.

All photos are by Christie Winkler.

SVU vs. Iron Mountain Roller Girls Bout Wrap Up - 6/15/13

This past Saturday, the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls’ Special Vixens Unit (SVU) traveled to Cumberland, MD to face off against the Iron Mountain Roller Girls.  Iron Mountain was a complete wild card of a team going into this bout, as we had no information as to what LVRG was getting into by accepting their challenge to bout.  

From the first whistle, SVU broke away with an early 13 to 1 lead over the Iron Mountain Roller Girls. This lead was secured by all three of SVU’s main Jammers; MJ SlamHer, Arista Crash and Thelma Van.   In the back of the pack, blockers Stella Mac and Daisy Destructo were noticeable anchors to a strong LVRG wall, which helped to push the Special Vixens Unit score up to 65 to 5 by the 8^th jam.  In a quick change up, the Iron Mountain Roller Girls made a minor adjustment to their strategy and caught up a little bit by capitalizing on a few power jams.

 

Half way through the first half, the score was 83-31 (SVU).  SVU was dominating at the jam line with blockers Tortellina Temptress, She Rocks, DTainHer and Beck-N-Hateher supporting a solid defensive wall. At the end of the first half, the score was 168-64, favoring LVRG.

In the second half of game play, SVU decided to rotate in new jammers lead by Captain Wayward Stay.   Wayward’s aggressiveness on the track proved that she was there to produce points, and did so LVRG's other Jammers, Double Barrel Hot Gunz and Maulecule (getting lead jammer in her first SVU away bout).   The score continued to climb to 250 to 127. With the Iron Mountain Roller Girls’s Jammer in the penalty box, LVRG Jammer Kate “Bananas” Santee, produced a big power jam for LVRG. The crowd went crazy with excitement as Kate skated since this was her very first bout with the league.  The Special Vixens Unit continued to power through the second half of game play and secured the win with a final score of 269-142.

Kate "Bananas" Santee

Looking ahead, LVRG’s Hissy Fits will be playing a closed bout on June 27^th against United Kingdom’s Auld Reekie Roller Girls, the Twisted Thistles.  

Find us online at: http://www.lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

All functions will be held at the Independence Family Fun Center, 4345 Independence Dr, Schnecksville, PA.

For more information about becoming a skater or official, contact us at join@lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

A big thank you to all of the volunteers, officials, friends, and family that make our team the best in the Lehigh Valley. This is as much your team as it is ours. Thank you.

All photos are by Christie Winkler.

Tortellina Temptress-LVRG's Skater of the Month

With a name that sounds like she is from the LVRG Skate Mafia, Tortellina Temptress is one of those skaters that you will surely remember when she takes you out on the track.  LVRG’s Skater of the Month, Michelle Messa-Hess, also known by the nickname Torte, has been a long time member of the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls and is here to stay.

Tortellina started with LVRG in January of 2008 after hearing about the team from co-worker and founder of LVRG, Elaina Borchelt.  Her derby name was certainly intended to be a mobster-esk name (she’s Italian).  She said that she picked the dangerously sexy name, Tortellina Temptress, because it sounded tough and is a spin-off of her favorite Italian pasta, tortellinis.

Torte was asked what inspired her in roller derby. She stated, “the revival of the sport overall is what really inspires me.  Roller derby today isn’t like how it was back in the 70’s where skaters were paid to play and a lot of it was staged theatrics.  The concept of creating and managing a roller derby league that is run by the skaters who play the sport is incredible.  Most sports, like soccer clubs, little league, etc., the dues are paid to ensure a place on a roster and roller derby is nothing like that.  Every little bit of money – dues, fundraising, ticket sales from bouts – goes right back into maintaining the league.  I don’t get paid to play roller derby; I pay to play the sport I love and I’m not guaranteed a place on rosters.  But I will continue to be part of this amazing sport because when I’m out on the track I know everyone’s common goal; their love of roller derby.”

When not hip checking her opponent, Tortellina Temptress works full time as a Dialysis Product Associate for a medical device company in Harleysville, PA.  She also likes to go to the gym to cross train or is found relaxing and hanging out with her husband, Mike (aka “Sprinkles” to the derby community).

Additionally, Tortellina is also the Marketing Manager for the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls. As the Marketing Manager for LVRG, her main focus for the 2013 season is to exemplify roller derby as a legitimate team sport and to expand LVRG’s presence in the Lehigh Valley.  She works closely with our Public Relations team who has been distributing formal press releases to area media networks announcing our home bouts and upcoming events.  As a result, LVRG has been featured on WFMZ-TV 69 News, The Morning Call, Patch.com, Lehigh Valley Marketplace magazine, and various local media sites and blogs.  In addition to working with Public Relations, she also coordinates LVRG’s participation in community events throughout the Lehigh Valley.  So far for the year, LVRG participated in the Allentown St. Patrick’s Day parade, Bethlehem’s Celtic Classic Parade of Shamrocks, Skindustry Tattoo Expo, and Color Me Rad 5K – Bethlehem.  Our upcoming events include the Allentown Freak Out Fringe Festival and the PBS39 3^rd Annual MicroBrew Festival on June 22^nd and the Moravian Hall Square Silver Solstice Concert on June 25^th.

Tortellina Temptress was asked what it is like to be on the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls. She explained, “it’s almost like watching a child grow up.  In terms of the league itself, I’ve watched LVRG grow out the early days of derby where it was “rough and tumble” with fast skating and hard hits and roller derby being almost like a novelty, to where we are today with the league embodying a legitimate, athletic, and strategic representation of the sport.  As an individual skater, I have gone through various ups and downs, but have also experienced a lot of growth overall with my team.  I am proud to say that I was one of the skaters who voted for LVRG to become members of the WFTDA and have been with the league since then to watch us grow into that role.  Overall, being a part of this league is being part of something so much bigger.  You really just have to join and experience it for yourself the transformations - not only that the league goes through, but what you, yourself will go through.” 

Fast Facts about Torte:

1. She took dance classes - ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, acrobatics, and baton - for 12 years.

2. She absolutely hates coconut, unless its coconut milk used in curry. 

3. Her favorite number is 29 because she shares her birthday with her grandmother – July 29^th.  Hence her derby number, “29” and her wedding day - September “29”, 2013.

4. She can wiggle her bottom eyelashes.

Torte and the rest of the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls will be skating this weekend in Cumberland, MD to take on the Iron Mountain Roller Girls on June 15^th.

Looking ahead, the Hissy Fits will be playing a closed bout on June 27^th against United Kingdom’s Auld Reekie Roller Girls, the Twisted Thistles.  

Find us online at: http://www.lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

All functions will be held at the Independence Family Fun Center, 4345 Independence Dr, Schnecksville, PA.

For more information about becoming a skater or official, contact us at join@lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

A big thank you to all of the volunteers, officials, friends, and family that make our team the best in the Lehigh Valley. This is as much your team as it is ours. Thank you.

LVRG vs Broad Street Butchers Bout Wrap Up 6/9/13

This past Sunday, the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls’ (LVRG) Hissy Fits traveled to Philadelphia to play the Philadelphia Roller Girls' Broad Street Butchers.  According to flattrackstats.com, LVRG was the heavy underdog going into this bout. It was expected that the Broad Street Butchers, ranked 113^th in North America out of 1354 teams, would beat LVRG (ranked 353), with a point spread of 45 points for every 16.  The Broad Street Butchers came prepared with veterans on their team that also skate for the WFTDA Chartered All Star Philadelphia Liberty Belles, such as Shenita Stretcher, Teflon Donna, Antidote, Copper Top, Damage Dahl, and Devoida Mercy. Whereas LVRG came with their usual blocking iron curtain containing Lin Diesel, Rose Beef, Chikki Sixx, Loogie Vuitton, Levilin Levi, Hell Razin’ Hussy, Arista Crash and Helen DaRink.

Both teams came out heated from the first whistle.  The Lehigh Valley Rollergirls got ahead quickly in the first few jams with a swift 7-4 lead by both LVRG jammers Betty Switch and Ginga Railed U getting lead jammer status.  The first half of game play was an all out head to head brawl.  Within the first 20 minutes of play, LVRG’s jammers were flawless and stayed out of the penalty box. This is when LVRG was able to capitalize on a few power jams against Philadelphia and took a quick 25 point lead over the Broad Street Butchers.  Towards the end of the first half, Philadelphia’s Shenita Stretcher turned on some great blocking and forced a LVRG jammer cut track, sending LVRG’s jammer to the box and allowing Philadelphia to catch up and match the LVRG score of 57 to 57. The Broad Street Butchers then began to build momentum and broke away with lead jammer status for the remaining jams of the period. This brought Philly an additional 40 points, awarding them as the points leader at the end of the first half of game play.

It was still any body’s game, as the second half was just as feverish as the first.  Both teams physically were aggressive and strategically attempted to outplay the other.  Philadelphia’s jammers Teflon Donna and Antidote were matched toe to toe with LVRG’s jammers MJ Slammer and Toxic Shock.  Pound for pound, these girls were so closely matched that the game was ultimately mismatched by preparedness of strategy against a great Philadelphia defense. In the second half of game play LVRG was given many opportunities to capitalize on power jams.  However, with Philadelphia’s tight defense, the point scoring potential was limited. Without changing up their strategy, LVRG fell short when they should have excelled.  Power jams aside, LVRG maintained a steady stream of points on the scoreboard throughout the entire game and more so in the second half of play. But overall, when the opportunity was presented, the Broad Street Butchers were the team that capitalized during their jams of advantage and pulled ahead for a win over LVRG with a final score of 243-161.  The Broad Street Butchers were overall a team that played cohesively with strength and strategy.  Their hard work off the track was truly visible through their passion on the track.  Although a loss to LVRG, they increased their standings on flattrackstats.com by 12.1 points and performed at a much less point differential (only 24 to 16) than expected.  The MVPs of the game were Evol Kitty from LVRG and Sue E. Side Hotline from Philadelphia.

Looking ahead, the Hissy Fits will be playing a closed bout on June 27^th against United Kingdom’s Auld Reekie Roller Girls, the Twisted Thistles.  This bout will be evenly matched as both teams are within 4 rankings of each other in the East Coast division of WFTDA. 

Lehigh Valley’s Special Vixens Unit will also travel this weekend to Cumberland, MD to match up with the Iron Mountain Roller Girls on June 15^th.  

Find us online at: http://www.lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

All functions will be held at the Independence Family Fun Center, 4345 Independence Dr, Schnecksville, PA.

For more information about becoming a skater or official, contact us at join@lehighvalleyrollergirls.com

A big thank you to all of the volunteers, officials, friends, and family that make our team the best in the Lehigh Valley. This is as much your team as it is ours. Thank you.





Broad Street Butcher photo by Joellen Leather-Urban

All LVRG photos by Jim Rhoades. See Jim Rhoades' derby pictures at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/clickdastardly/sets/.