BFTC 2010

Come check out the NEW wheels to the Atom lineup during the BFTC. I am super excited to be at this event and can't wait to see all the Cali. Derby skaters lay it down. Come by the booth and say hi and FOR SURE check out the new Poison and Pulse.

Shortbus

Franky Panky 2010

This weekend at the Franky Panky is arguably one of the most fun events I have ever been to. The games were definitely headed and all teams came to play their hardest. Thanks to the Dee Bauchery and the rest of the Tampa Bay Derby Darlins for putting such an amazing event together!

I would also like to thank Tampa for letting me come to two of their practices. Everyone was so welcoming and definitely took any input that I had to give. This is for sure a team you will see rise in the DNN Power Rankings!

Shortbus

Also, Check out what Matomic had to say about the event!

Dallas VS Cincinnati

Wow! Tampa Florida wasn't ready for this! What a game! From start to fnish this was one of the most intense games I've seen the Hellrazors involved in. from the first jam through the end of the first half, there wasn’t a lead of more than 10 points, finally 3 jams into the second half Dallas burst ahead, at one point the Hellrazors were up by 38 points thanks to incredible jamming and destructive blockers in the back of the pack, lead byThe Shocker and Mona Bruiser and ridiculous frontal blocking holding the Cincinnati jammers back at the front of the pack lead by Herassiz Mine and Lickity Split-tail! This is a huge milestone for Dallas, seeing that their current rank of #20 nationwide is still 5 spots shy of Cincinnati's rank of #15. Dallas fought hard through the end of the game but ran into penalty trouble and wasn’t able to adjust from defense back to offense when Cincinnati started to close the margin, in the last jam Cincinnati moved into the lead by two points, and the game ended, by far the hardest fought bout of the Franky Panky Tournament! Way to go Hellrazors, if anything be proud you showed the derby world you aren't afraid of the higher ranked teams and can do what you showed up to do, and that is play fierce and competitive roller derby! Final score was 66-68 Victory going to Cincinnati

Dallas VS Tampa

Following argueably one of my favorite games I've seen the Hellrazors play this season, Tampa stepped in to try to extract some revenge from the two devistating losses they received at the Clover Cup at the hands of the Dallas Hellrazors. The game started off in identical fashion to the Clover Cup games, Tampa came out of the box hard and fast and caught Dallas a little off-guard, after a few jams of adjustment the Hellrazors were back on their game and in dominating fashion started to pull away jam after jam with use of Dallas' experienced 4 jammer all star rotation of Anita Riot, Roxie La Roo, Hot for Teacher, and returning from injury for the first time this season, Miley Virus. These four girls dominated the jammer field and further frustrations continued to rise for The Tampa Tantrums which resulted in an ejection of Tampa player and a Hellrazor with 3 mins left in the game. After the dust settled it was Dallas again with the win, leaving their record with Tampa for the season so far at 3-0. Final score was 131-111. Victory going to Dallas

Dallas vs Tallahasse
In a tournament full of suprises and wild games and after an extremely hard fought bout the day before with Cincinnati and a further frustrating game with Tampa, Dallas came back from a very tough and hectic day to end their visit to the state of Florida off with a devistating win over newly founded WFTDA team, Tallahasse. From start to fnish the Hellrazors were on point easily gaining lead jammer in EVERY jam the first 10 jams! At the end of the first half Dallas led 107-28. We then saw a side of the Dallas team in the second half that I have yet to see this year which was the change from a primarily defensive team to a team that with well executed defense was able to gain lead jammer, hold Talahasse's jammer at bay long enough for the Dallas jammer to reach the pack then without hesitation switch to offense which would gain a 4-0 or 5-0 jam almost every jam. The second half saw a deeper rotation of jammers including a 4-0 perfectly executed jam by one of the most feared blockers in the entire South Central Region, Mona Bruiser, sporting the jammer panty for the first time in tournament play this year. End result was Anita Riot, Roxie La Roo, and Hot for Teacher all scoring 40+ points! That goes with great offensive blocking from Hellrazors across the board who made some of the greatest adjustments to their gameplay this season! Way to go Dallas, by far one of your best games as a team! Final score was 173-32. Victory going to Dallas.

New Atom Poison

The NEW Atom Poison is FINALLY here. The has been a long time in the works. Are you ready for the grippiest wheel on Atom's line without sacrificing roll, well the New Poison is for you! After watching Six Gun Susie from Tampa JAM through the pack with ease, what more do you need!

Shortbus

Quad Almighty on MDC

Check out what Atom's own Quad Almighty had to say about the MDC3

Shortbus

MEN’S DERBY CONFERENCE 3

Northampton, Massachusetts is hippy little New England town where you can eat Yak meat at a Tibetan restaurant or enjoy a can of Narragansett Beer with underage skater punks. It is home to Smith College, the late Sylvester Graham—inventor of the graham cracker—and Pioneer Valley Roller Derby (PVRD), possibly the first (if not the most successful) coed derby league of the modern flat track revival.

On March 26-27, PVRD hosted Men’s Derby Conference 3, which brought together men and women from around the country who are involved with men’s derby. MDC is facilitated specifically by the four member leagues of the Men’s Derby Coalition: Pioneer Valley Roller Derby, Harm City Homicide, the New York Shock Exchange and the Connecticut Death Quads.

The Bunker, PVRD’s warehouse-turned-derby-HQ, is equal parts hang out and practice space. It’s a welcoming spot, which is a direct reflection of PVRD itself. You aren’t likely to find a more genuinely likable and courteous group as the Pioneer Valley crew. The weekend of the Men’s Derby Conference, derby-folk descended upon the Bunker for two days of sanctioned games, challenge bouts, seminars and classes… not to mention miscellaneous camaraderie, drinking and ill-advised three a.m. skating excursions around the town.

Saturday began full throttle with the first of two sanctioned games, and the first official game of the Men’s Derby Coalition 2010 Season. The men of PVRD’s Dirty Dozen squared off against Harm City Homicide. The Dirty Dozen jumped out to an early lead with some stellar jamming and tight packs that left Harm City struggling to adjust from front to back. Final score: Dirty Dozen 117 – Homicide 73.

Later that night, in the second sanctioned game, the undefeated New York Shock Exchange took on the Connecticut Death Quads, the newest member league of the Men’s Derby Coalition. The Shock Exchange’s experience and finely-tuned teamwork proved too much for the Death Quad’s shortened seven-man roster. New York’s unbeaten streak continues with a 164-33 victory over Connecticut.

Sunday was challenge bout day. The Light Side, led by Jonathan R overcame the power of Vader’s Dark Side, and Virginia Slim’s rag-tag gang whippersnappers, Euthanasia (Under 30 years old) put down Justice Feelgood Marshall’s Antiques Roadshow (Over 30 years old). Immediately following the challenge bouts, the Dark Side vowed to have their revenge upon completion of a THIRD Death Star (this time it’s really, really indestructible) and the Antiques Roadshow took a nap and caught up on Matlock.

Sunday also saw an up-and-coming Central Mass team take on a mish-mash of “Haters” in a grudge match. Central Mass put up a impressive fight with six-man roster, but the Haters managed enough vitriol to stave off the upstarts.

The most compelling part of the weekend to me was the evolution of men’s derby over the past few years. My first experience with men’s flat track derby was REF JAM at the Fort Wayne Derby Girls’ first Fall Brawl. It was blast to play in, and from what I understand, it was even more fun to watch—it also unquestionably breathed life into men’s derby in the Midwest—but the “game” itself was something more akin to rodeo clowns and keystone cops than anything resembling derby.

At Men’s Derby Conference 3, with such a wide range of incredible individual talent on display, I was impressed by how much men’s derby has grown into a refined game focused on teamwork, strategy and smart play. Now that the first official Season (with a capital “S”) of the Men’s Derby Coalition is underway, there’s no question that the men’s game is legit.

-Quad Almighty
April 5, 2010

JUKES

Last weekend, we (Harm City Homicide) played Pioneer Valley’s Dirty Dozen at the Men’s Derby Conference in Northampton, MA. The track at PVRD’s Bunker is a little odd. While the dimensions of the track itself are right—fourteen feet wide and correctly skewed in the corners—the infield is squeezed so the track will fit into the area they have available inside the Bunker. The skinny apex of the infield made it especially fun for jumping, by the way—kinda like dunking on a slightly lowered basketball rim. The track is painted (green) concrete and somewhat slippery as concrete goes.

I’d heard the track was slippery before I left, so Luke sent me some Juke 88A Slims. When I got to the Bunker on Friday night, I rolled around on the track with my standard Omegas, and I really didn’t think it was too bad. (Omegas are good on pretty much any surface.) I coach the Cincinnati Rollergirls who skate on concrete at the Chop Shop (their practice space) and at the Gardens (where they bout), so I was probably used to it more than most, but I didn’t have the issues with the track that some other people did.

After I’d rolled around a bit, I switched out my Omegas and put on the Jukes. They made a significant difference. They grip a lot better, but don’t sacrifice any speed. If anything I was able to move around a little better because Jukes have a slightly smaller diameter than Omegas, which improved my lateral motion, even more than I would have expected. I heard a lot of people comment about how slippery the floor was, but it didn’t bother me at all thanks to the Jukes. Atom should consider renaming this wheel the MVP. They’re every bit as good as advertised.

-Quad Almighty
March 27, 2010