Rat City Rollergirls

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The Rat City Rollergirls are a flat-track roller derby league in Seattle, Washington. The league is composed of four member teams for inner-league play, an all-star travel team that competes with other leagues, and another travel team that plays in exhibition games with other leagues. Founded in 2004 as Rat City Rollergirls, LLC, the league has incorporated alternative cultural influences, and has inspired and mentored other leagues. Prominent players, coaches, and other participants come from various backgrounds which is typical of the diverse culture of Seattle. The Rat City Rollergirls have been among the most successful leagues in athletic competition, placing second in the national championships in 2006 and 2007. The league and individual participants have been depicted in media as exemplary role models who are smart, sexy and tough. Betty Ford Galaxy a Rat City Rollergirl has fostered a junior league for young girls and teens, who are known as Derby Brats.

Contents

[edit] Member Teams

The member teams for play within the Rat City league are:

  • Derby Liberation Front - 2005 Season Champions.[1]
  • Grave Danger - 2007 Season Champions
  • Sockit Wenches - 2006 Season Champions
  • Throttle Rockets

And the travel teams are:

  • The Rain of Terror - The travel team for exhibition games with other leagues.[2]
  • Rat City Rollergirl Allstars - The all star travel team for competition with other leagues in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.

[edit] Junior League

In 2007 a junior league was established, the Seattle Derby Brats. The Seattle Derby Brats are their own organization, independent from Rat City Rollergirls, with a non-profit business license. They are part of the JFTDA, the Junior Flat Track Derby Association, the second team to be part of the league[3]. At the 2007 National Tournament, the Seattle Derby Brats skated against Tucson's junior league team between the tournament games[4]. The Seattle Derby Brats are supported and coached by skaters from Rat City as well as skaters from the Jet City Rollergirls in Everett, Washington.

The member teams, aged 11 to 17, of the Seattle Derby Brats are:

  • Poison Skittles
  • Evil Angels

[edit] Flag team

The flag team is called the Tootsy Rollers and is comprised of girls ages 6-10, who play a flag version of roller derby with no contact[5].

[edit] League history

[edit] 2008

Rat City Rollergirls host the first Rust Riot Pacific Northwest Rollerderby Tournament with skaters from Washington, Oregon and Idaho and defeats Rose City Rollers to win the tournament. Tickets quickly sell out for each bout of the 2008 season.

[edit] 2007

The Rat City Allstars competed in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association national championships in Austin, Texas. They placed second, to the 2007 national champions the Kansas City Roller Warriors.[6] In the qualifying round, they beat the 2006 and 2005 national champions, the Texas Rollergirls, who placed third.[7] Eight teams went to Austin to compete in the 2007 Texas Shootout National Championships, four from the eastern regional division and four from the western regional division, these notable teams included: the Carolina Rollergirls (fourth place), the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, the Tucson Roller Derby, the Detroit Derby Girls, and the Windy City Rollers.[8]

The Rat City Allstars beat the Rose City Rollers in Portland, Oregon.[9]

Sweeping the Western Regional Tournament, the Tucson Dust Devil, in an upset of the formerly top ranked Texas Texecutioners, the Rat City Allstars rose to first in the national roller derby rankings, up from third, and rose to the first seed for the championships.[10][11][12]

[edit] 2006

The Rat City Rollergirls hosted the 2006 Roller Derby "Bumberbout" Flat Track Invitational on Saturday, September 2, 2006, in the Key Arena at Seattle Center.[13] The Texas Rollergirls won the championship, retaining undefeated status. The Rat City Rollergirls finished second.

Within the Rat City Rollergirl league the Sockit Wenches won the season championship at Sand Point on October 21, 2006. They beat the formerly undefeated Derby Liberation Front, scoring the decisive points in the final seconds of the match, and of the season.

[edit] 2005

Derby Liberation Front wins the league championship.

[edit] 2004

Rat City Rollergirls league founded.[14]

[edit] Cultural significance

The league is a prominent example of a subcultural trend which combines diverse strains of postpunk, third-wave feminism, the reexamination and re-creation of 1950s recreational pursuits, new burlesque style, a do-it-yourself ethic, and fat acceptance. As the number of roller derby leagues have increased exponentially since 2005, the Rat City Rollergirls have provided inspiration and peer mentorship to other leagues.[15][16]

[edit] Business Structure

As a business enterprise, the league is registered as a limited liability corporation, Rat City Rollergirls, LLC, which is owned by the skaters. Although stakeholders in the enterprise, the skaters are not currently paid for their participation.

[edit] Prominent participants

[edit] The founding members of the Rat City Rollergirls are:[17][18]

  • Rahel Cook, who skates under the pseudonym "Rae's Hell" for the Socket Wenches, is also co-owner of Zippy's Giant Burgers, a restaurant in West Seattle.[19]
  • Katie Merrell skates under the pseudonym "Dixie Dragstrip."[20]
  • Lilly Warner, who skated under the pseudonym "Hurricane Lilly," retired from roller derby in 2006. She works as a professional photographer.[21]

[edit] Other prominent team members:

  • Jessica Bloom, who skates as "Holly Knockers" for the Sockit Wenches, is the owner of Northwest Bloom Ecological Landscape Design. She was awarded a gold medal for design for her display garden at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, 2006.[22] She is also the president of the Coalition of Organic Landscapers.[23]
  • Kailey Burgess, who skates as "Astro Glide" for the Throttle Rockets, is also a paralegal.[24]
  • Reagan Fritz, who skates as "Basket Casey" for Grave Danger, is also a bartender and waitress.[25]
  • Misty Greer, who skates as "Pia Mess" for the Sockit Wenches, is a also a stay at home mom.[26]
  • Flower Grosskopf, who skates as "Dirty Little Secret," is co-captain of the Throttle Rockets, and a member of the Rat City Allstar team. She is also a partner at the Big Dipper Wax Works, a candle-making firm.[27][28]
  • Jessica Howe, who skates as "Miss Fortune" for the Sockit Wenches and the Rat City Allstars, is a league co-MVP. She also has a master's degree from MIT in robotics.[29]
  • Meg Kapousouz, who skates as "Meg Myday" for the Derby Liberation Front, and the Rain of Terror, is a Junior at the University of Washington.[30]
  • Britta Lyle, who skates as "Drew Blood" for Grave Danger, is also a fashion merchandiser.[31]
  • Mary McIntyre, who skates under the pseudonym "Burnett Down" for the Derby Liberation Front, and the Rat City Allstars, is an accomplished painter of figures in oil on canvas,[32] and was the artist's model for the figure depicted in the moon on the sign for the Blue Moon Tavern.[33] (See image, Blue Moon sign, wikimedia commons.)
  • Valerie Morris, who skates as "Valtron"[34] is co-captain of the Throttle Rockets, and a member of the Rat City Allstar team. She is also a graduate student at the University of Washington, pursuing a Ph. D in cellular and molecular biology.[35]
  • Celia Rehburg, who skates as "Diva State" for the Derby Liberation Front, is also a travel-nurse coordinator.[36]
  • Brandy Rettig, who skates as "Rettig to Rumble" for Grave Danger, is also a road inspector/engineer.[37]
  • Jennifer Savaglia, who skates as "Le Petit Mort" for the Throttle Rockets, is also the owner of Fast Girl Skates in Seattle.[38]
  • Tasha Sawabini, who skates as "Tash-ya 'Round" for Grave Danger, is also a sales manager.[39]
  • Sue Schmitz, who skates as "Darth Skater" for the Throttle Rockets, is also a public relations senior account executive.[40]
  • Cally Sisley, who skates as "Femme Fatale" for Grave Danger, is also a lifeguard and swim coach, and daughter to Francine Tamaccio, (below).[41]
  • Devon Tamaccio-Hendrick, who skates as "D-Bomb" for the Derby Liberation Front, is a jeweler, and daughter to Francine Tomaccio, (below).[42]
  • Rachel Thornton, who skates as "Hideous Braxley" for the Derby Liberation Front, is also a lighting salesperson.[43]
  • Laura Walashek, who skates as "Jackie Hammer,"[44] is also an oncology researcher.[45]

[edit] Non-player participants include:

  • Chuck Hendrick, who coaches the Rat City Allstars as "Coach Chuck Berry," is also a jeweler, and the son-in-law of Francine Tomaccio (below).[46]
  • Cathy Sorbo, weekly columnist for the Seattle P.I., comedian, and regular panel guest on NPR's weekly humorous news review program Rewind, is a sideline announcer under the pseudonym "Queen Mum."[47]
  • Francine Tamaccio, owner of the Southgate Roller Rink, and an accomplished speed skater from the early days of speed skating as competitive sport,[48] coaches for Grave Danger under the pseudonym "Her Highness." She is the mother of three players active on separate teams within the league, and all members of the Rat City Allstars.
  • "Randy-Pan the Goatboy" and "The Professor" are the pseudonyms of two of the leagues play-by-play announcers. "The Professor," Jake Stratton, is also the lead singer for the Seattle based edu-core band "BloodHag."

[edit] Rat City Rollergirls in popular culture media

[edit] Documentary Film

The 2007 documentary, Blood On The Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls[49], was directed by Lainy Bagwell and Lacey Leavitt.[50]. It was released at the Seattle International Film Festival.

[edit] Trading Cards

During the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the Rat City Rollergirls were featured on trading cards.

[edit] Feature article on MSNBC

Several of the members of the Rat City Rollergirls were profiled in an article on MSNBC.[51]

[edit] Video Games

May 2008: The Rat City Rollergirls will be a featured league in a video game being developed by Frozen Codebase and the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.[52]

[edit] Trademark Dispute with Starbucks

May 2008: Starbucks opposes the Rat City Rollergirls "skater portrait in a circle" logo.[53]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Seattle Times, October 17, 2005.
  2. ^ Rat City roller girls get ready to rumble
  3. ^ Derby Brats skater name master list
  4. ^ Texas Shootout - 2007 Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championship Tournament
  5. ^ The Tootsy Rollers
  6. ^ Rat City Rollergirls lose championship bout
  7. ^ http://leadjammer.com/#
  8. ^ Texas Shootout - 2007 Women's Flat Track Derby Association Championship Tournament
  9. ^ The Oregonian, February 1, 2007
  10. ^ Seattle Post-Intellegencer, February 26, 2007
  11. ^ Tucson Roller Derby, Dust Devil 2007
  12. ^ Arizona Daily Star reporter Kevin Smith live-blogs the action, February 18, 2007
  13. ^ Seattle Post-Intellegencer, September 2, 2006.
  14. ^ Seattle P.I. May 15, 2004
  15. ^ The Tri-City News - Your Best source for Local Community News delivered in print or online
  16. ^ Log in: HeraldTimesOnline.com
  17. ^ NWsource: Five questions with Lilly Warner, founder of the Rat City Rollergirls Roller Derby league in Seattle
  18. ^ Skate City - News - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper
  19. ^ West Seattle Blog… » Opening day for Zippy’s Giant Burgers
  20. ^ The Seattle Times: Living: Derby dames crown winner
  21. ^ Lilly Warner Photography
  22. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  23. ^ COOL: About Us
  24. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  25. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  26. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  27. ^ www.ratcityrollergirls.com/media/wheelin.doc
  28. ^ PCC Natural Markets | Producer profile : Big Dipper Wax Works
  29. ^ Roller derby enjoys rollicking resurgence
  30. ^ Derby girls don’t cry: The aggressive face of women on the skate track - The Daily of the University of Washington
  31. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  32. ^ Portfolio, Mary McIntyre
  33. ^ Blood on the Flat Track, documentary film.
  34. ^ The Seattle Times: Living: Rollerblog: Rat City Rollergirls on the road
  35. ^ Seattlest: Seattlest Interview: VALTRON 3000, Rat City Rollergirl
  36. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  37. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  38. ^ Sound Focus, KUOW, February 11, 2008.
  39. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  40. ^ Sue Schmitz | The Team | About Us | Waggener Edstrom Consumer Group | Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
  41. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  42. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  43. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  44. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  45. ^ Application of affymetrix array and massively parallel signature sequencing for identification of genes involved in prostate cancer progression
  46. ^ Search Results | Seattle Times Newspaper
  47. ^ Cathy Sorbo - Bio
  48. ^ The Seattle Times: Living: Rollerblog: Rat City Rollergirls on the road
  49. ^ Blood On The Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Rollergirls
  50. ^ Seattle International Film Festival, 2007
  51. ^ Roller Derby: Meet the players
  52. ^ Frozen Codebase Partners with The Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA)
  53. ^ Rat City Rollergirls bump up against Starbucks

[edit] External links