Rose City Rollers

Just watched the rose buds championship today and was hooked at how much fun and how energetic roller derby is! It was so easy to feel a connection to the sport, pick a favorite team, and favorite players (Go Jewella de vil!) and get lost in the excitement of the game. Announcers are animated and the fans are passionate. Go support the Rose city rollers!

When my friend said she wanted to go to a roller derby bout, I was skeptical. «How the heck can you have fun watching people skate around in a circle?» I asked. I was so wrong! Not only did I have a blast, but I got really into it. By the end of the night I had favorite players that I rooted for and was ecstatic when Portland’s team won the bout. If you are looking to have a great night with friends, hit up the Rose City Rollers and watch these girls kick some major a$$!

My first time to watch roller derby, and boy, was it fun! Lots of bench seating, a few couches up front, but those cost a little bit more (regular tickets $ 16, guaranteed seating $ 20) which is not a bad deal. The game last for an hour and half with halftime, (no show, just a chance to stretch out and get a drink or something) saw Axles of Annihilation against Reign of Terror, and it was a very good game. Will definitely be back, I recommend it to anyone who has never been to a roller derby game before, and of course to the seasoned fan.

Maximum Bad Ass-​ary.
A good portion of each bout (which is derby speak for a round) I spend with my hands cupped over my mouth or my eyes, peeking out. As each women takes a hit or marginally escapes her captors I can’t help but gasp. These women are nothing short of bad ass. They take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’ that’s for darn sure.
Roller Derby is such a great display of raw women power with a body positive edge. What’s not to love! If you don’t know how the game works but have an interest, Go! They explain it in some detail before the game starts and they have a booklet you can grab when you get in.
Our teams here in PDX are chock full of powerful women ready to take some hits and deliver some blows in the name of a win. Most note-​ably the High Rollers who come out skating with a straight up No Pity attitude. If your thinking about going to your first match, they would be a good team to see. Tickets are around $ 10 – 15 which is a small price to pay to watch these ladies leave it all out there in the rink.
Sometimes I find myself daydreaming of my parallel life as a roller derby girl. Mostly I think about my name. Names that caught my eye this last time were «Brawn Swanson» and «Licker n Split». As someone who gets unreasonably upset over a splinter I don’t know I’d make it very far in derby, but I have the utmost respect for these ladies.
When I was young I was all about Spice Girls and «Girl Power» but I like the flavor of power Rose City Rollers are brining much more.

Bad-​assness. What a great group of people to be a part of. Get involved… volunteer or skate… and join one of the best groups to hang out with in Portland

Fun to go see, either amateur or professional. It’s considered a rougher sport but most sports have their fair amount of injuries. The people are casual and friendly.

No bias here, not in this review.
These women are perfect. They can do no wrong. Go watch them, see for yourself. Prepare to have your mind blown.
Full disclosure: there mayyyy be a little bias in this review. I may or may not skate for RCR. Not any of the fancy «home teams,» or «travel teams,» but with the rtecreational program. That being said, I happen to know how much time, money, dedication and themselves that these amazing athletes put into derby. And really, they do it for YOU, the fan. Go for the fishnet-​induced rink burn, keep going to the top notch athleticism and a really fun time!

How awesome is it you get to live in a town where you get to Unilocal about a roller derby team? I can’t remember what train of thought led me to buy tickets to go, but we all ended up here. It was a lot of fun.
I mean where else will you see player names like, Crotch Rocket? That’s right, only where the bad ass chicks roll over each other on the loop, throwing elbows.
It was crazy packed when we went and I should have bought tickets a little sooner and we would have had seats. Instead we ended up standing up for the entire event and that sucked. It was still a lot of fun since it was something I’d never really seen in person.
It is something your should go see at least once.

This was a relaxed and silly fun thing to do on a super rainy Saturday night in Portland. Sure, there was a long line to get into the Coliseum, but it moved pretty fast, and once we got inside there were plenty of seats to pick between (and we weren’t in the special «rockstar TM» area; we sat a row behind them and had a great view). The matches were fast moving and interesting; it seemed like an event anyone from families with kids to tipsy 20 year olds could enjoy.

Hometown Throwdown (event August 13 – 15) is awesome! National level play including Seattle, New York, and California.

Wow, what a beautiful display! I don’t understand the rules (even after watching «Whip It!» which I would recommend as a primer and because Ellen Page is awesome, but it’s really an experience to watch these beautiful women trounce each other on roller skates. I think every woman that comes starts thinking about trying out for the team!
Other reasons that it’s awesome: women of all shapes and sizes seem really comfortable with their bodies and their athletic abilities, which seems to make this a great experience for women and probably a good thing in general. The announcers really bring you into the game.
PBR in the tall can. What else would you drink at a sporting event?!
Things to keep in mind: go with friends that can save your seat if you want to get up at any point after you’ve found a seat, the lines for beer are long, there are no real toilets, only outhouses, it gets a little warm in the hangar, and sometimes the seats are uncomfortable, if you get a seat at all, but hey, this isn’t supposed to be fancy. It all adds to the experience.

We went for a scrimmage so I don’t know how it compares to a normal match but if they are anything alike I am guessing a normal match would be awesome! It was super fun, we were entertained the whole time, and it was only $ 5 to get in for the scrimmage. I would recommend getting there early, it filled up pretty fast. Also, they have snacks for sale (cupcakes were really yummy) and beer and wine, which was really nice. One word of advice, if you want to understand what is going on brush up on your roller derby rules before you go, it was a confusing match for us (we had never seen roller derby before), but fun to watch none the less. Go, you will be happy you did!

Derby really is a lot of fun if you do it right. When watching a bout at the hangar, show up at least 30 minutes early so you can sit in a chair (unless you don’t mind rocking the bleachers or the ground), otherwise you won’t get choice seats. Get beer early, and avoid the line to the 2 porta potties.
If the bout is at the Expo Center, show up even earlier to get good seats. And beware of people trying to sit in the walkways in the bleachers (which makes it next to impossible to get up).
My favorite team to watch is Guns N’ Rollers, they have awesome players with a ton of character. Smack Ya Sideways and Blood Clottia rock my world!!!

Listen people. I got Derby fever and I got it bad. Since I attended the opening match of MMX, I’ve shirred responsibility, ignored family phone calls, eaten my weight in potato chips, and changed my work schedule to accommodate Derby events. These. Women. Rule.
At the same time it feels like an old-​timey, old-​fashioned, clean good time, it’s also totally raucous, out of control, and indulgent. Watching a bunch of super hot ladies beat the crap out of each other is more satisfying than I could have ever imagined. At the bout a few weeks ago, a chick was carried out on a stretcher. And sent to the ER. (She’s ok… nothing to worry about now.)
I fully support these folks and everything about the sport. I learned a TON at the first match and I can hardly wait to get even more involved.
Oh, and if you thought they were just a bunch of gals ready to knock each other over… they are super involved with many local and national charities, doing a ton of outreach, especially to young girls’ groups.
Go check it out. You won’t be sorry.
Yours,
Annibal Lector (my self-​appointed Derby name)

The Rose City Rollers
are little Portland’s instance of a nationwide revival of rollerderby.
These events are hands down the most enjoyable spectator sports events I have ever experienced.
After a flash debut at the Portland «Go By Train» Expo Center, the Rollers now split shows between the Center and a warehouse at Oaks Park. They go on the road and they host other teams here.
They currently have 4 regular teams, 2 all-​star traveling teams, a beginner team, a recreational team and a junior team.
All the regular teams have a costume theme, their «uniform», which helps keep the action on the floor clear. There are ridiculous half time shows, circus, small bikes, music.
The audience is made up of wildly cheering grandmothers, parents with kids, floppy haired emo’s, skinny jeans, slaves to the needle, pseudo punks, rockabillies, geeks, even seemingly regular people, in other words, a democratic cross section of Portland. People are friendly and united by the energy of the sport.
As was mentioned, parking at the Expo Center is expensive, so when you go to events there, take the MAX Yellow line. Beer there is very expensive, but it pays for our Metro public performance/​expo facilities, which receive little to no taxpayer operating subsidy.

Wow! Just had a great night at Portland Expo Center watching the Rose City Roller’s Semi Final Championship!
I’ve seen Roller Derby on TV, but seeing it in person is way cool.
The players are awesome, exciting and much fun to watch. The action, almost non-​stop. The place was packed but we didn’t see any crowd problems.
Great entertainment between play included, The Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers and The Wanderlust Circus. There was even a brief Michael Jackson tribute. These extra touches really make this a fantastic over-​the-​top event, there are some brains behind this show.
See more about Wanderlust Circus here:

This is a great production… The announcers/​emcees, the teams, «Miss Behave» the score presenter, the referees and all those behind the scenes. Great job!

Roller derby is always a good time.

The Rose City Rollers are top-​notch competitors in the national roller derby scene and were great hosts of the 2008 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association’s National Championship, «The Northwest Knockdown.»
These ladies have heart and put in countless hours training and handling the business of the league. Behind the fun derby names and cute uniforms, you’ll find some tough, hardworking, athletic and dedicated women who do it for the love of the sport and the roller derby movement.
If you haven’t checked out the fastest-​growing full contact sport in the country you better get on it and support your local rollergirls!

My friend from down the coast is really into the rollergirls and I like going to baseball games, so we made a sports weekend out of it, with Friday being the Beavs playing Tucson and Saturday having the 4 PDX teams playing to see who would play for the 2008 title.
We went to the Expo Center ($ 7 to park? Wow! No one else was having an event and the taxpayers paid for that place years ago… free parking puhleeze!) and were the first people in line. As more people came by we saw plenty of rollergirls come by and they were nice enough to hand out stickers, programs, etc. to us waiting in line. Great outfits too!
So the eye candy quotient was met but how about the actual bouts? If you want to see some girls who know what the heck they are doing, you won’t do any better for sports than a Rose City Rollers match. The amount of practice the girls put in was apparent and talent was in abundance for all four teams.
The crowd? They filled almost every seat in the place! Not any bad actors were seen by me. People in PDX are the nicest people! Oh okay, so I don’t live there and know all the warts but my impression of PDX people is 5 stars and I LOVE YOUR CITY!
I also LOVE YOUR ROLLERGIRLS!!! If you knew me then you also know I say «There’s two seasons, football season and Waiting For Football Season!». However, when the National Championships are held in November, my friend and I will almost certainly be there to watch the rollergirls from all over the nation play for 3 days. The PDX Wheels Of Justice will give a good account of themselves when it’s time and I’ll cheer my guts out for ‘em! How many hardcore football fans from out of town would give up their fave game for rollergirls? I would and that speaks volumes about how good the game is and how well it is played, not to mention I have a «dog in the fight» in terms of having a PDX/​Oregon team to root for.
Some day these girls could sell out the Rose Garden if someone has the vision to carry the sport forward to it’s full potential. They’re a blast to watch, they show great sportsmanship, they’re cute-​n-​sexy, they’re hard-​working and hustle. They’re everything one could want, including friendly!
Oregon at it’s best. PDX at it’s best. Go see the rollergirls and support them for all you’re worth as they are one of your city’s treasures, real people doing real things and doing it with complete enthusiasm and dedication.

These girls ROCK! They’ve been around since 2004 when a group of ladies decided to start a RD league in Portland. Now they have four local teams, one all-​star traveling team and a «fresh meat» team for those of us who aren’t ready to get whooped!
Check it out …