Quad City Chaos 2013: Preview

The 2013 Quad City Chaos is the 4th edition of the tournament.

It’s the end of March, which means it’s time for Toronto Roller Derby’s Quad City Chaos. For the first time in the tournament’s brief history, the fourth edition of the annual invitational will be a completely WFTDA sanctioned tournament—the first of its kind in Canada. While WFTDA teams have always been a part of the tournament (Hammer City and Montreal were both full WFTDA members at the first QCC in 2010, and last year three of the four teams were), the fact that this is a fully sanctioned tournament raises the profile of the event and makes it a more appealing destination. With four excellent teams at the top of their games, this year’s tournament should be the most competitive and exciting yet. Add to that the inclusion of ToRD’s second travel team, the Bay Street Bruisers, hosting two games of their own, and the tournament has an even greater depth of competition.

THE TOURNAMENT

The QCC is a two day, round robin tournament that was topped by host CN Power in 2012 (the hosts have a 7-2 lifetime record in the tournament), but was dominated by Montreal in the first two years, when the New Skids on the Block compiled a 6-0 record while outscoring the opposition a staggering 1455-222. Those first two years, coming as they did after flat track roller derby’s “Great Leap Forward” in 2009, proved important sharing grounds for Canada’s top travel teams. In 2010, Vancouver’s Terminal City All Stars finished last in the tournament (0-3), but used the event as a taking off point to become the dominant WFTDA Division One team they are now. Both the Tri-City Thunder (2011, 2012) and Hammer City Eh! Team (2010, 2012) have taken part in two tournaments, with the Thunder holding a 3-3 record and the Eh! Team sitting at 1-5.  Finally, Ottawa’s Rideau Valley Vixens (returning this year), have taken part in the last two tournaments. In 2011, they were in tough going 0-3, before going 1-2 last year including a thrilling, competitive loss against the Tri-City Thunder.

THE TEAMS

CN Power’s Betty Bomber. Artwork by Quick Draw (Adam Swinbourne)

CN Power (WFTDA Rank: 49^th)

The host CN Power have used this tournament as a spring board for their season since the inaugural event in 2010. Last year, the team went 9-2 in sanctioned play including 7-0 in tournament games (at QCC, ECDX and Brew Haha). With CN Power skaters pulled from home teams in 2013 and focusing exclusively on WFTDA play, expectations are higher than ever.

This season, CN Power is already off to a hot start, going 2-1 with one-sided wins over Fort Wayne and Killamazoo, and a well-fought loss to one of the top teams in the game, Naptown. CN Power has lost only to Montreal in the QCC, and this year, based on recent results, they enter as clear favourites in their games against Queen City (they’ve beaten them two in a row) and Rideau Valley (they have never lost to the Vixens); they are in tough against Ohio, the second highest ranked team to ever play in the tournament and a team that beat them by 100 points in their only meeting last year.

The Vixens’ Hanna Murphy (formerly known as Semi Precious). Artwork by Quick Draw (Adam Swinbourne)

The Rideau Valley Vixens  (WFTDA Rank: 71^st)

After competing in last year’s tournament as a WFTDA apprentice league, they burst onto the WFTDA scene in 2012. Going 7-6 overall and 4-2 in WFTDA sanctioned play, it was easily the busiest season for the Vixens and has undoubtedly brought them to another level in their play. Stacked with a formidable front line led by Team Canada skaters Hanna Murphy (formerly known as Semi Precious) in the pack and Soul Rekker on the jam line, they are backed up in the pack by 2012 breakout blocker Margaret Choke and veterans Sister Disaster and Da Big Block. But there is a rising crop of talent on the team as well. Potential triple threat Pix E. Cutz is a force, while Keuhl (AKA: Mudblood) Brennan (Eh Nihilator) and Rudolph (Frostbite Me) all emerged last year as key components of the team. This year keep an eye on newcomers The Warden (an emerging jammer with house league team, Riot Squad) and Eastern Block’her who skated last season with Capital City, a team that earned a solid reputation despite a last-place finish at last year’s RDAC Eastern Regionals.

The Vixens are 0-1 so far this year, kicking things off with a loss to Queen City. This weekend could be a challenge for the Vixens. They’ve split their only two games with the Furies, have never defeated CN Power, and Ohio will be the highest ranked WFTDA team they have faced since playing Montreal at QCC 2011. Nonetheless, the Vixens may have the least to lose and, therefore, the least amount of pressure.

The Lake Effect Furies (Queen City) (WFTDA Rank: 68^th)

LiBRAWLian of the Lake Effect Furies. Artwork by Quick Draw (AKA: Adam Swinbourne)

Queen City had an inconsistent 2012, going 8-8 overall and 7-8 in sanctioned play, but lost ground against opponents such as Toronto and Tri-City. Their inconsistency is best seen, perhaps, in their performances against the Vixens which included an 89-point loss at the end of last summer, compared to a 90-point victory to kick off this year: making their meeting this weekend a tie breaker of sorts, but also an interesting measure of which (if either) of those previous results is correct.

The Furies have a depth of talent on the bench. Offensively, Addy Rawl, who was a Team USA alternate at the World Cup and has continued to skate with the American National program, leads the attack. Furies rookie LiBRAWLian is a jammer to watch after an incredible breakout house league season in 2012. CU~T, Ivana LeiHerOut, Head Mistress, and Day TripHer supply veteran leadership in the packs. Melania Kosonovich returnd to Queen City this season after time away that included skating a season in Los Angeles.

The Furies are 2-0 so far in 2013 on strong victories over Rideau Valley and Black-N-Bluegrass, and look to continue that strong start against the stiff competition at QCC. They’ve lost two in a row against CN Power and have never faced Ohio.

Ohio’s Phoenix Bunz. Artwork by Quick Draw (AKA: Adam Swinbourne)

Ohio Roller Girls All Stars (WFTDA Rank: 23^rd)

The Ohio Roller Girls may be the hardest working team in the WFTDA. In 2012, they went a remarkable 20-2 before going 1-2 in the North Central playoffs, being eliminated by Naptown: No one in 2012, played more sanctioned games than the skaters from Columbus.

An original WFTDA member, Ohio earned a massive, well-deserved reputation last season gaining big victories over Madison, Brew City and Arch Rival to name a few, and went 2-0 on their first Canadian roadtrip (burning through southern Ontario in May of last year). Led by the incredible, multi-talented triple threat Pheonix Bunz (2012 North Central blocker MVP), the offense will also be paced by a solid jammer rotation of The Smacktivist, Kitty Liquorbottom and Hellionboi, all supremely talented and boasting lots of big-game experience. But there is considerable depth in the pack as well. Led by veteran blocker Amy Spears, the packs also boasts hard-hitting Bratislava Bruiser and positional maven Loraine Acid.

Ohio is already off to a fast start in 2013, boasting a 2-0 record after wins over Bleeding Heartland and Burning River. They enter the QCC as clear favourites. While they’ve only ever faced CN Power, they are (and have consistently been) ranked much higher than their three QCC opponents.

Bellefast of the Bay Street Bruisers. Artwork by Quick Draw (AKA: Adam Swinbourne)

B-TEAM SHOWDOWN

For the first time ever, the Quad City Chaos will also feature B-Team matchups.

First off, ToRD’s Bay Street Bruisers will take on Queen City’s Devil Dollies on Saturday. The Dollies, one of Queen City’s house league teams, has a long history in Canada, being one of only two US teams to play in the Beast of the East; they did so in 2008. The Bruisers then take on Ohio’s Gang Green on Sunday. This second showdown will be a rematch of the first ever Bruisers game last May, when the Ohio B-Team defeated the Toronto B-Team 173-109. It was the Bruisers only loss since being resurrected in 2012, and they will be out for revenge on Sunday.

All Games will be streamed live on Canuck Derby TV.

SCHEDULE:

Saturday, March 23^rd

10:00 AM: Lake Effect Furies (QCRG) vs. Rideau Valley Vixens

12:00 PM: CN Power (ToRD) vs. Ohio Roller Girls

2:00 PM: Bay Street Bruisers (ToRD) vs. Devil Dollies (QCRG)

5:00 PM:  Ohio Roller Girls vs. Rideau Valley Vixens

7:00 PM: CN Power vs. Lake Effect Furies

Sunday March 24^th

11:00 AM: Bay Street Bruisers vs. Gang Green (Ohio B)

1:00 PM:  Ohio Roller Girls vs. Lake Effect Furies

3:00 PM: CN Power vs. Rideau Valley Vixens

Building for the Future: A Personal Reflection on Two Days of Derby (Part 2)

Cn Power co-captain Lady Gagya talks to her bench. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

Toronto Roller Derby’s CN Power was confident on Sunday morning as they warmed up for the early noon start. While the Thunder (ranked two spots behind ToRD’s travel team) did eventually lose 159-113, they managed to keep pace in the second half, and more importantly, they got under the skin of the Ohio skaters and took them out of their game, holding them to only 9 points over the final 10 minutes of the game.  The differential was almost exactly the same as the last time CN Power had met the Thunder, and this gave CN Power hope.

CN Power jammer Defecaitlin tries to break through a tight Ohio wall. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

There is an eerie intensity to closed games, perhaps heightened by the dusty expanse of The Bunker (looking far removed from its stint as host of the World Cup). Sunday morning is sunny and hot—the tail end of the first real summer weekend of the year—along with a full contingent of refs, NSOs and the ToRD TV boutcast crew, a handful of leaguemates is present as well. The lack of an audience does not  dampen the atmosphere; instead, as the teams chant their pre-games chants into the empty room, a certain tension is felt in the silence. CN Power bursts out of the gates with their top rotation of Defecaitlin, Bambi and Candy Crossbones taking the first three lead-jammer statuses and putting up 9 points. It is methodical, and they look comfortable, settled: ready. But then in the fourth jam Ohio’s Kitty Liquorbottom picks up 9 points behind stifling pack work (as she had been the previous night in New Hamburg, Phoenix Bunz is a menace, a one-woman pack, who plays the same sort of relentless kind of derby as Rideau Valley’s Semi Precious).  For the next few jams momentum swings Ohio’s way, with a 15-point power jam threatening to widen the gap between the teams.

Betty Bomber and Lady Gagya try to contain Ohio triple threat Phoenix Bunz. (Phoyo by Greg Russell)

With CN Power’s jammer rotation running into early penalty trouble, travel team rookie, Kookie Doe, is given her first opportunity with the star. Her lead status and 4-point pickup ends a run of 45 straight points scored by Ohio and suddenly CN Power is back in it. Everything seems to be coming back together again for the home team. Tara Part and Nasher the Smasher are putting in their usual performances, and on the other lines Panty Hoser and Lady Gagya are playing well. With four minutes remaining in the half, Ohio is up by one point 57-56. The small group of ToRDies I am sitting with is antsy and vocal. Unfazed, Ohio never strays very far from their simple, fast game and win the final two jams to lead 69-56 at the half.

I’m not able to watch the second half. At this point The Bruisers and I walk away to prepare for our debut that will follow. Watching the CN Power game has been stressful: high heart rate, bitten nails, tension-yells that echo off the walls of the empty Bunker, but as I leave Track 1 to join the team on Track 2 (the warm-up track), I feel a calmness fall over me.

Ohio plays an uncomplicated, super tight and fast brand of flat track roller derby. (Photo by Greg Russell)

I experience the second half of the CN Power game from this vantage point. I can see the score, flashes of skaters rounding turn one; I can hear the whistle of the refs, the bursts of noise from the benches, the few in attendance. I can see that things aren’t going well for CN Power. 12 minutes in, CN Power has been outscored 30-5. It’s 104-61 at the halfway point. That’s when I notice Bambi being led away with her arm in a brace (it’s broken); see Aston Martini on the sidelines with her arm back in a sling, having reaggravated a recurring injury. Suddenly, with lines in disarray and people in positions they aren’t used to, CN Power can no longer compete with a team of the quality and endurance of Ohio. They pounce and are merciless in their taking advantage of the shaken team and they dominate the second half. It is the case of a very, very experienced team taking complete advantage of a comparatively inexperienced team caught up in a moment of adversity. They distance themselves from the challengers and win definitively 197-91.

Bruisers jammer Bala Reina faces off against Gang Green’s Outa My Wayman (who, remarkably, played all four games for Ohio on the weekend). (Photo by Greg Russell)

The Bay Street Bruisers take to the track following this, facing off against a Gang Green that features six of the skaters who have just defeated our A Team (including the smooth skating Outa My Wayman). The Bruisers, though, are completely focused. I personally feel infinitely more calm on the bench in the midst of a game than I was on the sidelines watching, though memories of the Gang Green vs. Plan B bout from the night before linger. We weather some early game penalty troubles, stick to the plan and play our game, trying to match Ohio’s masterful simplicity with our own brand of straight-ahead flat track roller derby. We are down 86-42 at the half.

Led by our calm, consistent captain/pivots Chronic and Downright Dirty Dawson, the Bruisers don’t play a perfect game by any means, but play as perfectly as one could expect from a team in its first game together. There are moments when things unravel, but every time we are able to reel it in and get control. In the end we fall 173-109, but it is a pleasing performance nonetheless; an outstanding first game laying a strong foundation for the future.

The Bruisers pack works to contain the Gang Green jammer. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

And in the end, despite the losses, that is what the true importance of this weekend was for Toronto Roller Derby: an opportunity to lay a foundation for the future. While ToRD and Ohio had very similar beginnings, their league narratives have diverged. Both offer differing, but potentially equal models to follow for teams who choose the WFTDA path (while this does not necessarily mean a competitive one, for the most part, the decision to join WFTDA is usually coupled with a desire to increased the competitive level of a league). In a very big way, Ohio has shortened its bench, so to speak, doing away with home teams to focus on travel teams exclusively; and even then, Gang Green has a core of secondary skaters who are surrounded by A-team skaters whenever they play. It is an almost ascetic approach to the game. Stripped away to a core, for the past two years all that Ohio has done has been to travel and play: a single-minded focus on getting game experience, building endurance. They’ve gotten to the point where they act in unison without the slightest communication; they have an instant counter-strategy for every situation they encounter on the track because they’ve seen it all. It’s worked for them. At this pace they will easily make the Regional playoffs and by the time that rolls around in the fall, they will undoubtedly be ready to compete.

The Bay Street Bruisers are bridging the talent gap between ToRD’s hometeams and CN Power. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

ToRD has taken a different approach. And while it should yield the same results in the long run, it is a model that requires patience and foresight. ToRD has a “feeder” model in place, that sees skaters who complete Fresh Meat join the D-VAS, essentially a C travel team that competes with younger leagues around the province (we’re lucky to live in a region where three levels of travel teams can coexist quite comfortably); the four hometeams then draft the D-VAS onto their rosters where they can try out for the Bruisers, and eventually work their way up to CN Power.

CN Power showed that it is on the verge of competing at a high level. (Photo by Neil Gunner)

On Sunday, for one half anyway, CN Power looked like a team ready to compete at the highest level, or at least at the level of the Regional playoffs. But the second half showed that CN Power needs two things before that can become a reality: depth and experience. It’s off to a good start this season with experience gained from playing seven games already. The success of the Bay Street Bruisers shows that the gap between the hometeams and the A team has been filled and that given time, important depth is on its way to the top squad.

ToRD may not be ready to take the WFTDA by storm just yet, but all evidence shows that it’s not a matter of “if” but “when.”

***Read Part 1 here.

Battle for the Boot 2011: The Semifinal

#3 Death Track Dolls vs. #2 Chicks Ahoy!

TEAM STATS (2011 Regular Season)

Stat	Death Track Dolls	Chicks Ahoy!
Record	1-2	2-1
Points For / Against (+/-)	193 / 363 (-170)	408 / 189 (+219)
Lead Jammer Percentage	41%	55%
Points Per Jam	1.5	3.24
Total Blocks (Knockdowns)	230 (38)	387 (57)
Assists (including offensive blocks)	64	137
Minor / Major Penalties (Minutes)	84 / 27 (37)	85 / 23 (30)

The Dolls put together their best bout of the season against MTLRD's Les Contrabanditas at the Beast of the East. (photo by Derek Lang)

THE SEASON

Given the history between these two teams (including a split of two games at the 2011 Beast of the East), the way in which the Chicks Ahoy! so easily handled the Death Track Dolls in the final bout of the season came as a great surprise to many. The question hanging over this upcoming semi-final is how will the Dolls respond? Will we see the focused and determined Dolls who outlasted 13 other teams to finish 3^rdat the BOE tournament? Or will it be the unfocused, frustrated Dolls that the Chicks walked all over in the final bout of the regular season?

The Chicks beat the Dolls in the opening round of the Beast of the East on their way to a 4th place finish. (photo by Derek Lang)

It’s been that kind of season for the Dolls. Opening with a lacklustre (though not terrible) performance against the defending champion Gore-Gore Rollergirls, the Dolls rallied and put together a textbook win against the Smoke City Betties to even up their record 1-1. One clear problem was arising though, and that was consistency. There’d been moments of brilliance against the Gores (a late first-half pushback saw them dominating the packs) that couldn’t be maintained, and lapses against Betties that allowed their opponents to get back into the game. It has become clear that remaining mentally focused and putting together a consistent sixty minutes will be key if the Dolls want to have a shot (this could also explain why they did so well at the BOE where the short games meant streaky play and quick bursts were rewarded). The setbacks were a disappointment for a team that has shown only steady growth over the previous two seasons. They’ll need a season-best performance if they hope to qualify for their first ever Battle for the Boot.

The Chicks were too much for the Dolls in the season closer, a 194-35 victory. (Photo by Chrissie Wu)

The Chicks Ahoy!, on the other hand, have surpassed all expectations in 2011. With a new-look lineup (including a rookie bench boss in Flyin’ Bryan Killman) making up the team that was humbled in the 2010 Battle for the Boot, the Chicks came out flying in a dominant performance against the Betties to open the season. They would maintain that momentum in their rematch against the Gores, when the two teams put together as exciting a half of roller derby that has been seen in ToRD in at least a year. But the Chicks couldn’t hold the momentum and drifted late in the bout. But they were undeterred by the loss and after putting together their finest performance ever at the BOE (4^thplace), came out and wiped the track with the Dolls to close out the regular season. That victory, in which they controlled play from start to finish, has got to provide a boost of confidence for the Chicks who are looking for

Nasher the Smasher could be a game changer for the Chicks. (Photo by Derek Lang)

their fourth spot in the championship in five years.

GAME CHANGERS

Chicks Ahoy!: Nasher the Smasher has always been one of ToRD’s most feared blockers, but there was always that one issue that hung over her: lack of discipline. In 2011, Nasher has overhauled her game, still capable of devastating strikes (she was second on the Chicks in blocks and knockdowns), she has become a much more positional force on the track, and—most importantly—has completely done away with the discipline issues that dogged her early in her career recording only 2 majors and 1 (!) minor over the course of the season (despite being on the track for 54% of her team’s jams). Another player who has stepped up in a big way in 2011 is a 2010 rookie standout, Marmighty. The sophomore star matched Nasher’s 54% jam percentage (second to only Rebel Rock-It on the team) and put up an unbelievable plus/minus of 147. Although she ran into some penalty trouble against the Dolls, she was such a dominant force in that bout that this only really stood out on the stat sheet.

Whether jamming or in the pack, Betty Bomber will be a big part of the Dolls' game. (Photo by Chrissie Wu)

Death Track Dolls: Since the retirement of Mach Wheels, Betty Bomber has emerged as the most effective triple threat in ToRD, and her value to the Dolls cannot be overstated. She almost single-handedly kept her team in the final regular season game against the Chicks. If she wasn’t so valuable in the pack, Bomber would undoubtedly be one of the top jammers in the league. Second, the blocking combination of Jubilee and Panty Hoser. The Chicks have an incredibly deep pack, and for the Dolls to have any sort of chance in this one, they are going to need their best pack players to step up and be at their best. When their heads are in the game, Hoser and Jubilee are two of the best in the league, their work one-on-one is outstanding and they were first or second in virtually every major blocking stat for the Dolls this season. The mental focus of the team seems to run through these two players, and they will need to be at their best to counteract the depth of the Chicks.

The rookie duel between the Dolls' Santilly In Yo Face and the Chicks' Kookie Doe could be key. (Photo by Chrissie Wu)

Rookie Showdown: Finally, one of the interesting stories of the bout will be the jammer battles between a few rookies, the Dolls’ Santilly In Yo Face and the Chicks’ Kookie Doe. With Dolls jammer Land Shark returning to the lineup, the first lines of offense are virtually even, which means that it could come down to which of these rookies is capable of providing more depth on offense for her team. While Kookie Doe has clocked a lot more track time this season, Santilly has a slight lead in lead % (47% to 38%) and they are statistically even in points per jam. The one difference could be that Santilly was destroyed by the Chicks’ blockers in the last bout and will have to mentally put that behind her entering the playoffs.

STATS LEADERS

BLOCKERS

Stat (Minimum 21 jams)	Death Track Dolls	Chicks Ahoy!
Blocks	Panty Hoser 57	Mega Bouche 67
Knockdowns	Jubilee 9	Mega Bouche 10
Assists (including offensive blocks)	Jubilee 17	Tara Part 30
Blocker +/-	Lucid Lou +2	Marmighty +132
Pivot +/-	Dolly Parts’em +11	Mega Bouche +116
Total +/-	Demolition Dawn +9	Dyna Hurtcha +160
Minor Penalties	Jubilee/Monichrome 14	Mega /Rebel Rock-It 14
Major Penalties	Jubilee 6	Marmighty 4
Penalty Minutes	Jubilee 8	Marmighty 5

JAMMERS

Stat (Minimum 21 jams)	Death Track Dolls	Chicks Ahoy!
Points	Land Shark 80	Candy Crossbones 141
Points Per Jam	Land Shark 1.9	Dyna Hurtcha 3.48
Jammer +/-	Land Shark 24	Dyna Hurtcha +99
Lead %	Land Shark 53%	Dyna Hurtcha 74%
Jam %	Betty Bomber 36%	Candy Crossbones 35%

**Tickets are available online or at numerous retailers downtown. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with opening whistle at 7:30 PM.

**The bout will be broadcast by Rogers TV. Keep an eye out for dates and times.

Dolls and Betties Tussle for a Playoff Spot

The Dolls took the last year's meeting between these two teams, 213-53.

Death Track Dolls (0-1) vs. Smoke City Betties (0-1)

In 2011 there are no playoffs for the ToRD’s 4^th place team, which means that starting the season 0-2 could potentially end the championship dreams of either the Smoke City Betties or the Death Track Dolls. But playoff hopes aside, there is a lot more at stake for these two teams at this early stage of the year; namely, pride. Both teams entered 2011 with high hopes. After a year of being the league’s doormat, the Betties drafted for experience and relied on the memories of all those painful 2010 learning experiences to drive them forward into a new era. The Dolls, who had recently gone through growing pains of their own, competed in 2010, going toe-to-toe with Battle for the Boot finalists the Chicks until the second half of last season’s semifinal; nonetheless, with the least amount of roster change this off season, hopes were high.

So it was met with great disappointment when both of these teams struggled out of the gate. The Dolls looked flat in their bout against a Gore-Gore Rollergirls squad loaded with rookies (though they managed some inspired pushes at various moments), while the Betties looked far from unified in their effort against the Chicks Ahoy! relying on the strong individual play of a few key players to keep them in it at all. Needless to say, both teams will be looking for a lot more in this one.

The Dolls will rely on their veteran pivots to control the packs and keep things tight. (photo by Sean Murphy)

THE DOLLS WIN IF…

They play a smart (clean) and simple game. That worked for the Chicks against the Betties and there is no reason to think that it won’t again. A big part of the reason that the Dolls looked overmatched in their season opener was due to a tendency to continue to play an individual game. While this won’t be as big of an issue against the Betties as it was against the ultra-organized Gores, if the Dolls want to take that next step in the competitive ladder, they are going to have to step it up and buy into the types of systems that separate the top teams from the bottom. Following the leads of experienced pivots Panty Hoser, Monichrome and Dolly Parts’ Em will be key. They’ll also have to play a fairly clean bout as well, and their 32 minors against the Gores was only three less than the amount the Betties picked up against the Chicks.

Betty Bomber has become a key jammer for the Dolls, but her presence in the pack is missed. (photo by Kevin Konnyu)

Offense could be the most interesting story in this one. The Dolls jammers ate up the Betties last season, with Land Shark, Betty Bomber and Audrey Hellborn all putting up big numbers. Hellborn’s out for the season and they have yet to find a suitable replacement for her: combined, Sharky and Bomber had the star for an amazing 90% of their team’s jams against the Gores. Remarkably, they seemed to hold up well under the pressure. Land Shark had a comparatively inconsistent season in 2010, but was back to her old self against the Gores, leading the offense as her team’s top rated jammer, scoring 24 points (1.04 PPJ) and managing a 43% lead percentage against formidable opposition. But not having much depth at the position means that Bomber, who is also important in the pack, is stuck playing a one-role game.

Betties vets like Pretty Peeved will be key in getting this team back on track. (photo by Sean Murphy)

THE BETTIES WIN IF…

Well…It’s not quite as simple for the Betties.

In a pre-season interview, when asked about the Betties, Dolls co-captain Betty Bomber said with confidence that “as long as [the Betties] can work together, they will be a team to look out for this season.” Portentous foreshadowing that didn’t play out in the season opener but could become a reality at any time. With an abundance of individual talent, the Betties need to put those pieces together in a unified effort; the Chicks dominated the pack against the Betties, and were unmatched in their walls and isolation strategies. But this Betties team was like a sponge last year, soaking up knowledge in the face of defeat, and that attitude seemed to persist after the opener this year: in post-bout interviews with ToRD.TV both Bruiseberry Pie and Sail Her Poon cited better pack strategies as a key for this team moving forward. It seems that the Betties need to define roles for themselves on the track and on the team, but determined play from veteran pivot Pretty Peeved and jammer Memphis Kitty is hopeful.

Sail Her Poon clears a path for titmouse during their 2011 season opener. (photo by Derek Lang)

While defensively, they held the Chicks to significantly less than the 266 points they managed last year, they were unable to generate any offense. Only Memphis Kitty managed to hit double digits (11 points—she was also the only jammer to manage over 30 % lead percentage). But a little help from a more-together pack could help titmouse continue to build on the invaluable experience she has been gaining with CN Power in 2011 (including a spirited effort against the Skids at the QCC). Sail Her Poon (who had a strong bout but didn’t jam against the Chicks) also has been jamming with the All Stars and managed some measure of success jamming against the Dolls last season, scoring 13 points. Tropic Thunder was also effective against the Dolls in 2010, leading the Betties in scoring with 18 points. While both she and Poon each managed only a 17% lead percentage, upon closer inspection you can see that those two were consistently matched against the Dolls’ top three jammers (Bomber, Land Shark and the currently injured Audrey Hellborn), making leads a hard thing to come by for the rookie jammers.

***Tickets for the April 16 bout are available online or at a number of downtown vendors. Doors at the Hangar open at 6:30 p.m., opening whistle at 7:30.

ToRD.TV sets up the bout with Dolls veteran (and ToRD.TV personality) Monichrome:

Quad City Chaos Preview (Part 2)

Tri-City defeated CN Power 122-50 in the team's final bout of 2010. (photo by Joe Mac)

THE UPSTARTS

In 2010, the focus of Canadian roller derby was clearly on Montreal’s New Skids on the Block, which allowed for another amazing roller derby story to go unnoticed by many outside of the Ontario derby community: the rise of Tri-City. Playing in the shadows of Hammer City, ToRD and even Forest City for years, the skaters of the Tri-City triangle have slowly been creating a juggernaut, and 2010 was a coming out party of sorts. In terms of hometeams, the Venus Fly Tramps continued to grow more competitive, and the league added a third team, the Total Knock-Outs to the mix. The league’s top team, the Vicious Dishes, was emerging as one of the top hometeams, not only in Ontario, but in the country. Vctories over ToRD’s Chicks Ahoy! and both Hammer City hometeams exposed the Dishes as a team to watch.

These solid foundations led to the dramatic rise of the Thunder. With their only losses coming against the top tier of Canadian competition (Montreal hometeam Les Contrabanditas and B-Team Sexpos), their strong victories over a string of American travel teams (Roc City, The Lake Effect Furies, Assault City, and Detroit’s Motor City Disassembly Line) turned some heads. But it wasn’t until their final bout of the season that they truly showed how far they’d come: a 122-50 victory over CN Power gave the team a solid 5-2 record on the season and managed to shake up the power politics of Canadian derby. It was arguably a crowning achievement on a fantastic year that saw them graduate into full WFTDA status.

Motorhead Molly leads a breakout jammer contingent for the Thunder. (photo by Joe Mac)

Tri-City’s strength is in its pack. Led by the pivot Jill Standing and the untiring blocking trio of Anita Martini, Bareleigh Legal and sin-e-star, Thunder is capable of playing a stifling pack defense that led them to victories over Roc City Roc Stars and Lake Effect Furies early in the season. While defense is a traditional Tri-City strength, the biggest development over 2010 was the improvement of their offense: Skate Pastor, Motorhead Molly and Lippy Wrongstockings proved to be a more than capable trio for the Thunder in 2010, playing smart, strategic derby even in low scoring, grinders. But they also helped show that Thunder is capable of switching gears and winning a shoot out, as they did in a 134-126 victory over Detroit’s Disassembly Line. The depth of the roster has only increased as all the Tri-City teams become more competitive. Greta Garbage and Gunmoll Mindy provide a lot of depth in the pack, with Garbage capable of laying down some hits or joining front walls, Mindy holding that inside line, and Lilith No Fair joining the pivot corps. Kitty Krasher, Cell Block Bettie and Freudian Whip are all capable of donning the star to jam as well, which provides this team with fantastic depth at offense.

The Thunder should have a slight depth advantage over Rideau Valley, and in terms of pack control and defense, may be the best match-up for Montreal, but I think it’s safe to say that all eyes are on Thunder’s rematch with CN Power to close out the tournament on Sunday (at 4:20 p.m.). Thunder could go a long way in solidifying their position as the team to watch in 2011 with a second consecutive victory over ToRD’s all stars.

The Vixens played their first ever bout at the Hangar, falling to CN Power 199-49. (photo by Derek Lang)

THE DARKHORSE

In 2009, Rideau Valley Roller Girls added a second team, the Riot Squad, to help develop the league and build on the success of the Slaughter Daughters. By 2010, they’d expanded yet again, this time adding the Vixens, a travel team. Due to the quick expansion, there were some growing pains in the early going, with some big losses to tough competition in Toronto (CN Power),  Steel City (B-Unit) and Montreal (Sexpos). But the growth in those months from the one-sided defeat in Toronto to the solid showing in Montreal was undeniable. It only took about six months for the Vixens to gel. By the end of the next six months, they’d evened up their 2010 record with three-straight victories beginning with a confidence boosting blow out (210-54) over the Jerzey Derby Brigade’s Corporal Punishers. They followed that up with two more explosive, one-sided wins against Utica, and Maine’s Calamity Janes.

Soul Rekker (jamming here against CN Power's Land Shark) is the Vixens' biggest offensive threat. (photo by Derek Lang)

Nonetheless, with their last three bouts coming south of the border against unknown competition (in that they don’t have any cross-over opponents with any of the other teams at the QCC), this considerably more experienced Vixens squad is somewhat of an unknown, which is why they are a darkhorse in this tournament. The only clue we have as to how good this team could be is in the performances of their hometeams, and the Slaughter Daughters are quietly becoming one of the top hometeams in eastern Canada, while their other team, the Riot Squad is certainly up and coming, recently taking ToRD’s Smoke City Betties to the limit in a bout. Even when they were losing early in 2010, the talent on the team was obvious. The two captains are the undeniable leaders on the track: Semi-Precious dominates at both leading her pack and delivering devastating take outs; Soul Rekker is an explosive jammer, and will lead the Vixens’ offense, proving equal to the top jammers in the tournament. And while this team is comparatively inexperienced in travel-team play, there is a surprising depth to the lineup, especially in the pack.

The Vixens' pack is led by Semi Precious and a core of Slaughter Daughters. (photo by Derek Lang)

Dee Dee Tee, Sister Disaster and Ripper A. Part round out a veteran jammer lineup, while the pack is loaded full of solid positional and striking blockers. ASSASSINista, Big Block, Blackout Susan, Drunky Brewster, and Surgical Strike form the core of the Slaughter Daughters roster, and that familiarity has bled over to the Vixens. Riot Squad’s Slavic Slayer, Margaret Chock, and N. Toxicate round out a sold pack that could pose problems for the other teams.

Rideau Valley will be aiming to knock off either CN Power or Thunder (and ideally both), and either is conceivable. They’ve been playing a similar amount of games as both teams and are undoubtedly a far different team than the one that last visited the Hangar. The fact that as the Vixens, they are relatively unknown to either team also makes them dangerous. CN Power and Tri-City can make necessary adjustments to face each other based on familiarity; the Vixens will, at the very least, have them guessing, and if they can catch either team off guard, they’ve proven capable of putting up big numbers.

THE RAMIFICATIONS

With all four teams competing at some level within WFTDA, this tournament is important to establish where, exactly, the teams stand in relation to one another. Montreal is currently creeping up to the top 4 in the Eastern Region and playing them will give the Vixens an idea of how competitive the top level of their Region really is. ToRD’s CN Power and the Tri-City Thunder will be chasing each other (and Hammer City) up the rankings in the North Central, making this just the second of what will certainly be many meetings between these teams.

For the New Skids on the Block, they’ll get a chance to pad their stats in the Canadian Roller Derby Rankings and have a competitive warm up for a potentially season-changing Eastern Region tournament in England against London, Steel City (Pittsburgh), and the 3^rd ranked Charm City (Baltimore).

On a larger scale, the Quad City Chaos offers a glimpse of the potential beginnings of WFTDA’s Canadian Region.

**Tickets are available online or at various ticket outlets in Toronto. Doors on Saturday open at 1:00pm. For a full schedule, check here.

**Read Part One (focusing on CN Power and The New Skids on the Block) .

Watch ToRD.TV’s video preview of QCC, featuring interviews with CN Power co-captain Lady Scorcher and bench manager Sonic Doom: