Commentary
Derby lovers, last Saturday I had an experience that I truly hope is a sneak preview of what is the come in our state’s derby scene. Last Saturday, I experienced a near-perfectly executed event. This event had pre-game drama, fun twists, fan involvement, some great roller derby and most importantly, fan involvement. Not only that, but a deserving charity was able to reap the awards. I am of course talking about AZRD’s charity bout from last Saturday. Congratulations to AZRD’s leadership team for putting this together. More about AZRD in this week’s column.
DOUBLEHEADER BOUTS
I said it over the summer and I will say it again. I am against the concept of constant doubleheader bouts. I don’t feel that they are in the best interest of the fans, the skaters or the staff. Doubleheaders put more of a burden on the leagues to speed things along. Doubleheaders pretty much mean the end of any halftime activities, which sacrifices fan involvement and could put various things in jeopardy such as merch and raffle sales. Sometimes fans want a break, especially in the hot months when the Castle or Bladeworld turns into a sauna. The fans, as well as the skaters deserve this break. This need for a break was evident at some of the Dames doubleheader bouts where fans were going outside during the first period of the second game to get a breather and then coming back when the second period of the first game starts.
Skaters and staff of multiple leagues have expressed to me concerns and real world experiences from doubleheaders. They are VERY taxing on the skaters, especially in AZRD and in TRD where in a doubleheader, all 4 teams would be skating. This puts a big bulk on the staff, the newbs/smashers and the broken skaters to put all of this together. This may not be as much of a problem in the Dames where they have 5 teams and therefore, one team has the “bye” so therefore, there’s coverage for the various bout duties without the double duty of also having to skate.
The word I am hearing is there will either be limited or no doubleheaders on TRD’s (hopefully) soon to be announced schedule and I hear that AZRD is reconsidering their schedule and may make changes. I personally feel that derby fans would rather have quality than quantity. I think that if AZRD and TRD focus on the overall presentation and wrap a few amenities around a great derby bout, you will have the fans coming back.
Kudos to both AZRD and TRD for bringing more quality back to the game!
AZRD
I don’t have privy on the numbers but I sure hope from the front office perspective that last Saturday’s charity bout was a total success. This bout brought out a lot of rollervirgins and the people I spoke with from the Emerald Societies were very good people with a very well intended mission. AZRD crowds are starting to pick up slightly and will hopefully increase as the season progresses. I just wish HOLLY WOULD would have shown up. I would have loved to see a final jam between Holly and MESSY MISSY.
During the charity bout, it was announced that a travel team bout has been placed on the calendar for January 24 when the San Diego Derby Dolls Wildfires will come to the Castle to take on the Tent City Terrors. This team has some very important names on it such as captain STEELY JAN, co-captain BO TOXIC as well as other notables such as BONNIE D STROIR, IVANA S. PANKIN and TRISH THE DISH. (Yes, Ivana, Trish and SIN CITY SKATES are now in San Diego). Since SDDD is not a WFTDA member, the bout is not sanction for rankings but I can tell you that AZRD is very excited about this upcoming bout. This January 24 date replaces the home team bout originally scheduled for January 10. So therefore, no derby on the 10th, just the 24th.
I have heard talk that AZRD may be looking at modifying the season schedule, especially now that they have cancelled a home team bout date.
Here’s my idea for AZRD to complete out their season 6 schedule while reducing the doubleheaders down to one night:
February 7 – Brawlarinas vs. Beaters
March 14 – Surly Gurlies vs. Bruisers
April 11 – Bruisers vs. Beaters
May 16 – Doubleheader night – Instead of a traditional semi-final, let’s try something creative. Take the first and third place teams (after the 4/11 bout) and pit them together then take the second and fourth place teams and pit them together. Instead of doing elimination, just take the results and figure them into the standings. This would give each team 4 bouts in their standings. The top two teams would go to the championship bout in June.
TRD
Derby fans across the state are waiting with baited breath on the teams for this season’s schedule. From my understanding, TRD is planning on bouts every 3 weeks. This would mean that bouts should take place on 2/7*, 2/28, 3/21, 4/11*, 5/2, 5/23 and the championship bout on 6/13*. (* - The bouts on 2/7, 4/11 and 6/13 conflict with AZRD’s dates). Again, this is not confirmed and just speculation based on information already gathered.
I am hearing from sources inside TRD that SAMI AUTOMATIC appears to be running for league president and she is currently uncontested. If this turns out to be the case, it is very good news for TRD, a league that has been going through some major changes, especially as a lot of their legendary skaters have retired over the past year.
I will talk more about TRD in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to their 2009 season.
THE VIDEO SHOW
I am expecting to have the next video show, Michi-chan’s REAL Derby released just after X’mas. I just finished the Derby Brats part of the show and I really think it came out very good. Leagues, please get me your schedules, results, news, etc. Remember, you don’t have to be in Arizona to be included on READ Derby.
DERBY LOVE TOUR
The 2008 Michi-chan Derby Love Tour is officially over. I did a lot derby including:
AZRD: 1/19, 2/2, 4/26, 9/13, 11/15, 12/13
TRD: 2/16*, 3/1, 4/19, 5/17, 5/31, 11/9
Derby Brats: 2/17*, 8/3, 11/23
Renegade Rollergirls: 3/16, 5/16, 7/11, 10/11, 11/14
Dry Heat Derby/AZ Cactus Pricks: 2/17*
AZDD: 1/26, 2/16, 3/29, 5/10, 6/14, 7/12
Arizona Bruisers/Phoenix City Rollers: 1/19, 2/16*
*- Arizona Derby Love Weekend
So yes, it was a ton of fun. I am looking forward to more derby in 2009. I would love to do another Arizona Derby Love Weekend. What about it, leagues? Get in touch with me and let’s talk about it!
Until we speak again, take care!
With derby love…
Michi-chan
Michi-chan’s REAL Derby
http://www.michichan.com
=m
Recovered from MCRSP records, December 4, 2025.
