Amherst home to roller derby stars (Part 1)

This is part 1 of a 4 part series devoted to local members of the New Hampshire Roller Derby.

When you think of Amherst, roller derby might not come to mind but in town we have three stars from New Hampshire Roller Derby (NHRD), the state’s first all-female flat track roller derby league. Skaters Gina “SS Trixie” Kilby, Brenda “Sin D. Lap-Her” Bach and referee Dan “Woody Yankabitch” Weldon lace up their roller skates for the 3rd annual “Roller Consolation” this Saturday, July 31, 2010 hosted by the NHRD at the JFK Coliseum in Manchester, NH.

Visit the NHRD website for more details and a full schedule.

Manchester is host to two separate roller derby organizations. The NHRD are members of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) – the primary governing and sanctioning body of the sport, akin to the MLB or NBA. Like the NHRD teams, the ManchVegas Rollergirls are their own entity playing according to WFTDA rules, but they are not affiliated with any specific sanctioning body.

NHRD is a skater-run non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes women’s athleticism while giving back to the local community. The team was formed in July 2007 and is the state’s oldest and largest amateur women’s flat track roller derby league. Currently, there are over 90 active members including skaters, referees, and volunteers and boasts four teams:

• The Skate Free or Die! All-Stars (travel throughout the northeast and will become eligible for national tournaments and ranking in 2011)
• Queen City Cherry Bombs (travel throughout New England and are fresh off a road win against Connecticut Rollergirls’ Yankee Brutals!)
• Seabrook Meltdowns and the Granite Skate Troopers who are home teams and only compete against each other.

How a game of roller derby works according to NHRD:

“Each team sends five skaters onto the track: a jammer, a pivot, and three blockers…
The two pivots line up on the starting line with the blockers behind them. The two jammers line up 33 feet behind the starting line. A ref blows the whistle, the pivots and blockers start skating, the whistle blows again, the jammers start skating and the jam is on.

The jammers have to skate through the pack of pivots and blockers, then lap them. Once they lap the pack, they can start scoring points. Jammers score points by passing skaters from the other team. Blockers try to stop the other team’s jammer and get their own jammer through the pack so she can score as many points as possible.”

For more detailed rules, visit http://wftda.com/rules

NHRD is currently looking for players so if you are interested in learning more or think you want to join, contact Mariel “Helen Carnate” Warnock, NHRD’s PR Person at helencarnate@gmail.com freshmeat@nhrollerderby.com, for general info, send an email to info@nhrollerderby.com or visit the NHRD website at http://www.nhrollerderby.com.

New Hampshire Roller Derby featured on WMUR’s New Hampshire Chronicle.

Main page slideshow photo used courtesy of Ryan Joseph and New Hampshire Roller Derby

Related posts: