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