4/30/2011 Bout Recap: The Icebreaker

The Third Annual Ice Breaker held on April 30th 2011 at JFK Arena in Rome NY was a great way to kick off CNYRD's 2011 home season.

Approximately 400 fans packed the JFK Arena. 2011's Bout Production team put some new touches on the setup for the season, including a staged seating scheme with forward butt seating, folding chairs section, and stands seating which allowed every fan a decent view.. The Utica Clubbers and The Blue Collar Betties did not disappoint those fans. Those in attendance were treated to two action packed halves and a chilling half time!

While the friends and family bout held on 4/2/2011 counted for intra-league standings for the season, The Icebreaker was the first true, public home bout of the season, and featured two of CNYRD's new home teams. Fans may remember the names The Blue Collar Betties and The Utica Clubbers, but both teams have been re-tooled with new rosters chosen for 2011 and represented an entirely new challenge in competition. Being that the BCB's had the chance to see the Clubber in action against the thrid home team, The Rome Wreckers at the 4/2 event, the BCB's were truly the wildcard coming into The Icebreaker, and no one knew what to expect. Out of the three home teams, the BCB's had taken the most hits to their roster before the season got underway between skaters retiring, moving, or taking leaves of absence, so it was unclear what sort of force they would bring to the track.

From the BCB's, skaters Ganja Ninja #420, Newks #1337 and Amanta Kill #658 were playing in their first public full length bout, but it was not obvious by their playing ability. Saturday’s leading scorers were Pied Viper from the Betties with 38 points and E-Gore of the Clubbers with 21 points. Those ladies also held the bout record for the most points scored in one jam, 25 points for Pied Viper and 21 points for E-Gore. Both teams gave it their all while they battled back and forth for the lead, there were 4 lead changes in the second half alone. The final score was 118 to 92, in favor of The Blue Collar Betties.

Ultimately, penalty box trips by the Clubbers creating huge power jams were the turning point of this game. The Clubbers came off their recent victory against the Rome Wreckers having used strong pack control to their advantage against a faster jamming lineup, and the same strategy did not work as effectively against the BCB's all around solid play.

Several skaters couldn’t stay away from the sin bin (penalty box); Penalty Queens with 6 minutes each were Cereal Suicide #30 (BCB), Sinful Pleasures #XXX0 (UC), Frisky Whiskey #6od (UC) and Moody Obsession #5150 (UC). A very large amount of these were out of play penalties enforced when players were caught still blocking more than 20' from the defined pack.

CNY Roller Derby would like to give a shout out to everyone that helped to make The Ice Breaker a success, Kevin Curtis treated us to a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, DeafGeoff spun the tunes that kept the fans dancing in seats and the jammers jammin’ on the line. Kitty Glitter stole the show! Fans young and young at heart had fun with all the noise makers and pom poms she brought with her. Our announcers S-Dot and Black Jack did a great job keeping the fans informed.

This leaves the season standings at:
The Blue Collar Betties 1-0
The Rome Wreckers 0-1
The Utica Clubbers 1-1

Also of note was the change in after party location for 2011- We all had a wonderful time at the Black River Ale House, which had plenty of room to handle our rowdy crowd. Super special thanks to Gary Acey for DJ'ing the afterparty and keeping it thumpin' until the last derby folks left. We really appreciated it!

Photos by Hispanic Attack
Photos by Pete Rodriguez: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3



Get ready fans we’ve got our first 2011 travel team home bout coming up on Saturday, May 14th at the JFK Arena. The CNY All Stars take on the Ithaca Sufferjets! The CNY All Stars find themselves undefeated this season thus far, and looking to continue their winning streak. Come support CNYRD!!