Previews
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03/05/2020

Ohio Roller Derby 2020 Season Preview

UPDATE 3/13/20: In an effort to do our part to mitigate the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to follow the guidelines set forth by Governor Dewine to cancel or postpone mass gatherings, we have postponed our season opener at the Ohio Expo Center. Read about it here. After an intense interleague schedule culminating in a repeat appearance at the North America East Continental Cup, Ohio Roller Derby prioritized fun, rest, and recovery in late 2019. The league played two themed mixed-level games and then packed the stands for the annual Skatemare Before Christmas exhibition event. In January, skaters returned to strength training and skating fundamentals, ramping up for another season of exciting competition at all levels. Celebrating their fifteenth anniversary this year, Ohio returns to their home track at the Ohio Expo Center from mid-March through the end of June. While last season brought a handful of retirements and an influx of fresh skaters, the 2020 All Stars roster remains largely unchanged from the 2019 postseason. Captained by Amy Spears, Kelsey Khaos, and Vyles, veteran players Betty Me-Owww (formerly Betty T. KayO), Bigg Rigg, Birch Slap, BrussKnuckles, Catch Mikachu, Chainsaw, and KloverKill also return. A strong core of experienced crossover

By HardKore
06/26/2019

Ohio Rolls out the Red Carpet for Classic City

Wrapping up three months of nonstop, hard-fought contests, Ohio Roller Derby will take the track in the Lausche Building at the Ohio Expo Center on Saturday, June 29th against Classic City Rollergirls (Athens, GA) in their final regular season games of 2019. An untested opponent for Ohio, (78) Classic City has been on a slow but steady upward trajectory over the past year and a half, emerging victorious in eight sanctioned games and climbing forty-four spots in the WFTDA rankings during their 2018 season. A lighter 2019 schedule has been no less successful; currently 3-0, Classic City began their season by besting Appalachian Roller Derby in March, then rematched against them in May with similar results. Rolling with the momentum, they posted a 40-point win over Garden State on June 23rd, and will make the most of their trip to Ohio with a closed game against Cincinnati Rollergirls on Sunday, June 30th. While Ohio is projected to receive an invitation to the North America East Continental Cup in August, this last matchup before the June 30th rankings cutoff provides an opportunity to improve their standings and influence both their seeding and schedule for the postseason tournament. Following the home closer, Ohio Roller Derby

By HardKore
06/06/2019

Ohio Returns Home to Battle Brandywine

As the regular season begins to wind down, (63) Ohio Roller Derby wraps up a whirlwind month of travel and returns to the Ohio Expo Center to square off against (69) Brandywine Roller Derby (Downingtown, PA) on Saturday, June 8th in their penultimate home game of the year. Currently 2-4 in 2019, the Belligerents scheduled a season similar in length to the All Stars, and have slowly crept up in the WFTDA rankings over the past few months. Their first trip to Ohio in March resulted in a narrow loss to Cincinnati, while their home opener in April brought a 101-point triumph over Charm City. Brandywine also made the journey to the Put Up Your Toques invitational in Canada in early May, but fell short in each of their three games against Toronto, Orangeville, and Ottawa Valley, all of whom Ohio has bested this season. Most recently, the Belligerents took down Charlottesville in a 203-173 victory at home; Ohio is their last scheduled game before the June 30th cutoff for postseason determination. Ohio and Brandywine have clashed only once previously, when the All Stars cinched a 248-108 win at home in April 2017. The Belligerents have experienced minimal turnover in their charter

By HardKore
05/16/2019

An Old Rivalry Revived

Making a quick jaunt to Pennsylvania during a mid-season lull in home games, Ohio Roller Derby will face off against long-time rivals Steel City Roller Derby (Pittsburgh, PA) on Saturday, May 18th at the Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena in Cheswick, PA. Teams of all levels from the two leagues have clashed numerous times over the past decade, with Ohio maintaining a winning average in all configurations. (84) Steel Hurtin’ played their second WFTDA-sanctioned game ever against the All Stars in December 2007 and have rematched with them six times since, including once at WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs in 2014. Their most recent meeting at the now-defunct Romp n’ Roll in Glenshaw in August 2015 saw the Steel Hurtin’ pull out a decisive 249-117 victory, but both charter rosters have undergone significant change since. The Hurtin’ challenged themselves in 2018, prioritizing road games and traveling to the United Kingdom for the Euro Clash tournament; the experience served them well, as they have slowly but steadily climbed the WFTDA rankings over the past year. With a more experienced roster in 2019, the Hurtin’ front-loaded their season and are currently 6-3. Kicking off with travel losses to Naptown and Roc City in February and March

By HardKore
05/08/2019

Ohio Extends Neighborly Welcome to Gem City

Fresh off a successful tournament weekend in Canada, Ohio Roller Derby returns to their home track in Columbus with an improved 4-1 season record to welcome neighboring league Gem City Roller Derby (Dayton, OH) on Saturday, May 11th for one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the season. Despite their close proximity, the two A teams have not played one another in a decade, meeting twice in 2009 with entirely different rosters and under a very different WFTDA rule set. Gang Green and the Gem City B team, the Violet Femmes, sparred more recently in September 2014, with Gang Green emerging victorious. In the years since, Gem City has been on a steady upward trajectory, boasting nearly undefeated seasons for the past three years. The Purple Reign were in position to make a run for their first postseason appearance at the North America East Continental Cup in 2018, but they were forced to cancel the deciding game against Toronto on the final day of the WFTDA regular season due to unsafe track conditions. Eager to prove that they’re up to the challenge, they have scheduled an ambitious but well-paced season and are currently 2-3. Kicking things off with an early February

By HardKore
04/29/2019

International Travel Ahead!

Ramping up for a jam-packed schedule over the next month, Ohio Roller Derby will hit the road for the first time in 2019 as the All Stars travel north to participate in Canada’s longest-running active WFTDA invitational event, Put Up Your Toques. Hosted by Tri-City Roller Derby, the tournament will take place over the first weekend in May at the RIM Park in Waterloo, Ontario, providing internationally competitive opportunities for WFTDA charter teams from across the province and the eastern United States. Participating teams include Brandywine Roller Derby (Downingtown, PA), Orangeville Roller Girls (Orangeville, ON, CA), Ottawa Valley Roller Derby (Ottawa, ON, CA), Roc City Roller Derby (Rochester, NY), Royal City Royal Derby (Guelph, ON, CA), and Toronto Roller Derby (Toronto, ON, CA) in addition to Ohio and Tri-City. (66) Ohio will open the tournament weekend at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 4th against (69) Orangeville Roller Girls, a previously untested opponent. Orangeville is currently 1-4 for the season, suffering an early-season loss to Roc City as well as later games to perennial powerhouses Queen City Roller Derby, Columbia Roller Derby, and Boston Roller Derby, but eking out a narrow victory over the Charlottesville Derby Dames. At 12 p.m. on Saturday, Ohio

By HardKore
04/03/2019

Ohio Ready to Jam with Roc City

Hot off their season debut victory over Toronto, Ohio Roller Derby welcomes Roc City Roller Derby (Rochester, NY) to the Ohio Expo Center on Saturday, April 6th. The Roc City Roc Stars have made steady upward progress in the WFTDA rankings over the past year, climbing from 114 last March to their current seat at 74 with the help of a stellar 8-0 season in 2018. Building on that momentum in the new year, the Roc Stars have extended their win streak to 10 games with early season home victories over Orangeville Roller Girls and Steel City Roller Derby. Their trip to Columbus is their first travel game of the year; they will also join Ohio at the Put Up Your Toques tournament in Canada in May, where they will take on Toronto Roller Derby, Royal City Roller Derby, and tournament hosts Tri-City Roller Derby. Ohio has only clashed with Roc City once previously, which resulted in a 338-140 home track win for the All Stars. Both teams have undergone extensive roster changes in the years since but return largely veteran squads from last season. Prolific jammer GO! returns to the Roc Stars after two seasons with Queen City Roller Derby (Buffalo,

By HardKore
03/21/2019

(64) Ohio Kicks Off Season 14 with International Match Against (58) Toronto

Prepared both mentally and physically for a jam-packed schedule this year, Ohio Roller Derby will launch their fourteenth season on Saturday, March 23rd against familiar Canadian contenders (58) Toronto Roller Derby (Toronto, ON, CA). Ohio will look to improve on their 4-0 record over the All-Stars, having bested them annually from 2012-2015 on home and away tracks as well as in tournament play. The two teams may potentially rematch more than once later in the season, as both have been accepted to the Put Up Your Toques and Midwest BrewHaHa tournaments in May and June. Toronto put in steady work to climb the WFTDA rankings in 2018, ultimately going 12-0 and very narrowly missing a postseason invitation to the North America East Continental Cup. Retaining a large veteran squad, Toronto will try to build on their previous success, beginning with the trip to Columbus. In addition to stacking games over tournament weekends, they will also take on Boston Roller Derby and Royal City Roller Derby in April. The inevitable rebuilding year last season brought new challenges and resulted in a 4-8 season, but ultimately helped set Ohio up for greater cohesion this year. When unable to achieve overwhelming victories, as against North Star

By HardKore
03/20/2019

Ohio Roller Derby 2019 Season Preview

After a postseason trip to the North America East Continental Cup last August and a fun-filled season of intraleague play that culminated in the revival of the fan-favorite Skatemare Before Christmas game, Ohio Roller Derby enjoyed a well-deserved off-season. Now, with renewed minds and increased strength, they return once more to their home track at the Ohio Expo Center in 2019, gearing up for their fourteenth year of competition against old rivals and new challengers alike. Twelve skaters from the 2018 playoffs roster return to the All Stars roster this season: Amy Spears (captain), Betty T. KayO, Bigg Rigg, Birch Slap, BrussKnuckles, Kelsey Khaos, KloverKill, Pain Train, and Vyles, as well as crossover skaters Belle A. Trix, Smash Panda (formerly known as Jane Goodfall), and TactiGal. After spending last season coaching, Chainsaw rejoins the pack, and recent transfer Catch Mikachu will provide additional versatility in the jammer pool. New to All Stars but certainly not to the track, Baby Kakes, Jane, Literally, Lara Del Rage, Jonny No, and Oxford Coma join in pulling double duty for both the A and B squads. Already retaining a solid veteran core, Gang Green welcomes a robust rookie class and a few additional transfer skaters

By HardKore
06/28/2018

(59) Ohio Extends Welcome to (75) Garden State

After a narrow 13-point loss to Dub City earlier in June, the Ohio Roller Derby All Stars are ready to end their 10-game season on a high note, and will leave it all on the track as they take on first-time opponents Garden State Rollergirls (North Arlington, NJ). Without any overlap in opponents, (59) Ohio and (75) Garden State have managed to find a similar trajectory in 2018 competitive play. Currently 2-5, Garden State kicked things off in March with two losses in South Carolina at the March Badness 2018 invitational: after a loss to Naptown Roller Derby, the Ironbound Maidens bounced back to give Columbia Roller Derby a serious run for their money, ultimately falling short by just 6 points. After a third loss to Charm City in May, Garden State were victorious against Mother State, and have loaded their schedule for June. Undeterred by a loss to Boston at the beginning of the month, the Ironbound Maidens spent last weekend at the annual East Coast Derby Extravaganza (ECDX) invitational outside Philadelphia. Despite misfortune in the form of a jammer injury, they kept the score close against Tri-City Roller Derby in a 141-179 loss, then ran away with a 204-105

By HardKore