Volume II: "All the world's a stage . . ."

     Konnichiha!  I am hoping these words find you - and find you well during these trying times of the SNOWPACOLYPSE!!  Seriously, we here at the DRDC hope that the storm has not interefered too much with your daily lives . . .


     SOOOOO, as The Bard said:
          All the world's a stage,
          And all the men and women merely players;
          They have their exits and their entrances;
          And one man in his time plays many parts,
          His acts being seven ages.
If this is true, and I am inclined to believe it is, the lovely ladies of the DRDC put on a smashing performance with their social debut at the Quincy Not-So-Fine Arts Society's annual Variety Show fundraiser on January 29th at the gorgeous State Room.  There was music! There was comedy! There was art and artists alike!  Hell, there was even karaoke, but the luminous rubies of the evening were the derby girls and our plethora of  baked goods!
    
     As a founding member of the NSFA this Slamurai was a little preoccupied with collecting donations at the door, but my sisters in derby "held it down", as it were, peddling cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and every other baked delicacy you can imagine . . .  and a few so unique the likes have never been tasted!  The first round of DRDC tshirts were on display on our bodies and at our booth, and the public clamored for them. So, be prepared to see non-skating members of the DRDC army everywhere!  (Stickers ans tshirts are still readily available so track down a derby girl for details!)
    
     All told the team managed to $356.90 for the collective coffers - funds we plan to use to further the DRDC movement.  It was incredibly gratifying to work in conjunction with so many talented individuals who, like us, want to be seen, heard, and appreciated.  Quincy is a veritable wonderland of talent, new ideas, and exciting goings-on, and we hope to be a part of (and create) as many of those events as possible!  We are truly well on our way to some hard-core, skull-cracking, heart-pounding derby action . . . SO STAY TUNED, NINJAS!
     
      Additionally, we here at the DRDC would like to wish a very fond and tearful farewell to our dear Becky Thrasher (#32) who is departing for employment opportunities in Columbia, MO. Though we will miss her terribly, we wish her all the best in her future endeavors. Hopefully, she can hook up with the COMO Derby Dames and keep her derby dream alive!  Who knows, we may even bout her in the near future.
     
     These sentiments, though short and sweet, are just as imperative to the derby cause as any others. So, please keep reading and keep supporting your local roller derby gals: The Dark River Derby Coalition!


Sayonara Suckas!

Scarlet Slamurai

Volume I: Into the Fray . . .

Konnichiha!  It is I, the Scarlet Slamurai (#87) - The Dark River Derby Coalition's hired gun/roving bard.  Welcome to the first of what I hope to be an anthology chronicling the life and times of Quincy's very first flat track roller derby league and its quad-donned dames.

Let's leap head-long into the fray, shall we? . . .

A field trip of sorts came to be on Sunday January 16th Iowa City's own Old Capital City Roller Girls hosted a Black and White open scrimmage on their home turf, and we were lucky enough to get an invite from the team. This was not an event that was open to the public so it was quite kind of our sisters in Iowa to give us the nod. So, as not to squander a VIP derby viewing opportunity Felony O'Connor, Bruise Burymore, El Heff- A, and I took to the road like a faction of war-worn mercenaries: sleepy-eyed and weary but armed to the hilt and teeming with anticipation.

The drive itself, though marred by a frozen and rather boring landscape, was pleasant and filled with chatter about all things derby-Dark River and otherwise: “What would it be like? How many women would be there? Would they need us to do anything to help?” etc, etc, etc . . .  I could only imagine it was especially electric for Bruise who would be witnessing live play for the first time, and we all shared in her fervor. After every possible idea and question was seemingly exhausted we arrived in the land of the Hawkeyes . . . and they certainly don't let you forget that fact! We took a little time to familiarize ourselves with our final destination, got lost for a bit looking for a closed Thai restaurant,  and  happened upon a tasty little Indian joint  before returning once more to the Coralville Marriott where the Old Capital City girls practice and bout.  I even had time to impress the group with my incredible parallel parking prowess. What can I say, I'm a ninja . . .

We knew we were in the right place as we entered the doors and saw several ladies milling about in tights and knee socks of all colors, creeds, and denominations.  Ladies standing tall and proud speaking in boisterous tones and laughing with the kind of reckless abandon you would imagine only a derby girl to have.  The mood of the place was vibrant and alive - the buzz of activity, the hum of quads on polished concrete: intoxicating.  Everyone there was just there for a good time: zebras (refs) of all walks of life, ladies from teams near and far, NSOs (non-skating officials) flitting to and fro making sure everything was just right. We were almost instantly recognized as outsiders but certainly were not treated as such: the organizers were kind enough to waive our entrance fee and branded us as NSOs and simply instructed us to have a good time.  Tracks were being taped on the floor, girls were gearing up and stretching, and we just soaked it all in - trying to commit every subtle nuance to memory.  “Those are the skates I want. Those must be those Atom Poison wheels. What brand pads are they wearing? That's a new stretch I haven't seen before! SOMEDAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO DO THIS!! “

Since there seemed to be a good number of much more experienced NSOs we and they were just fine with us pulling up a piece of (cold!) concrete and watching while El Heff -A manned the mini-cam.  The format was pretty simple: each skater brought with her 1 white and 1 black "uniform" shirt.  Each shirt had the skater's name and number on the back, and they were all evenly divided into teams: Black v. White.  Of course, everyone wanted to wear black, and there was a guttural din as some were forced to shed their preferred blacks for the more vestal whites. Since it was a scrimmage everything was uncharacteristically casual.  The zebras (who were all thematically and awesomely wearing underoos on their helmets) were pretty lax when it came to calling penalties, and the skaters, though pointedly competing, were obviously just enjoying the camaraderie and having a great time.  This is not to say that there wasn't a little drama and unsportsmanlike conduct, but it was from a very small cell and short-lived.  I'm not sure how many jams were skated or even which "team" won - girls were hopping back and forth from black to white and vice versa the entire time so I'm compelled to think it didn't really matter.  In the grand scheme of things the point was just to get skaters together to do what they do best: play Roller Derby!

After chatting with some new contacts from both the Iowa City and the Cedar Rapids teams (guess who wants to practice, scrimmage, and bout with us?!) we thanked our gracious hosts and bid them a fond adieu.  Parting is, in fact, such sweet sorrow . . . 

All in all, a good time was had by all.  The excitement of live derby breathed new life into this girl, and I'm sure the promise of scrimmages, practices, and bouts to come have this coalition bursting at the seams!

Sayonara Suckas!

Scarlet Slamurai

Welcome to Talk DRDC to Me....

This is the official blog of the Dark River Derby Coalition, the first women's flat-track roller derby team in Quincy, Illinois.  Check back soon for new posts.