Your New Life is Waiting. Join NEO Roller Derby!

A winning team that gives back is holding tryouts

Tallmadge, Ohio (10-21-2009) - NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls of Akron will be hosting an open recruitment for its 2010 season this Wednesday at the Summit County Fairgrounds Arena Complex from 7-10pm. This is open recruitment is for anyone interested in becoming a part of Akron’s most accomplished league.

This first round of recruitment is targeted at anyone who may not have any previous experience on skates or knowledge of the game, but certainly more skilled skaters are welcome. In January, the league will host tryouts which will ultimately be targeted toward those that have the skills to participate in a rigorous training schedule as well as compete with WFTDA leagues.

If you have no knowledge of current flat track roller derby, let me give you the low-down. Skaters skate in quad speed skates and are required to wear regulation protective gear. This isn’t the old days of fake fighting. There are numerous rules to abide by and safety is the number one concern.

NEO is a WFTDA Apprentice league, which means we adhere to the WFTDA guidelines and rule-set (WFTDA stands for Women’s Flat Track Derby Association). This is a very aggressive sport that requires a lot of athleticism. We practice three times a week and many of us augment that with strength training outside of practice.

We are a league ran 100% by women.
We follow the motto of “for the skaters, by the skaters,” so that means not only do we get to skate, but it’s up to us to plan everything else as well. We get to decide what events we do and how we do them. So not only are you joining a sports team, but you’re joining an organization that strives to give back to the community by donating proceeds as well as volunteering for worthy causes. That doesn’t mean, however, that if you’re not a skater you can’t get involved. Because this is a “do it yourself” sport, we always need volunteers including referees, track officials, merchandise people etc.

If you’ve been interested, curious or have been dreaming of this your whole life, come out and show the world what you’re made of. We believe in you, now it’s your turn.

For more information visit us at NEORollerDerby.com or send us your contact information to newrecruits@nrrgirls.com

Akron’s NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls Pour Assault into the Wound

NEO Roller Derby finishes its 2009 season by dominating Syracuse team

Tallmadge, Ohio (10-17-2009) – The bout was aptly named “Learning to Brawl.” Although the name was intended to hint at the classic Pretenders album, It can safely be said that Akron’s NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls taught the Assault City Roller Derby a thing or two about the game of roller derby. ACRD, from Syracuse, NY lost the game 166-72, but not without a fight. The event’s proceeds will be donated to the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio.

I knew nothing about ACRD prior to the game other than they had to borrow some skaters from nearby Ithaca to fill out their roster due to injury and the sort. I even predicted to an avid fan that this was going to be a tight game after watching them warm up. But for all my confidence in them, they just didn’t match up to NEO’s well trained machine. Beginning their 4 game away season in January and finishing with 5 home games, NEO walks away with 5 wins, 4 losses for the year; 4 of those wins at home.

The first jam of the night saw NEO’s Scarlet GoDancin up against Golden Diapers, on loan from Ithaca. Diapers got lead and scored 4-3 over Scarlet. That was the last time ACRD would have the lead in the game. With her 24 total points for the night, Golden Diapers was ACRD’s top scorer. She also spent 4 minutes in the penalty box for majors. ACRD’s other high scorer with 15 was Amber Chaos, also on loan, who managed to get 3 majors and the subsequent time in the penalty box. ACRD’s best player is quite possibly Blaze who took to the jammer line in about a third of the game. She is aggressive, fast and a smart player. She only scored 14 points, but also only spent one minute in the penalty box. NEO awarded her an MVP for the game and she will definitely be one to watch in future games.

But the glory and glamour that is being the jammer in this game goes to NEO rookie sensation Amy Warhol N. She’s been steadily growing in ability and has put forth an almost animalistic effort in every game. She is the kind of skater that doesn’t think about what just happened but keeps looking ahead to what’s about to happen. She can get knocked around left and right, but pops right back up and into action. I’ll reiterate my prediction that she’ll get the rookie of the year award. In this game she earned 47 points in her 6 turns at jammer. That’s 7.83 points per jam, getting lead jammer 67% of the time. Next season, she’ll certainly be a leader on this team.

Twin Pistol, a NEO vet and all around badass, scored 41 points in her 11 turns at jammer getting lead 64% of the time. I’ve seen Pistol get banged around the track like the patsy in a demolition derby, but she always winds up out front. She’s resilient and full of fire. Like most of the girls on this team, she’ll skate through recent injuries without the slightest sign of acquiescence to pain. Scarlet GoDancin, Teeny Houdini and Chrissie B. Hynde rounded out the high scoring jammer rotation of the night with 29, 24 and 18 respectively.

It’s clear that this team is jammer-centric with a healthy rotation of quality jammers. But attention must also be paid to the healthy stock of blockers and it should also be noted that many of the best blockers can, and often do, take roles as jammer. Such players as captain Taking Names and Chrissie B. Hynde (who was awarded the MVP from ACRD) seem to take as much joy in scoring points as they do knocking down the opposing jammer. To watch them is like watching a competition between wrecking balls to see who can topple the most opponents.

Ultimately, it is the team effort of these women that win games. They understand that it’s the strength of the whole and not the flair of a few stars. They should all take pride in their winning second season, but knowing these women; they’ll be focused on what’s still to come. The league is a proud new member of the WFTDA Apprentice Program which means that next year they’ll be battling other WFTDA leagues and that comes with a whole new set of challenges. The teams will be stronger, perhaps more prepared, but this team will no doubt rise to the challenge with eager determination to prove what Akron Roller Derby is capable of.

Congratulations to NEO and thank you all for supporting one of the best sports around. See you again next year for Akron’s ONLY all women owned and operated, for the skaters by the skaters roller derby!

For more information log onto NEORollerDerby.com

NEO Roller Derby Hits Back

Akron Roller Girls send Burning River down in flames
Tallmadge, Ohio – September 19, 2009 – The NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls hosted the Burning River Roller Girl’s B-Team, Hazmat Crew, in a bout that donated money to the Battered Women’s Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties. NEO beat Hazmat 163-53 in the bout titled “No More Hits,” a spoof of the INXS album.
When NEO first hanged out their shingle, Burning River Roller Girls from Cleveland loaned them the nail. I realize that’s an obscure analogy, but it couldn’t be more true. As a fledgling league coming of age in the rapidly growing sea of new roller derby, NEO needed someone to look up to. The most logical choice was the league to the North. It proved to be a wonderful relationship where both leagues prospered from having things to learn and teach as well as sharing resources. But all love and hugs aside, when roller girls skate onto the track, there’s no mercy.
Last season, NEO hosted the BRRG B-Team and lost 145-90. Understandable considering that BRRG as a league has been bouting since 2007 and the B-Team included some very good players. To say that NEO has come a long way since them is an understatement. They have played four away games (with only one win) and the game against Hazmat was their 4th of their ’09 home season. Mix in with that some intense training and “boot camps” and you’ve got a team that is determined to play their hearts out from the first whistle to the last.
The game started with Scarlet GoDancin on the Jammer line against Punk’d Pixie. These two women have worked with and against each other off and on for over a year, and their abilities are evenly matched. But that first jam set the tone of what was to become a Hazmat struggle the whole night. Scarlet scored 4 and called it; holding Pixie to 0. Hazmat was able to put one point on the board in jam 3, but didn’t score again until jam 11 where the score had stretched to 55-9. NEO has a good pool of jammers to rotate including powerhouses: Chrissie B. Hynde, Scarlet GoDancin, Phantom Fox, Taking Names, Teeny Houdini, Twin Pistol and rookie Amy Warhol N. And although each of those skaters also works in at blocking, the rotation helps to keep each jammer fresh. Hazmat seemed to be limited in their jammer pool relying mostly on Pixie and Rainbow Fright with some help from Slambassador and Syren VanDahl. But the end of the first period saw NEO in a 87-25 lead.
Scarlet and Pixie started the second period off as well, holding each other to an even 4 point jam. Twin Pistol showed some amazing resilience as she was knocked around like a pinball, forced into one-footers around turns and clinging to teammates for stability, but still triumphed her way into lead jammer and scored 9 points. Chrissie B. Hynde had a similar scene when she was knocked down and around, but with Clydesdale like grace still managed to come out on top. Amy Warhol N. has proved to be a rookie sensation with her ability to adjust to fast paced derby. She’s as tall and graceful as Phantom with the aggression of Chrissie and in her 7 turns at jammer managed to put 18 points on the board. She has a good shot at being named “Rookie of the Year.” Oddly enough, she also had the most trips to the box from NEO with 3; rookie mistakes apparently. Chelle Shock, a BRRG rookie, who despite being an aggressive and effective blocker managed to earn the Penalty Princess crown for the most time spent in the Cheater’s Chair with 5, although she had some stiff competition from her teammates. Team Captain, Punk’d Pixie, was ejected from the second half due to an excessive amount of trips to the penalty box in a period. Clearly, the amount of penalties, both major and minor, committed by Hazmat Crew proves how desperate they were to stop NEO’s scoring train. It was to no avail. NEO ended the game with 163-53. Top scorer of the evening was Scarlet GoDancin with 51 in her 8 turns at jammer followed closely by the rest of her jammer teammates.
It must feel bitter sweet to beat your sister league; a league that helped to nurture and pave your road to success. But in derby, when the game’s over, the friendships are still there; perhaps even stronger for the wear.
Next month NEO will host Assault City Roller Derby from Syracuse, NY in a bout called “Learning to Brawl,” a spoof of the classic Pretender’s album. The proceeds of that event will benefit the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio.

For more information about the NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls visit NEORollerDerby.com

WFTDA, Here We GO!

The NEO Rock 'n' Roller Girls are Ohio's newest addition to WFTDA's Apprentice Program. What this means is that having been teamed up with a Mentor League, NEO is on track to become a full fledged member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association and all the wonder that comes with it, such as competing for national ranking. WFTDA is the governing body of present day flat track roller derby. There are leagues popping up everyday and enjoying the sport of roller derby, but not all leagues are WFTDA. To help preserve the integrity of the sport, WFTDA seeks to ensure that member leagues are of a certain quality and caliber. Through this program, NEO will get the chance to prove its mettle.
Stay tuned...

NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls’ Game a Total Bust

Akron Roller Derby Team Loses Yet Wins
Tallmadge, Ohio – August 29, 2009 – The NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls, Akron’s premier roller derby league, hosted Columbus’ OHRG B Team “Gang Green” in a bout to raise money for breast cancer survivors. The event, dubbed Bustapalooza, was a two parter: a game with an art auction at half-time. Gang Green narrowly won the game 118-101, and the art auction was a glowing success. Here is how it all went down:

The Game

When the sport of roller derby first came to Ohio it landed in Columbus. The Ohio Roller Girls, or OHRG, ultimately set the standard for what NEO would strive to accomplish. So it was with great honor to have OHRG’s B Team up for a battle of skills and spills. Being a B Team doesn’t imply inability. Quite the opposite; Gang Green has some amazing players that have played on the league’s charter A team and done well. This team works amazingly well together showcasing some great defensive communication and phenomenal offensive drive. The first jam of the night saw Teeny Houdini (NEO) on the jammer line facing off against Hellion Boi (GG). Teeny was sent to the penalty box for cutting the track allowing Hellion Boi to score 14 uncontested points. The second jam went the other way. Scarlet GoDancin (NEO) lined up against Anna Chist (GG) and scored an uncontested 10 points. At this point it was clear to both teams as well as the nearly 1,000 in attendance that this was going to be a full on fight to the finish.
By jam 7 NEO was at a 25 point deficit. But by jam 10, with a 13 point uncontested scoring turn as jammer, team captain Taking Names (NEO) jumpstarted a recovery effort that by the end of the first half saw NEO leading 55-52.
Hellion Boi continued her persistent scoring in the second half but NEO did not back down. The game was wrought with penalties on both sides which opened the door to many power play situations. NEO didn’t always capitalize on those advantages, however, which clearly hurt the team in the long run. The scoring gap started to widen in the last four jams where NEO went three jams in a row without scoring a point. Chrissie B. Hynde (NEO) started the last jam in the penalty box, but due to her team’s defensive efforts was able to get lead jammer status and score two uncontested points. Alas, it just wasn’t enough to close in on Gang Green’s lead, leaving the final score at 118-101. The crowd had anticipated a good game, but was treated to an exemplary display of dynamic Roller Derby.
Hellion Boi was clearly the night’s highest scorer with 77 points earned in 14 jams. Scarlet GoDancin was next with 37 points in 7 jams. NEO’s Chrissie B. Hynde and Phantom Fox in their 8 turns as well as Gang Green’s Foxy Force in her 9 turns came in at 20 points each. NEO’s Rowdy Cougar and Suicide Blonde tied for their trips to the penalty box with three, but were well outshined by Gang Green’s Anna Chist and team captain Handle Barz with their 5 trips to the box. Overall Gang Green accumulated 29 trips to the Cheater’s Chair to NEO’s 18.

The Auction

Breast Impressions is an organization that provides women undergoing mastectomy the opportunity to preserve an impression of their former shapes. The company has been teaming up with roller derby leagues throughout the nation to raise money for those dealing with breast cancer. To do this Breast Impressions does a plaster cast of volunteer skaters’ breasts. Those casts are then given to local artists who reinterpret them as art. These finished works are then auctioned off during a bout to raise money for a selected charity that provides services in some way or another to people dealing with breast cancer.
NEO was the first league in Ohio to do such an event. Some of the artists that were chosen include world renowned Cleveland artist Derek Hess and Akron’s own Leandra Drumm. The total proceeds of the auction will go to Stewart’s Caring Place of Akron who provides relief services to people going through cancer treatment. The works were displayed throughout the month of August at local art galleries and attracted the attention of art enthusiasts and collectors alike. Those people showed up to the bout in hopes of taking home some one-of-a-kind works. That’s when the fun began.
On average the busts sold for $200-$300; some to collectors others to the derby girls themselves who had grown attached to the art. The night’s highlight came when a bidding war broke out between two art collectors over the Leandra Drumm piece. The price quickly escalated toward the $700 range and the crowd who had been somewhat despondent about the bidding really began to cheer the bidding on. At some point a representative of Scarlet GoDancin, who modeled for the bust and served as its inspiration, joined the fray and the price continued to climb. Scarlet’s representative won the auction for a record setting $925 and was joined by the crowd in a cathartic cheer. As for auctioning off roller derby girl busts, Judi Grove of Breast Impressions said Scarlet’s won the highest price to date. Another high dollar piece was the bust of Suicide Blonde done by Jessica Kinsinger. A bidding war ensued between Suicide’s representative and an unknown bidder. The unknown bidder won the auction for $700 and turned around and gave the bust to Suicide Blonde. As it turns out, the bidder recently lost a spouse to cancer and had used Stewart’s Caring Place as a resource during the treatments.
In all NEO was able to raise $4,385 for Stewart’s Caring Place. Many thanks to those that came out to support a great cause and especially the bidders and winners of the art work. Next month will see NEO hosting the Burning River Roller Girls’ B Team of Cleveland in a bout called “No More Hits” spoofing an INXS album and raising money for the Akron Battered Women’s Shelter.

For more information about the NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls visit NEORollerDerby.com

Blood Sweet Blood

Akron roller derby league draws blood
Akron, Ohio – June 25, 2009 – The NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls, Akron’s premier roller derby league, presented Chalan Geul, Events Manager for the Summit and Portage County chapters of the American Red Cross, with a check for $704.44. The donation is the proceeds of NEO’s second game at the Summit County Fairgrounds. The event, dubbed Blood, Sugar, Skates, Magik, also was preceded by a blood drive which allowed donors to get into the event at a discounted rate.
“We feel really good about being able to do this,” said Meredith “Suicide Blonde” McGrew of the NEO Roller Derby. “Blood is something that you just can’t buy and yet so many people rely on blood donations and the services of the Red Cross. You can actually save three lives with one donation, so we have such a great sense of pride right now that not only were we able to raise money and blood donations, but also awareness to a very worthwhile cause.”
The non-profit league of skaters will also be volunteering for the Red Cross by signing up participants for the 7th annual Ride for the Red event on September 13th.
The next home game on August 29th will feature an auction of local artist renderings of roller girl busts; the proceeds of which will be given to Stewart’s Caring Place of Akron in honor of breast cancer survivors.

For more information about the NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls visit NEORollerDerby.com

Akron’s NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls Swat Fort Wayne’s SWAT

Roller Derby Team Beats Indiana B Team in a Benefit Bout for the Red Cross

Tallmadge, Ohio (6-13-2009) - Fort Wayne Indiana’s Roller Derby League is a fantastic league. The players are phenomenal and as their record shows, they are a formidable force of skaters. Fort Wayne’s B team S.W.A.T. may honestly be a better team than the NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls, but Akron’s first and finest had fire in their hearts and played a textbook game of roller derby. NEO beat S.W.A.T. 92-47 in a blood drive bout aptly named Blood, Sugar, Skates, Magik; a spoof of the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s album and a charity drive for the American Red Cross.

At the start of the game it appeared as though the teams were evenly matched. With slow packs, low scoring and few penalties, it was clear from the beginning that this game was to be played out in the trenches of roller derby a.k.a ‘The Pack.’ The teamwork from both teams was impressive as they built and busted through blocker walls and kept the jammers at bay resulting in low scoring jams and plenty of single scoring passes. The overall strategy both teams were displaying was to get four points and call it and try to control any scoring outbreaks. That was in effect for the entire first period which ended with S.W.A.T. taking the lead 31-25.

The second period was a completely different beast. S.W.A.T. was determined to keep their lead and NEO, who has displayed second half heroics throughout their season, was hell bent on adding a win to their record. NEO’s Twin Pistol started racking up points in the second half then Chrissie B. Hynde and Teeny Houdini added to the steadily growing lead over S.W.A.T. The penalties were starting to fly and the packs sped up. The game took on an intensity that left the crowd realizing what derby should be: an even fight to the finish full of frenzied females.

S.W.A.T.’s Sweet Avenger tied for high scorer for the game accruing 26 of her team’s 42 points and her teammate Kiki U. Skullzen with only 11 of those points showed such determination and skill that one would have expected her total to be more. Her problem was the penalty box and the NEO blockers imagining a target pinned to her hips. The general strategy for blockers is to take down the biggest threat. Kiki appeared to be such a threat that NEO made sure to keep her from scoring. NEO’s top scorer was Twin Pistol with 26 followed by Scarlet GoDancin with 20. Scarlet, however, also receives the Queen of the Penalty Box tiara with three minutes spent in the Cheater’s Chair.

Other very notable performances were turned in by Suicide Blonde and Chrissie B. Hynde with their personal quests to out do the other with Jammer Take Outs (they tied), and team captain Taking Names who earned 11 points as jammer and as a blocker proved to be such a bee in S.W.A.T.’s bonnet that they awarded her the MVP for the game.

As for the Red Cross, there was a Blood Mobile parked outside and anyone who donated blood got into the bout for $5 (plus the obligatory tin can of pineapple juice and snack pack of Oreos to up the blood sugar). NEO will also be donating the proceeds of the bout to the American Red Cross.
Congratulations to both teams and all players for a wonderful game for a terrific cause. In August NEO is hosting Gang Green from Columbus’ Ohio Roller Girls in a charity bout that will raise money for Stewart’s Caring Place; an organization that provides relief and rehabilitation for those battling and surviving cancer. The bout will be called Bust-a-Palooza and will feature a half-time auction of rollergirl busts that were casted then redesigned by area artists including Leandra Drumm and Derek Hess. As always, keep your bearings pointing toward the Akropolis and stay tuned to the NEO Rock ‘n’ Roller Girls.

For more information log onto NEORollerDerby.com