Tuesday 5/31 8pm: Blue Collar Betties vs Utica Clubbers, friends and family bout

On Tuesday May 31st, 2011, CNYRD will host the second in a series of intraleague bouts leading up to our season championship on July 30th. This bout will be a 'Friends and Family' event. What this means is that we invite you, our friends and family, to come watch with a suggested donation at the door of $3.

There are no programs, no vendors, no halftime show, no fancy introductions etc......this is bare bones roller derby. We run it as a regulation bout in every way, and we take it very seriously, but it is not a full production event. We will have some league merchandise available for sale, and the arena will likely do light food and drink vending.

This is a great chance for you to see how the home teams stack up against each other for future games, and also a nice way to get to know your favorite players when there's not the craziness of a full bout to distract us.

There will be 6 intraleague games total, a full double round robin, and the championship game. The dates and matchups of these games are:

4/9 7pm - Rome Wreckers vs Utica Clubbers - friends and family
4/30 7pm - Utica Clubbers vs Blue Collar Betties
5/29 12pm- Utica Clubbers vs Blue Collar Betties - friends and family
6/4 6pm - Blue Collar Betties vs Rome Wreckers
6/26 12pm - Blue Collar Betties vs Rome Wreckers - friends and family
7/2 6pm - Rome Wreckers vs Utica Clubbers 7/30 8:30pm - Intraleague Championship!


This is the second match up between the Blue Collar Betties and the Utica Clubbers this season. On 4/30, these two teams played a public bout (The Icebreaker) which was the 2011 debut of the BCB's and saw the Clubbers coming off a win against the Rome Wreckers at the first friends and family event on 4/9. The BCB's won that bout 118-92, and are definitely looking to hold onto their winning record, while the Clubbers are clearly looking to avenge the loss.

New Commercial!!

CNYRD is excited to present to you our first formal video commercial. We are very pleased that the New Uptown Theater in Utica NY has agreed to sponsor CNYRD by playing our commercials in their previews to movies. We put this together as a first of many more, so keep your eyes open for more in the next few months in movie theaters, on TV, on online. Also look for an upcoming fundraiser in the next few months at the Uptown. Please support local and go see a movie or music or theater event at the New Uptown Theater and check out our commercial while you're at it!

Many thanks to our own Deadtime Story and Doc @ Doc Sinister Productions for putting this piece together. This is also you first sneak peak at the new All-Stars mascot. Enjoy!

Op Ed Column: Derby and Economic Stimulus

Many thanks to Orin Domenico (full disclosure, Mean Squeak's wonderful dad!) for writing this, and the Observer-Dispatch for printing it. There are a lot of stats to back up the idea that roller derby is a great way to bring an economic boost to smaller cities. It would be great if more areas in NY got on the train:

http://www.uticaod.com/guest/x1495159851/Guest-view-Roller-derby-could-be-economic-stimulus

Our New Floor.....

Any team or visiting skater that has skated with us at either of our seasonal practice spaces can tell you, our floors are far from great for roller derby. In recent winters, we have been on a traditional wood gym floor. As (bad) luck would have it, a very slick gym floor. In the summers, we are blessed to have JFK Arena in Rome which has a beautiful, flat, polished concrete floor. Depending on the weather, some days it is downright grippy, but the majority of the time its not.

The start of this season has been particularly slick, and we've tried everything under the sun to correct it. If there's a floor treatment, we've tried it, and with very small success. So far, the 'Traction' product sold by derby suppliers has worked best, but it's not enough.

So after saving, and members' hard work, and cutting costs, and putting our heads together with the lovely Randi Maehym, North America's (well, and a bunch of other places) rep for SkateCourt by IceCourt flooring systems, we've made a big move: Today we put the down payment on our own SkateCourt floor!!!!

We went small this time around, going with 6,468 sq ft, the bare minimum for a complete track and a 5' ref lane/crash zone. It's going to be quite the sight: A patchwork of 7 or so different colors done up derby style!

If you're not familiar with why exactly SkateCourt is the way to go for a derby floor (and trust us, it IS!), you should definitely check out their information here. Also, drop Randi a friend request on facebook using the link above for any questions you might have. The whole crew at SkateCourt has been SO amazingly helpful to us in this whole process, and we want to send a big derby THANK YOU to them.

We also cant say all of this without major thanks:
This entire move is made possible by all of the amazing skaters, refs, NSO's volunteers, sponsors, supporters, and fans of CNYRD. All of those dues paid, those tickets sold, those long hours working merch tables at events, the sponsorships donated- this represents part of the sweet payoff! We will be given the opportunity to up our game in such a big way as a result of this purchase, increase safety for our skaters, and give our fans an all around better experience.

Please check back soon for pictures of laying the new floor, and also for an upcoming fundraising drive to add to our floor. We LOVE what the Ithaca League of Women Rollers has done with their tile drive floor fundraiser , and we plan to do something similar here in CNY to help us with more flooring and to also showcase our loyal supporters beyond sponsors who are willing to give a few bucks to help us out and show their support.

WE'RE SO EXCITED!!!!!!!! Woooooo hoooooooo!!!!

June 4th: Derbyzilla Double Header!!!!

June 4^th Derbyzilla: Double Header

Utica Clubbers v. ManchVegas (NH)
Blue Collar Betties v. Rome Wreckers

Get ready for a double whammy of roller derby action! On Saturday, June 4^th Central New York Roller Derby will host a double header featuring all three of its home teams. Yes, that’s right you will get to see all your favorite CNY Roller Derby girls for the price of one ticket. It’s going to be derby-licious!

First up the Blue Collar Betties will take on the Rome Wreckers. This will be the second interleague bout of the season for both teams. The Blue Collar Betties are now 1 and 0 with an exciting win against the Utica Clubbers. The Rome Wreckers are still looking to secure a win for the season.

To round out the evening the Utica Clubbers will take on ManchVegas. ManchVegas hails from New Hampshire and will be the first out of league bout for the Utica Clubbers this season. So far, the Utica Clubbers are 1 and 1 with a big win against the Rome Wreckers and, most recently, a close loss to the Blue Collar Betties. The Utica Clubbers are hungry for another win and will be looking to take on ManchVegas with a vengeance.


As always, ages 10& under and 65& over are FREE. Advance sale tickets can be purchased online ($9), or at any of our three regular presale locations; The Tram Cafe in Utica, Cafe Domenico in Utica, and Bill's Variety in Rome ($8).

$1 of each ticket sold at the door ($10) will be donated to our 2011 season non-profit partner, the Oneida-Lewis Arc.

Look for more info coming soon about DJ, halftime show, National Anthem singers, and the afterparty.

Let us know you're coming by RSVP'ing on facebook HERE!

5/14/2011 Bout Recap: CNY All-Stars vs Ithaca SufferJets

Group Photo by Nic Sammond

College graduations and high school proms didnt stop awesome derby from being had this weekend in Rome, NY. CNY Roller Derby hosted the Ithaca League of Women Rollers for the CNY All-Stars first home bout of the 2011 season versus the Ithaca SufferJets, titled "Blood, Sweat, and Fears".

The All-Stars came into the game undefeated for the season so far, coming off solid victories against Lehigh Valley and Long Island in recent weeks. Playing down veteran blockers Little Bastard #5 and Lady Die Mentia #3 due to injuries, and remembering the schooling Ithaca dealt to CNY in its first ever away game in 2008, the CNY roster and bench staff were taking no chances on playing this game smart and safe.

The All-Stars took the lead from the very beginning of this game and never gave it up. Jammers Spin Spin Sugar #230, Gutshot #5689, Pied Viper #333, Mean Squeak #27, and Sinful Pleasures #xxx0 repeatedly grabbed lead jammer status and did not fail to put up points. CNY's blockers played a very strategic game allowing lots of points to be scored and not many given up. Overall, CNY's jamming squad each had 20+ points in the game. In the first half, Pied Viper put up a 25-0 jam that allowed CNY to break away with a comfortable margin. However, Ithaca did not just lay down and take it. To the contrary, their blockers were dishing out big hits left and right, and quite a few times crowd members ended up with CNY players in their laps. The score at the halfwas 74-28 in favor of CNY.

The slow pack work, even at times resulting in clockwise packs, necessitated quite a few officials time outs as the refs sorted out direction of gameplay issues and made sure all calls were being reported in correctly. While so many zebra huddles make for anxious fans, both benches were thankful that the refs and NSO's took the time to make sure things were right.

Photo by Mel Mogensen

The final score was CNY 180- Ithaca 68. High scorers were Spin Spin Sugar for CNY with 46 points, and for Ithaca AKT*47 with 17 points. Penalty queens this game were Cereal Suicide for CNY with 5 trips to the box and AKT*47 for Ithaca with 4 trips. MVP's were Moody Obsession #5150 for CNY and AKT*47 for Ithaca.

MVP photo by Ramon Aiello

This bout also served as a bottle and can drive for the victims of the fire on Schuyler St in Utica last week which claimed 4 lives. We are happy to report that we collected a TON of cans and bottles for the cause. We'll have an accurate count sometime soon this week, but here's a quick picture of the 20ish garbage bags full that are awaiting pickup at the venue:

In other charity related news, this event also put another $115 into our donation fund for the Oneida-Lewis chapter of The Arc, our 2011 season non-profit partner.

This event marked a bitter sweet milestone for CNY Roller Derby: Doris Doomsday #818 skated her last bout with CNYRD. 'Doom', as she is known, is moving to Toronto, and we will all be very sad to see her (and Nic!) go. Doom served as the league's PR chair for the 2010 season and the league benefitted greatly from her guidance. We are sure that no matter where she is Doom will continue to be a name you hear about in flat track roller derby. All-Stars captain Gutshot had poignant words to share for Doom and Chairwoman Little Bastard presented her with flowers from the league.

Photo by Pete Rodriguez

Big thanks are due to our guest DJ, Gary Acey, for making the music happen on short notice, and helping us out big time! He not only loaned us extra speakers to make sure the folks at the ends of the stands could hear, but then loaded out super fast at teh end of the bout and was set up and ready for dance contests at the afterparty byt the time we got there!

Big thanks are also due to our very own Broadway Mu-Psycho for her awesome National Anthem, and to announcers BlackJack and Harry Crumb for holding it down all night. We couldnt do it without awesome volunteers!

Coming up Soon!

Next up for CNYRD, On Saturday June 4th CNYRD Presents the Derbyzilla Double Header- you get to see all 3 of CNY's home teams play in one day- The Utica Clubbers take on The ManchVegas Roller Girls of NH, and the Blue Collar Betties play the Rome Wreckers. More info to come soon!

For the All-Stars, the next 2 bouts are away, but not too far.....on June 11th the All-Stars take on Syracuse's Assault City A-Team in Syracuse, and on June 18th, the All-Stars head out to Buffalo for their biggest challenge yet this year- skating against the higher ranked and more experienced Queen City Lake Effect Furies. Check back here for ticket and travel info!

Media from the bout:

Photos by Ramon Aiello

Photos by Pete Rodriguez Part 1 Part 2

Photos by Mel Mogensen

Photos by Shatterbug11

Photos by Nic Sammond

Photos by Hispanic Attack

Please add links to new media as it becomes available in the comments section! Thanks!

Bottle Drive for Fire Victims this Saturday 5/14

Hello all.
Central New York is a big geographic area with a VERY small town feel. We all know each other in some way or another. So when tragedy strikes our area you can bet that at least one person involved with CNYRD has a personal connection.

On Monday one of the worst house fires in recent history claimed the lives of three young children and their mother on Schuyler St in Utica. The whole story is pretty awful. You can read info on it and see some video here.

Some of us know family and friends of this family, we know the news people who covered it, and we know the firefighters who fought it, and we want to do something to help out. There's a 10 yr old child who was at school when this occurred who is now without her mother and siblings.

We heard about this bottle and can drive, being started by Stash's Hit N' Run Redemption Center, and we thought about our bout this weekend and realized we might be able to make a considerable difference.

We would like to ask everyone planning to attend the bout to bring your cans and bottles for this cause. If you show up with at least one kitchen sized trash bag full, we will admit you at the pre-sale price of $8. But please, please, please; try to bring more than that. Load up your vehicle. We will have volunteers on hand who will be happy to help you bring it inside.

The folks at Stash's have agreed to come with a truck on Monday to pick up our haul. We would love it if it took two or three truckloads to cart it all away.

Thank you in advance for helping us make a difference in this terrible situation.
If you would like to help out in other ways, there is a donation box at the Tramontane Cafe, and also there is a carwash going on today, 5/11 on Court St by the brewery. Please stay on the lookout for other donation opportunities.

Nail Creek Pub: Our 2011 All-Stars Uniform Sponsor

We would like to give a HUGE thank-you and shout out to Chris and Tracy Talgo and the rest of the crew at Nail Creek Pub & Brewery for donating the money for CNYRD to have fancy new travel team uniforms made for 2011.

The uniforms, custom designed by CNYRD and produced by Cisco, have been commented on among the derby community as a noticeable step up in our travel team image. You can see the All-Stars in action back in March vs. Lehigh Valley wearing the uniforms in this really cool stop action video made by Pete Rodriguez, compiled from photos he took at the bout.

CNYRD could not be happier to count Nail Creek as a major sponsor. Beyond being a roller derby supporter from the earliest days of CNYRD, the Nail Creek has also been very supportive of other amateur sports teams in the area, and also community activism and outreach. Chris and Tracy took a dilapidated (and that's a serious understatement!) building in the brewery district on Varick St in Utica and slowly remodeled it into one of the most beautiful pubs around. You can read about the process here. CNYRD's start and slow build over the past 3 years to the league it is today has in many ways paralleled this process; re-birthing a nearly lost sport and bringing it back into the culture of CNY as an anchor sporting attraction.

At right, you can see the special team jersey we had made for Nail Creek to commemorate their contribution, to be presented for hanging in the pub in the near future.

CNYRD & Hot Topic Presents: PHYLACTIC! May 11th 6-9pm

On Wednesday May 11th from 6-9pm, CNY Roller Derby will team up with Hot Topic to bring you music from Phylactic, and promotion for the 5/14 bout vs Ithaca.

Phylactic is a duo consisting of JD Love (aka Pied Viper #333 of the Blue Collar Betties and CNY All-Stars) (vocals) and Justin Parker (guitar). They will be playing an acoustic set at Hot Topic while the ladies of CNYRD promote the bout. Phylactic describes their music as: "Loud aggressive guitar at varying lengths and speeds with passionately soulful vocals that melt your face".


There will be CNY Roller Derby and Quadfathers members there to talk about derby and how to join or volunteer. We'll have all the insider info on the bout that Saturday. There might even be some ticket giveaways and other surprises!

See the facebook event and RSVP if you're coming HERE.

Hot Topic is located in Sangertown Square Mall, at the intersection of Routes 5 and 5A in new Hartford:


View Larger Map

Next Home Bout: 5/14/2011 "Blood, Sweat, and Fears"; CNY All Stars vs Ithaca SufferJets

On Saturday May 14th 2011, CNYRD will host its first home bout of the 2011 season for the as-yet-undefeated CNY All-Stars travel team. The All-Stars will be playing the travel team from the Ithaca League of Women Rollers, the Ithaca SufferJets.

Ithaca was recently accepted into the WFTDA Apprentice Program, and we couldn't be happier to have more regional teams to play in WFTDA sanctioned play.

CNYRD and ILWR have a long history- In June 2008, ILWR hosted CNYRD's then-travel-team, the Asylum City Lunatics, in our first ever away bout (and kicked our butts all over the track like the rookies we were!) Since then CNYRD and ILWR have not seen much direct competition beyond scrimmages. Both leagues were looking forward to playing each other at last year's Empire Skate Showdown tourny, but the brackets did not permit it unfortunately.

Tickets for the 5/14 bout can be purchased HERE from TicketDerby.com for $8 with a $1 service fee for online sales.

Advance sale tickets can also be purchased at CNYRD's three normal locations; The Tram Cafe in Utica, Cafe Domenico in Utica, and Bill's Variety Store in Rome; for $8.00 until night of 5/13.

Tickets can always be purchased at the door for $10, $1 of which is donated to our 2011 season non-profit partner.

The bout will feature music by DJ Acey, and the afterparty will be hosted by the Black River Ale House.

Doors at 6pm, whistle at 7pm.
Get there early for best seating!

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!!