A personal note from Atom All-Star and Co-Captain of the Windy City Rollers - Varla Vendetta

Uproar on the Lake Shore is just one week away! We've been training all year for this! I'm jumping up and down in my skates!

Windy City also just returned from a Pacific Northwest tour that set us on the track with Rose City and Oly. Since both are so geographically distant, those are teams we are always extra jazzed to get to know and play, as we don't have many opportunities to do so. Thanks to both teams for being awesome hostesses and intense competitors! And I learned I have a great affinity for both waterfalls and Voodoo Doughnuts!

We set out looking at these bouts as a prep for Uproar: try out some new combos, look at what areas need tweaking, play on the road. Both were really hard hitting games which, in the tradition of Chicago teams like the Bears (heart!), Windy City loves. We like our derby to be physical and were happy both games were just that! Super fun games!

I often hear teams say, "we learned a lot from that loss." And I've certainly felt that in the past: you experience a new strategy or a new style of play and a light bulb goes off. More recently, and from those two games especially, I feel like I learn a lot more about myself from a loss: how I deal with loss internally, how I can work on focus in tight games, how I rebound to make myself mentally tougher. That brings to mind one of my favorite quotes from Walter Payton: "Tough times don't last, tough people do."

Coming into tournament season, I think that mental part of an athlete's game becomes perhaps the most important training on which a skater can work. Her body has trained to be in the best shape it can be to execute by this time in the season. So now it's her head and her heart that are going to be the elements that propel her toward the Hydra. The strength of one's inner athlete is vital to the success of her entire team.

I cannot wait to see that inspiration and drive that will be part of every game next week. It's why the Championships are so incredibly thrilling! Good luck and congrats to all who will be competing! See you in Chicago! No waterfalls, but a ridiculously beautiful Lakefront...make sure you take time to see it!

Varla Vendetta
#25
Co-Captain, Windy City Rollers All-Stars

New 2011 Wheels Available For Purchase!!

All the exciting new Atom Quad wheels have now been added to our Wheels page on the Atom Quad web site and are available for purchase through our shopping cart. Stock up NOW!

OLY ROLLERS VS. WINDY CITY from Atomatrix

Following the BIG NEWS at Regionals, big news being OLY taking their first ever WFTDA loss (after a 22 game winning streak) against the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, people were eager to see what would happen at our next WFTDA bout which took place 10/17 against North Central #1, the Windy City Rollergirls.

Since the day we returned home from Sacramento, we've only had one thing on our mind - Getting ready for Nationals the first weekend in November which was only 5 weeks away at the time. Luckily, we had a perfectly timed bout to put our hard work to use against Windy. The results were right on track with what we we've been working on. Some have said Windy was there to scout, but playing and watching this bout firsthand...that was not the case. They were a classy bunch of ladies playing straight up derby with clean play and hard hits. I remember being on the bench completely blown away at the intestity of this game, from start to finish! Regardless of the score the derby action was phenomenal - nobody walked away early from this bout. It was super fun to bout with Varla Vendetta, a fellow Atom All-Star for the first time.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at Nationals which is now only 2 short weeks away!

Your friend in derby - Atomatrix

IN STOCK NOW - JUKE 2.0 Nylon, JUKE 2.0 Alloy, Poison Slim & Poison Slim ALLOY!

The highly anticipated JUKE 2.0 ALLOY-(88a,93a,95a) and JUKE 2.0 NYLON (88a,93a,95a) are all IN STOCK NOW!

Also IN STOCK NOW & Brand new to the market - POISON Slim & Poison Slim ALLOY!

Our re-vamped 2011 line is better than ever with ML technology in all our HC wheels for guaranteed no hub pops, to make all our lives easier! Discontinued out of the line from 2010 will be the DUBZ 100A, Dubz 100A Slim, and Dubz 93A Slim and the original Juke wheels. If you're still a fan of Dubz in black, get yours today before they're out for good!

Dubz 2.0 in 44mm 97A –(orange urethane) will be ready for delivery mid November.

On behalf of Atom Wheels I'd like to thank the derby community for your continued support!

Your friend in Derby - Atomatrix

Atom 'Front Runner' Derby Bout Recap!

On Sunday the 26th of September, the StL GateKeepers and Magic City Misfits faced off in an epic battle between two of the top four teams in men's derby. The GateKeepers caught the derby world's attention earlier this year by making it to the championship game of Spring Roll and only losing by one point to the Puget Sound Outcasts, one of the most established teams in Men's derby. St. Louis was only six months old at the time. The Misfits came into this bout with their two previous bouts being complete blowouts, winning by over 160 points in each match up. Their National Champion jam skaters quickly building enormous buzz with their speed and dynamic moves on the track. The title of the bout was ‘Disputed Champions’ as the winners would consider themselves the best in the country, though a couple other teams would have something to say about that claim.

The bout started with the GateKeepers striking first blood but quickly releasing their early lead due to the Misfits ability to repeatedly earn lead jammer. After several low scoring jams, the first breakout point run (20) was made by the GateKeepers, taking advantage of a Misfits jammer penalty. The GateKeepers controlled the lead for the rest of the half due to more untimely jammer penalties to the Misfits. Their aggressive acrobatic jammers had trouble maintaining control with the cohesive pack work of the GateKeepers. Right before half, the Florida boys cut the lead drastically by going on a strong run that left the GKers advantage to only 26, still leaving it anyone's game.

The second half started very strong for the Misfits. They battled back and took a two point lead ten minutes into the second half. Their home crowd cheers were soon silenced as the GateKeepers quickly regained the lead and never gave it up. For St. Louis, it was a total team victory as they lost Wrecking Bill to injury and Boba to an accumulation of 7 trips to the box with many jams left in the bout. Their talented deep bench was up to the task presented to them. The final score was 170-143 in the GateKeepers favor.

Knowing the agility and quickness of our opponents, I skated on Juke 2.0s (95a). The smaller diameter and width of the wheels allowed for better responsiveness and control while making quick direction changes. We skated on an amazingly grippy and smooth coated wood floor. The Juke 2.0s were the perfect wheel for that bout.

The GateKeepers next bout is Oct 23rd when our temporary intraleague teams, the Force and the Dark Side, face off for a third and final time. I’m also keeping an eye out for the release of the Juke Alloy wheels… those look incredibly rad.

Living the derby dream,

Magnum, p.i.m.p.
StL GateKeepers
Captain/Coach
Atom Front Runner

2010 Western Regionals Recap

This year’s Western Regionals was certainly one of the top derby events ever. The amount of talent in the west with only 3 open spots, created high energy and a fierce atmosphere. How about 3 amazing teams going to Nationals in Chicago with Seattle and Portland staying home? Now that is shocking in itself.
The final spot for Nationals came down between Bay Area Derby Girls and Portland. This bout was intense from the get-go. Portland has played all year as if they were ready to go to Nationals for the first time. BAD proved earlier in the season they were ready to make it to the big dance after missing out on Nationals action in Philly last season. Both laying it all on the line, putting everything they had into a bout that meant a lot to each player as well as the team/league. After one hour of intense derby B.A.D. had risen to the occasion and will be participating in the 2010 nationals in Chicago, congrats to BAY AREA!

The next battle was for silver and gold, both teams already guaranteed a spot at this year’s Nationals however, this meeting had more than just a gold medal on the line. Defending champions Oly Rollers were on a record setting winning streak, never once losing a WFTDA game since they joined in early 2009 and Rocky Mountain was proving to be the hottest team in the Nation going into the weekend. There is a lot of love and respect between the two teams on and off the track but when that first whistle blew it was hard core derby until the end of the match. RMRG was sharp, energized and determined to prove they are top seed of the west. This final felt as if it were the Nationals, both teams playing their hearts out for 60 minutes. The level of play was phenomenal. RMRG was able to maintain composure, breaking down OLY with about 15 minutes remaining in the bout. RMRG went on to win handedly over OLY, giving them their first WFTDA loss in 20+ games. Congrats to RMRG and Atom Wheels wishes you the best in Chicago.

WFTDA Nationals is being held November 5th-7th in Chicago, IL. Can’t make it?, just tune in to Derby News Network

Good luck to the top 12 teams in the nation participating in the 2010 WFTDA Nationals!
 -Atom Wheels - Official Wheel of the WFTDA