Milwaukee, WI

By Whacks Poetic

This bout provided fans with their first opportunity to see returning champions Gotham Girls Roller Derby from New York City at this tournament facing off against first-time Championship team, the Ohio Roller Girls from Columbus, Ohio, who made it to Day 2 by beating the Rat City Rollergirls from Seattle on Friday. Gotham came into the game as the number one seed from Asheville Division 1 Playoffs this year having triumphed over all their opponents in North Carolina. They are now riding a 42 sanctioned game winning streak, having last lost a sanctioned game in 2010.

Gotham managed to demonstrate once again why they are the forerunner for the Hydra with a commanding performance, winning 509-64. Ohio had moments of success but ultimately had a hard time performing up to their normal skill level with an almost constantly full penalty box and a couple of key skaters fouling out at inopportune moments.

Jules Doyle

Some might say the bout started before it started with Ohio and Gotham vying for the back line two minutes before the starting whistle with Ohio winning that battle. Gotham started to open up a formidable lead starting in jam four with Claire D. Way go on multiple scoring passes for Gotham. Then, Suzy Hotrod quickly obtained lead jammer status with Ohio jammer, Pippi Ripyourstockings, still in the box for a track cut from the previous jam and added another 25 points before being called on a track cut herself. Pippi Ripyourstockings was able to put Ohio’s first points on the board, scoring 4 points for the Columbus team. Gotham continued their scoring streak with Vicious van GoGo picking up lead and 19 points, breaking the century mark with the score reading 117-4 twelve minutes into the game.

Continuing to try and figure out their opponents, Ohio put Paige Bleed on the jammer line who escaped a formidable Gotham pack shortly behind Bonnie Thunders and limited Gotham’s scoring to only three. Motivated by Paige Bleed’s efforts, Phoenix Bunz picked up Ohio’s first lead jammer status of the game in jam 12 and a 4-0 score for the green-and-white team in that jam. With ten minutes left in the half, the score was 166-8 for Gotham. With six-and-half minutes to go in the first period, Gotham would reach the 200 point mark on a jam by Claire D. Way with the score reading 200-8. Vicious van GoGo was having a phenomenal game and managed to add another 40 points to the 49 points she’d already scored for Gotham in the first half with The Smacktivist returning to the box once more on a forearm. Gotham moved beyond the 300-point mark before the end of the first half with multiple point scoring passes from Bonnie Thunders, Suzy Hotrod and Claire D. Way. At the end of the half, Gotham led 304-8 and Ohio had five skaters sitting at four or more penalties and potentially in danger of fouling out before the end of the game.

Ohio had a better and cleaner second half, starting with Texas Chainsaw Sasskicker’s first turn with the star escaping the Gotham blockers and limiting Bonnnie Thunder’s scoring to nine points. Ohio saw another powerjam as Vicious van GoGo tried to call off the jam while stepping inbounds just in front of Phoenix Bunz. A star pass from Paige Bleed to Phoenix Bunz resulted in Ohio more than doubling their score to 17. Loraine Acid’s first turn with the star for Ohio resulted in some fancy turning toe stop work and a quickly called jam by Claire D. Way. Paige Bleed managed to break the pack first for Ohio with a 4-2 pack in favor of the Columbus team and put up a natural grand slam as Suzy Hotrod battled it out to eventually get lead jammer and call the jam before any more points could be scored.

"By the time we came out for the second half, we were like 'Hey! Fun, dudes! Let’s just go out there and have fun," said Ohio skater Ava Tarr on Ohio’s experience at Championships. "It’s been a long road to get here so let’s not go out on a down note. Let’s shake up the jammer rotation and try things. It was nice to play Gotham because of course, they’re awesome but they’re also real ladies on the track and it’s always nice to play a team that lives up to that standard of being great people on the track as well as kind of idols for everybody."

Ohio captain, Phoenix Bunz fouled out with 20 minutes remaining in the game and the score reading 354-22. Ohio’s Bigg Rigg added 23 points to the score when Suzy Hotrod joined two Gotham blockers in the penalty box. Ohio managed to slow Gotham’s scoring considerably with the team from New York only adding 77 points in the first fifteen minutes of the second half when Bonnie Thunders stepped up to the jammer line once more. She put up a 30-point jam to re-invigorate Gotham and bring them above 400 points, 411-45. Vicious van GoGo continued her high-scoring game, starting unopposed on the jammer line and scoring 33 points with only nine minutes remaining in the game by the end of the jam.

Photo by Jules Doyle

Ohio managed to turn their luck and got a two minute power jam as Claire D. Way picked up an Insubordination for failing to leave the track after a penalty call and Bratislava Bruiser found herself jamming unopposed her first time with the star this game for Ohio. She earned lead and managed 15 points as the Gotham blockers were sent to join Claire D. Way in the penalty box. Amy Spears attempting to continue Ohio’s scoring faced off against two Gotham blockers to begin the next jam. Claire D. Way managed to get lead after exiting the box though and Amy Spears found herself being sent to the box on a track cut herself. After entering the track again in the next jam, Spears would be sent off on her seventh penalty and Ohio would have to finish the jam with no jammer, Spears having fouled out. Suzy Hotrod capitalized on this, putting up 38 points for Gotham in those two minutes. The final jam began with the score reading 497-60 and Bonnie Thunders would get lead against Outta My Wayman and let the clock run out with the final score reading 509-64.

"I think the game went fairly well. It’s always cool to break new ground," said Gotham skater Sweet Sherry Pie. "We always go back to the locker room and talk about what we could have done better to get prepared for the next game. Ohio played great offense. It was fun and I think we’re really proud of our work."

Final Score

Gotham Girls Roller Derby (Asheville #1) 509
Ohio Roller Girls (Fort Wayne #2) 64

Gotham Girls Roller Derby will play again at 8:30 pm CST Saturday against the winner of Game 8, B.ay A.rea D.erby G.irls from San Francisco against the Windy City Rollers from Chicago.