ROCK douses Chemical Valley

Late grand slams spark crowd

By Sunny Montgomery

I must confess: I have never gotten much into sports.  I am far too high strung.  I care far too much about winning.  And the fact is my poor anxious heart just cannot handle competition.  I was reminded of these things on July 30 at Heritage Hall when the Rollergirls of Central Kentucky (ROCK) faced off against West Virginia’s Chemical Valley Rollergirls (CVRG) during a true nail-biter of a bout.

I attended the bout with my mother, her boyfriend and his thirteen year old granddaughter, Cassie.  It was their first roller derby.  “We’re cheering for the pink and black team,” I told them as we settled in our seats behind the suicide seating.

Suicide seating, I explained, is the area around the edge of the track.  Attendees are allowed to sit cross-legged there as long as they are 18 years or older since skaters can easily skid off the track and into their lap, though I hadn’t actually witnessed that happen yet.

I explained to them that points were scored for every opposing Blocker that a Jammer could maneuver past.  “Sounds easy,” Cassie shrugged.

ROCK and CVRG have similar styles of play: fast and strong, a certain recipe for unruly competition.  “It’s not just about brute force,” co-announcer Mike Trusty reminded the audience.  “It’s about strategy.”  But the physicality was extraordinary.  Multiple skaters crashed headlong into the suicide seating as fans screamed and cheered. The penalty box stayed so busy that girls had to wait their turn to take a seat.  At one point, ROCK’s Bitty Bast’rd slammed so hard into an opposing blocker that the arena went silent when she did not get up immediately.  Skaters dropped down on one knee in solidarity as medical staff rushed onto the track.  A few seconds later, Bitty was back on her feet—and back in the bout before very long.

Although CVRG was a less experienced team, they had impressive stamina and scored an impressive amount of points per jam.  They took the lead early and maintained it throughout almost the entire bout.

With 25 minutes to go, CVRG had a 35 point lead.  “It’s still anyone’s game,” Trusty assured.  A new jam began.  ROCK’s ­Sugar Shock became lead jammer.   She shouldered and dodged her way through the pack and around the track.  Then she did it a second time for a grand slam.  And then a third time.  And then a fourth to tally up nearly 20 points!  I gripped the edge of my seat as the scoreboard flickered and CVRG’s steady lead began to dwindle.

As if to fulfill Trusty’s prophecy, suddenly, ROCK was unstoppable.  The tension was fierce.  When an opposing rollergirl went down, the crowd tossed their fists in the air with uproarious delight.  The smallest children stuck their fingers in their ears.  An older man in a CVRG t-shirt screamed at the refs from the sidelines.  With less than ten minutes on the clock, ROCK took their first lead of the night: 107 to 101.

Yes, it was a true-nail biter of a bout. In the end, ROCK withstood their drive and won: 124 to 110.  Afterward, I looked at Cassie.  Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were red.  “Well, what do you think?”  I asked.  She was clutching ROCK’s program to her chest.  She wanted to get the team to autograph it.  I watched her walk boldly out onto the track and I remembered being 13 years old.  I would have never had the courage to do that.  But in hindsight, what did I know about girl-power back then?