Away Games: Gem City and Mortal Kombout

In less than two weeks your Dire Skates will be hitting the road to bout in St. Clairsville, Ohio against Ohio Valley Roller Girls!

But seriously, look at this flyer! It is full of WIN!

FINISH HER!

This will be our first overnight bout in awhile and we can't to spread the Dire Skates love across the nation! Or at least Ohio.

You can see more info on the event page.

Last weekend we played Gem City in Dayton and though they took the win, we played hard. Your Dire Skates is a growing team and we are getting stronger each game! Thanks to the Dire fans who made it over to Dayton to cheer us on!

Yeah, we know we are awesome.

After all of this traveling we will see you all at home in May during our special Mother's Day event on May 10th! More details to come--stay tuned!

--Bilbo Stabbins

March Skater of the Month: BadAZZ Mother Cutter

Kellye, aka BadAZZ Mother Cutter, has been blocking with the team for over three years. Kellye also has a skating background and a history of jamming and speedskating. In addition to skating, her team job is "Goodwill and Communication," which means she does a lot! She texts us all and keeps us up to date on things, she works to mediate problems between skaters, talks with skaters who are having troubles in life (derby-related or otherwise), and has been very welcoming of all the new skaters to the team. BadAZZ also makes goody bags for the other teams and makes the MVP trophies. A lot of Kellye's work is behind the scenes or one-on-one with other skaters. Because of this, her hard work often goes unnoticed.

Kellye is only 1/4 of the BadAZZ derby team, though: Mr. BadAZZ is assistant coach and she has Baby BadAZZ and BadAZZ Brat on The Skate Aways.

In addition to derby, BadAZZ does hair and....well, she mostly does derby stuff.


Here is what our coach, The Golffather, had to say about BadAZZ:

"Kellye or Bad Azz has become a great asset to the team. She has worked hard on her skates and getting better day by day. She has become a quiet leader on the track. She has taken on roles off skates that makes the team operation run smoother than they otherwise would. I am glad she is a part of the Dire Skates."

I, Bilbo, would like to add my two cents:

I specifically remember meeting Kellye and thinking she seemed quite intimidating. She has a stern demeanor and remains straight-faced much of the time. But I quickly discovered that she is actually the nicest person and you also know she will never lie to you, which is appreciated. She dishes out tough love and is always honest and she cares about her derby sisters more than anything. Once she yelled at me for not wearing my Dire Skates shirt when we were out at an event. I'd only tried out a few weeks prior and didn't quite feel like part of the team yet. She said that in fact I was and I should never go out without Dire gear again. Duly noted. I felt welcomed. And a little bit assaulted. It was perfect. Also, she waxes my mustache and I can't help but assume she likes doing her job because she likes torturing people and I appreciate that.

enTRUdir added this:

When it comes to picking a derby wife, you look for someone who personifies everything that you yourself want to be in derby. So, it was a 'no brainer' to ask Kellye to be mine. Kellye is the most level-headed person on the team, on and off track. She plays hard and everyone respects her 'cool head' and decision-making. As our goodwill/communication person, she heads off a lot of drama and really keeps the team together. On the track, I truly love blocking with Kellye. Just a look will tell you what she's going to do, and how she's going to do it. Now, with the advent of our juniors and Tony as our new Asst. Coach, it's really become a "family affair" for the Tenneys and I couldn't be more thrilled than to see them all there on the floor. We are truly blessed to have Kellye and her family with us - and I hope she stays my derby wife for a long time!

Mr. BadAZZ had this to say about his BadAZZ wife:

It's so much fun to be able to coach and skate with my wife. I am waiting for her to lay me out with a big hit at practice one of these days. I am very proud of all that she does with derby on and off the track; she is one of the best blockers on the team and is someone for all the derby team to come to if they need anything. I know she loves derby and always will.

Thank you for all you do, BadAZZ.

Derby love.

Junior Derby: The Skate Aways

Roller derby looks different in every city. Some larger cities, in addition to the women's team, also have men's teams or co-ed teams, some have leagues, which consist of multiple teams, some have multiple, unconnected teams and some have junior teams. Although Richmond isn't big enough to accommodate most of those things yet, we do have a growing junior derby team: The Skate Aways.

This is a relatively new adventure we are undertaking, but so far it has been successful! Kids ages 8-17 can join. They provide their own gear and pay monthly dues (just like us!), skate with the team Sundays 4-5pm, and get to participate in bout day activities. At our last home bout against Bone City, The Skate Aways made their debut and they rocked it!

Don't let the cuteness fool you.

For some reason we did not take a group pic of the juniors, but you can see a few of our Skate Aways in action. Left to right: Bomber Bailey, BadAZZ Brat, Korah the Destroyer, Zac Attack, Puke Skywalker, Homicidal Hamster, and Baby BadAZZ. Honey VooDoo and Trouble Clef are not pictured

After the introduction and the general display of junior awesomeness, The Skate Aways collected shout outs and sold popcorn for us. We will put them to more good use at future home bouts, making them demonstrate the rules of derby before the game starts and maybe having them do the half-time show!

Just kidding....we want all of your children.

Many of the The Skate Aways have a mom on the team, but not all. Non-derby parents still sit and watch their child rock the track though. During practice we work with juniors on basic skating skills such as stopping and falling and they work on endurance. They each play and practice at the level in which they test, but we take it slow. They work at their own pace and learn to feel confident and strong on their own accord.

The juniors skate hard and have a lot of fun.

We, as a team, work hard to create a fun, encouraging, and empowering environment for these awesome kids as they learn the power of derby!

Are you interested in getting your child into derby? Contact us! Speak with your favorite roller girl or message us with questions!