Border City Brawlers at the Rock Bottom Bar and Grill

By Kenneth Pastushyn

 

Windsor’s roller derby team is looking for new recruits.

The Border City Brawlers women’s roller derby team were at the Rock Bottom Bar and Grill on Oct. 19, hoping to recruit more players. Women who were new to the sport learned about the Brawlers participating in upcoming scrimmages in Michigan, like the Black and Blue event over the Black Friday weekend, the Jingle Brawl in December and the monthly Bruisy Tuesdays.

They learned about friendly rivalries in league play with other Michigan teams, like the Lansing Derby Vixens, the Ypsilanti Vigilantes and the Motor City Disassembly Line.

“It’s the most exciting hour of your life,” said Danielle McLaughlin, one of the Brawlers, nicknamed Princess Bust-Her-Up.

Each league game has two 30-minute periods consisting of multiple two-minute laps around the flat track known as jams. On the track there are five members from each team. Four are blockers and one is the jammer. The objective for the jammer is to pass the blockers. Every time a jammer passes the opposing blockers hips their team gets a point.

“There is no better feeling than being a jammer and breaking through the pack,” said Lizz Dalla Bona, another Brawler, nicknamed Queen ElizaDeath. 

The pack is where the largest group blockers are in formation. Their sole purpose is to block for the jammer.

“We look for friends all of the time and being in the pack is where you find friends all of the time,” said Brawler Krystal Galbraith, nicknamed Puppet Masher.

The blockers simultaneously are on offense and defense, blocking for the jammer while trying to stop the opposing team’s jammer. Galbraith and McLaughlin gave a demonstration at the Rock Bottom bar for the new recruits.  

“You can hit with and in the hips, thighs and shoulders,” said McLaughlin. “You always want to keep low.”

You cannot block from the back, hit with your elbows or trip another player, otherwise you will be sent to the penalty box for 30 seconds.  

“The adrenaline of the game overpowers you and you don’t even notice,” said Dalla Bona. “The more competitive you get, the harder you hit and the harder you fall.”

If you want to feel the same adrenaline rush, the Brawlers welcome new recruits during their practices on Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Atkinson Memorial Centre and on Sundays from 6 p.m. to 7p.m. at the Atlas Tube Centre in Lakeshore.

“It’s a great way to relieve stress after work,” said Galbraith.