Jan 22, 2016 | Bout News

New Year Knock Out: The Preview

While the rest of us have been nursing our holiday hangovers or staying inside from the cold, the Minnesota RollerGirls have been preparing. They’ve been pushing themselves harder, giving themselves new challenges, hitting the gym and hitting the track. The new year brings new chances for glory, but the roller derby league waits for no one.

As you’ve probably had to explain to the uninitiated a time or two, we call these things “bouts”, not games, for a reason. We’ve got multiple competetive events on the same card in the same night, we’ve got dramatic lighting and a “ring”, and mixed in with the athletecism and grace there’s just that small touch of violence to make things interesting. But most importantly for this New Year Knock Out, there’s a whole lot of work that goes into the big day. Like the boxer working the bag and struggling up the city hall steps, the RollerGirls are putting in weeks, sometimes months of preparation into every game. What does that mean for our Saturday night contests?

Atomic Bombshells v. Garda Belts

The big story so far in the Atomic Bombshells season has been the mid-season addition of Brickyard to the Bombshells’ roster. Her strength and agility at jammer add a dangerous weapon to their arsenal, and in December’s Naughty List bout it was clear that the Bombshells are having no problems integrating her style of jamming into the game plan. They’ll want to keep the momentum going from their win against the Dagger Dolls last month by giving their jammers (Brickyard, Riotchu, Roley Ann Lena, Hurtrude Stein, and more) as much time to operate as possible.

On the Gardas side, the addition of Brutal Brit gives them another strong blocker who is comfortable using her backside and controlling her teammates to stop the opposing jammer. Their blocking play has been very aggressive this year, with lots of high-risk moves to try and get the opposing jammer out of bounds so they can draw her back. That style can be overwhelming to jammers who have to pass the same blockers again and again without making progress, but it risks easy passes if the blockers can’t get their targets all the way over the track boundary.

Dagger Dolls v. Rockits

The Rockits have settled into a comfortable rhythm so far this season, winning every game so far. Their jammer rotation is well-established as Rhea Volt, Obscene Sheen, and Dreidel Robber, and their blockers have made an art form out of recycling to the front to keep the jammer behind them. It’s easy to tell the winning team to “keep doing what you’re doing”, but that advice risks complacency, so we’ll learn Saturday night whether the Rockits are still doing the work to stay on top.

The Dagger Dolls have had a rough start to Season 12, where they have yet to win a bout. As of press time, it looks like both of their anchor players, Jacked Pipes and Shiver Me Kimbers, will be healthy and ready for Saturday’s bout, which should help them a lot, but it takes more than a couple of superstars to win in this league. David didn’t win by playing by Goliath’s rules, so watch for the Dagger Dolls to switch it up with different lineups or unusual formations to try to break the Rockits’ stride.

The Sweet Science

You’re gonna want to be there to see all the hits from the first whistle to the last four. Get your tickets now either online or from any of our fine local vendors.