Let the good times roll

Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut isn’t the only place where you can find wheels a-turnin’ lately. Roller skating is as hot as ever and there are a number of roller sports that have novices and spectators alike spinning:

Roller Disco: Whether or not you even remember the Disco Days, you can pull on a pair of lycra jeans and lace up your skates. Hipster throwback events, such as Down & Derby bring hundreds of pairs of skates to club venues like LA’s Echoplex (18+), luring nightcrawlers to lace up and get their groove on. There’s even a Halloween version for fans of Thriller and Xanadu.

Roller Derby: Roller derby has long been acclaimed as an “alternative” sport , but with Whip It capturing the imagination of girls everywhere, it wouldn’t be surprising to soon start seeing high schools adding it to their varsity sport rosters. Offering a lot more than just the clichéd visual image of punk girls in fishnets and tattoos fighting their way around a rink, roller derby truly is a great feat of athletic prowess that screams almighty girl power. New Yorkers unable to score Yankees tickets can catch this weekend’s Gotham Girls Roller Derby double-header , when the Queens of Pain and Brooklyn Bombshells will be showing Seattle’s Sockit Wenches how it’s done.

Roller Hockey: Four-wheeled indoor roller hockey (a.k.a. Quad) may have gone the way of the roller skating waitress, but you may not have seen the last of it. Passionate players are trying to bring it back, and even if you retired your quads to the Salvation Army upon buying a pair of in-line skates, you’ll still be welcome in the rink.

(h/t to Trend Central)

Roller Derby film “Whip It” rocks

We’ve been following  the film Whip It since it was announced last year that Drew Barrymore would make her directorial debut helming the roller derby-themed coming-of-age story starring  Ellen Page.

So now, it’s finally time to hit the theatre and see this film on the big screen.  Whip It premieres this weekend and reviews have been universally great with pubs from New York Magazine to the LA Times  raving about every aspect of the film.

MSNBC writes “Whip It crackles with fun -
First-time director Drew Barrymore leaves other chick-flicks eating her dust.”

It’s something close to thrilling to see ‘Whip It,’ a fun female-empowerment movie that marks an impressively crowd-pleasing directorial debut for Drew Barrymore.

Women & Hollywood’s  Melissa Silverstein, whose reviews I always find spot on,  says:

Drew Barrymore not only directs, she produces the film and co-stars as Hurl Scout,  one of the skaters who constantly gets thrown out of the matches for kicking the sh*t out of the other women.  It’s hysterical.  And the best news to me is the confidence and comfort that Barrymore shows as a director.  It’s just that good. 

Whip It proves that films can be feminist and fun.  That in itself is worthy the price of admission.

(btw: If you’re not already familiar with  Women & Hollywood, it’s an indispensable guide to women in film. ) Melissa goes on to say that Barrymore and company should keep making films like this instead of the crap we normally see on screen that marginalizes girls and women (we all know which films she’s referring to). Couldn’t agree more.

Everything about this film rings true.  After working for months with  trainer Axles of Evil (a.k.a. Alex Cohen), and scrimmaging with some real L.A. Derby Dolls, Page proudly estimates that she did about 99% of her own skating seen on-screen.

The film is strong and funny, filled with joy and empowerment. Combine that with characters like Maggie Mayhem, Iron Maven and Smashley Simpson and a derby team called The Hurl Scouts what could be better? And for those wondering, a crucial question will finally be answered:  Skates or high heels?

The film also boasts an impressive cast including supporting roles by Marcia Gay Harden, Kristin Wiig and Juliette Lewis as well as a soundtrack of indie rock icons.

Whatever is on your schedule this weekend, make sure to make room for Whip It and help give this film the box office success it deserves.

Megabeth: Librarian and Roller Derby Gal

Looks like there’s no typical road to the  roller derby rink.

Resident grandmas can lay a smackdown as easily as the younger girls. In fact, women of all ages and sizes lace up to give it a shot.

Fifty-three-year-old Beth Hollis of Akron, OH is a soft-spoken, slender librarian by day and a kick ass roller derby athlete at night who smashes stereotypes and opponents on and off the track.

After many years of organizing the Akron-Summit County Library, Hollis decided she needed a hobby.  She is now Megabeth (get it?) and has broken noses and knocked skulls while skating for the Rubber City Rollergirls.

Hollis admits to loving the aggressive nature of the sport so Akronites beware – don’t even think about dodging library dues for an unreturned book.

Our Pretty Tough profile of the day.

Not your grandma’s Roller Derby

May 20, 2008 – The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), announced that it has partnered exclusively with Frozen Codebase to bring its brand of modern roller derby to the world of video games.

The gals at WFTDA are excited to be working with FCB on a groundbreaking new game. “We have long thought the sport was begging to be immortalized in game form, especially considering not everyone is willing to take the risks we do on the flat track. Now everyone can be a rollergirl – all of the fun, with none of the bruises!”

While further details of the video game’s development are pending, Frozen Codebase invites fans to participate on its user forums – visit http://www.frozencodebase.com/proto2/ - and look to their hometown WFTDA leagues for a glimpse of the action that is coming soon.

This ain’t your grandma’s Roller Derby. Skate on…

Juno’s Ellen Page to star in the Derby drama “Whip It”

Jan. 22, 2008 – Academy-award nominated actor Ellen Page (Juno) has been cast to star in the movie Whip It! Adapted from Shauna Cross’ young adult novel, Derby Girl,  the movie also marks actress Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut.

Slated to begin shooting in Texas this summer, the story revolves around Bliss, an indie-rock adoring, dyed-hair teen who wants out of her stereotypical Texas town, filled with cheerleaders and beauty queens (including her Mom).  Bliss makes her way to Austin where she joins a roller derby team and learns a thing or two about life and love.  FYI, Cross is a real roller derby gal; who goes by the name Maggie Mayhem.

See earlier post

Burn Calories…Do Roller Derby!

Studies show that an average 143 lb person skating at 10mps can  burn as much as 600 calories in an hour of roller skating. Most people average in the 6 mph range and will burn an average of 350 calories or greater. With most roller derby leagues, they practice for 2 hours totalling a caloric burn of over 1200 calories in a single practice.

Besides the sport of roller derby providing aerobic activity, it also provides the benfefits of muscle toning, strengthening and not to mention some nice bruises to show off to your friends and family.

Key benefits of roller skating:

• Low-impact exercise for joints
• High caloric burn
• Aerobically as good as jogging or cycling
• Involves all the major muscle groups
• Mentally uplifting

Where and when to roller skate:

• Roller rinks
• Parks and paved exercise pathways
• As a way to regain strength after an injury
• When you find exercise boring
• Winter or any day it’s impossible to exercise outdoors

Want to train to be a roller derby girl?

Then come to the Blood and Thunder National Derby camp! Hosted by the San Diego Derby Dolls, this will be four fun-filled days of skating, girl bonding and some hard hitting with roller derby girls of all levels, shapes and sizes from across the nation! The cost is $250.00.

www.bloodandthundermag.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodandthundercamp/

http://www.derbydolls.com/sd/index.html

LA Derby Dolls Championship Bout (Fight Crew Vs. Sirens) Sirens Win! 33-31

Congratulations Sirens!

http://derbydolls.com/la/index.html

Derby Diva: Drew Barrymore to direct roller derby film

Dec. 11, 2007 – According to Production Charts, Drew Barrymore will make her feature film directing debut next year with Whip It,  a tale of the high-energy world of roller derby.

The film is in pre-production, with no casting announcements made yet. In Hollywood-speak, this means that the film may or may not ever get off the ground but we can only hope.

Shauna Cross (aka Maggie Mayhem) , the screenwriter, is a member of the Los Angeles Derby Dolls and author of the teen-oriented novel called Derby Girls. The producer is Nancy Juvonen, Barrymore’s partner in Flower Films, who’s produced just about everything Barrymore’s been in recently, including Fever Pitch, 50 First Dates,  Charlie’s Angels,  and  Never Been Kissed.

The official synopsis describes Whip It as the story of  a small-town, teenage girl who discovers the world of roller derby and must decide if she’s willing to go against her parents and friends in order to pursue the sport she loves. No word yet whether it’s banked or flat track derby.

All sounds good, as long as the Devo song doesn’t play under the credits.

Roller Derby is Back!

This isn’t your mama’s roller derby either. The sport is Flat Track Roller Derby.

Flat track Roller Derby is the revival of the Roller Derby you may have seen years ago on TV on a banked track. Unlike a banked track (as you may have seen on the TV show ‘Rollergirls’), flat track Derby is played on.. you guessed it.. a flat track. Leagues play on all kinds of surfaces from hard wood, to sport court, to concrete.

Each roller derby league participates in a game or match, in the derby world we call it a  ”bout”. Each bout consists of three 20-minute periods. Each period consists of a number of jams’s which are a maximum of two minutes long. A typical jam consists of five rollergirls from each team; one jammer, one pivot, and three blockers. The jammer scores the points for her team, the pivot maintains the speed and order of her pack, and the blockers attempt to prevent the opposing team’s jammer from scoring points while assisting their own jammer in getting through the pack. The jammer scores one point for each opposing team member she passes.

A number of all-female leagues (48 as of September 2007) are members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA, formed in 2005), which coordinates and sets the rules that govern inter-league competition among its members. The WFTDA member leagues create “travel” teams who play against each other in regional matches, although some leagues that are not WFTDA members have independently arranged their own travel teams and inter-league bouts.

WFTDA also publishes rankings and organizes annual championship tournaments for its members in good standing.

While not directly affiliated, many independent leagues around the world have adopted the WFTDA rules and standards either completely or as a foundation for their own rules.

There are currently over 200 DIY Womens Flat Track Roller Derby leagues in the United States, Canada and parts of Europe and the sport is growing more and more every day! This sport empowers women of all shapes, sizes and age. There are no limits to who can participate  –  mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts along with doctors, teachers and even stay-at-home-moms live for this sport which makes it all that much better.

For more information on womens flat track roller derby visit:

http://www.derbyroster.com/

www.wftda.com

www.viaderby.com