Salem, OR

Atlanta Advances to Semifinals

By Shelly Shankya

The Dirty South Derby Girls of the Atlanta Rollergirls (2 seed, ranked 7) have shown the derby-verse that they’re a force to be reckoned with, especially with their rise during the 2012 tournament season. The team made their first trip to WFTDA Championships one year ago, securing their spot after a close loss to Texas Rollergirls. After coming off a strong showing at the end of last season, Atlanta has continued to dominate, going 8-1 in regular season play, getting their only loss from Gotham Girls Roller Derby in late June.

Coming off a solid win in the opening game of the tournament, Toronto Roller Derby (10 seed) had the crowd behind them and momentum to take on the 2 seed Atlanta. When Atlanta drew first blood, scoring 28 unanswered points in the opening three jams, it looked to be a blow-out of points. But, after the fourth minute of play, Toronto got their skates under them and rallied, slowly climbing their way out of any possibility for a shutout. Jammer Bambi started the point accrual, and Toronto continued to gain lead jammer status, holding Atlanta off for a few jams. Belle of the Brawl capitalized on a power jam for Atlanta, sending the point spread to 39 points in the fifth jam. It wasn’t until Atlanta’s Merchant of Menace got a track cut, forced by CN Power’s pivot Dyna Hurtcha, that sent Toronto on a 36-point run on one 25-point power jam followed by quick call-offs and single-digit point grabs. For those five jams it looked like Toronto was headed in the right direction.

Steve Jurkovic Photography

Two poorly timed jammer penalties for Toronto gave Atlanta an opportunity to do what they do best: capitalize on power jams. Led by blockers Alassin Sane and Switchblade Siouxsie, the Dirty South Derby Girls asserted their seeding and went on an 85-0 run to end the period. Atlanta went to the locker room on a momentum high, with 138 points, while Toronto felt the pain of a 68-point deficit, at 70 points.

Returning from half, Toronto scored a quick four points, but then remained scoreless for five jams until Merchant of Menace got a track cut that sent the women from Toronto on a 59-point run, while Atlanta only managed to score three points during Toronto’s run. The gains CN Power made were wiped out after Atlanta’s timeout in the twelfth jam, asToronto’s Motorhead Molly went to the box on a track cut. Atlanta’s Jammunition scored score 29 points in the thirteenth jam, making the point spread 53 points, 186-133.

Toronto tried to rally on a few occasions, mounting small comebacks here and there, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Dirty South Derby Girls from Atlanta. The game ended with Atlanta at 219 and Toronto at 171.

Final Score

(2) Atlanta Rollergirls 219
(10) Toronto Roller Derby 171

Atlanta moves on to play the Rat City Rollergirls (Seed 3) in the semifinals on Day 2; Toronto moves to play the winner of Game 8 between The Chicago Outfit and the Boston Derby Dames.