Another month allows us another opportunity to intimately introduce you to two more Atlanta Rollergirls. This month, we feature a long time veteran and a promising rookie.  

Switchblade Siouxsie

Switchblade Siouxsie came to the Atlanta Rollergirls as Fresh Meat in 2006 (a 2007 rookie) and has grown into one of the league's most formidable players, playing with the Denim Demons and the Dirty South Derby Girls. When she isn't tearing up the track, Siouxsie works for a company that produces music festivals and cruises. Despite dogged lobbying to organize a derby cruise (including a rink on the ship), this plan has not yet come to fruition. Siouxsie's name is an homage to the music and style of the 1980s: she adopted it from the rock band, Siouxsie and the Banshees. Since she wanted to ensure that her name was both cool and tough, she added the Switchblade in front of Siouxsie.  

If rollergirls came with warning labels, Siouxie's would say, "Caution: May seem quiet at first, but watch out!" Anyone who has every played against her would probably agree. Siouxsie enjoys derby because it gives her an opportunity to release aggression, especially after a bad day. She also values the support and camaraderie that comes with being involved with the Atlanta Rollergirls. Siouxsie notes that her favorite derby moment so far is probably leading the Denim Demons to victory in the 2011 Championship Bout: "After skating for a few years, it felt great to help lead my team to success." Siouxsie has wowed crowds with both blocking and jamming, and enjoys both: "I'm less nervous when I'm blocking, but jamming has this really great feeling when you get through and score points." 

 

Tart Breaker 

Tart Breaker, a rising star in Atlanta roller derby, was encouraged to look into roller derby after watching Whip It on a transatlantic flight. After coming home and finding out that Atlanta had its own league, Tart decided to try out, and she never looked back. The name Tart Breaker was inspired by the fact that Breaker is an amazing baker, and delicious tarts are one of her specialties. In fact, the same week she was drafted, she signed a lease on a storefront that will soon house her independent bakery--The Little Tart Bakeshop--scheduled to open this spring (). In addition to derby and baking, this renaissance woman is also a published poet and a fluent French speaker!
 

Aside from racing through opposing packs, Breaker stays fit by attending Body Pump, a fast paced weight training class: "I take this weight-lifting class as often as I can... I feel like being stronger will contribute to being a better skater in all sorts of ways."  Breaker's favorite derby moment so far has been earning the "Player of the Game" award in her ARG debut when the Shocks played the Apocalypstix last month.  Breaker loves the fact that derby is a competitive sport, but that the league is still very close knit: "we are competitive, and play hard, but in the end we are so supportive of each other, and kind."

 

 

Atlanta Rollergirl Alassin Sane featured in Five on Five 
 

Atlanta Rollergirl, Alassin Sane, was the poster child for a new drill termed the "Volleyball Toss" in the latest issue of Five on Five magazine. Lass' hip-checking skills are well known in these parts of the country but now her status is legendary. We'd tell you to get your own copy of Five on Five if they weren't sold out! Guess you'll have to come see the legend yourself at the next Dirty South Derby Girls bout. 

http://fiveonfivemag.com/

 

How to Photograph Roller Derby
 

Have you been to a bout, taken photos, and wished they came out better than just a blur of skaters? Well, have we got the workshop for you. Come early to the April bout and get some pointers and tricks of the trade from ARG Official Photographer, Ed Selby. Here are the deets:

 

• Workshop starts at 3 pm in the Yaarab Shrine Center courtyard

• Cost is $10 (and does NOT include the price of a bout ticket)

• Attendees MUST have purchased a ticket to the first (ie, 5 pm) bout or a double-header ticket

• Attendance is limited to 10 people (first come basis)

• Ed will spend an hour teaching about shooting derby - from cameras and flash to watching the action to derby photography etiquette

 

RollerZombies Helping Out ARG's Charitable Donations 

 

RollerZombies, a short film comedy, premiered in Athens on Saturday, February 5th, as part of the Viscera Women's Horror Film Fest. The film stars some of Atlanta's legendary rollergirls: Demi Gore, Cobra Camanda, Spazz Attaque, Chopper Bleed, Juju, and others. Written by Zomberella and directed by Hurtin' Temples, all proceeds from DVD sales will benefit ARG's April charity of the month. To purchase your copy, or for more info, visit the RollerZombies booth in the courtyard during April's bout. 

 

Atlanta Rollergirls participating in Toms Shoes' Day Without Shoes
 

Toms Shoes' organizes world-wide awareness for children who go without one simple thing we take for granted: shoes.  Their yearly "Day Without Shoes" campaign asks that you pledge to go an entire day without shoes in order to raise awareness and fully understand what many children still go through every day.  Well, the Atlanta Rollergirls did just that!  Many members went the whole day without shoes (and some skates) and had a blast, while becoming part of something truly bigger than ourselves.

 

http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com/

 

Crazy Cuban Sandwiches in West Midtown 

 

The specialty is simply a Crazy Cuban Sandwich.  Well maybe it’s not that simple.  Having taken over the void left by a legendary Cuban on 14 St in Midtown, The Crazy Cuban has reached a level proclaimed by “Atlanta Magazine” as one of “The best of Atlanta”.  So the decision of a Traditional Cuban sandwich verses the Classic “a Gringo version of a Cuban sandwich” boils down to the choice of with or without the veggies.  Either way after a trip to Cuba, you’ll realize it is much easier to get one in Midtown than it is on the island. If anyone has aversions to pork or ham, the Crazy Cuban has seen to it that they have a veggie or turkey sandwich to cater to your tastes. Ordering turkey or veggies on your Cuban would surely categorize as a Gringo kind of order. But this Crazy Cuban doesn’t mind.  There is no room for nonsense here.  The Cubans are hot, fresh, fast and delicious.

 

The Crazy Cuban is open Monday – Saturday, 11 am to 7 pm at 290 14th Street, Atlanta 30318. With a covered deck and a free parking lot in the back on Holly Street there is no need to eat on the hood of your car. All crowds are easily accommodated.

This is year one for the Crazy Cuban to be a proud sponsor of the Atlanta Roller Girls.

To see a menu, go to www.crazycuban.com.

 

False Start
 

At the start of every jam, there's always a danger the jammer will take off before the jammer start whistle. See, a jammer is like a toddler in a nice restaurant, she can't just sit still and eat her dinner. She's always running all over the place, bothering the other customers (the other team's blockers), and her parents (her team's blockers) never do anything to stop her. Then her parents start hitting the other customers, who also have a toddler, and the waiters (the referees) have to give everyone refunds (penalties). Finally, one of the families orders dessert (wins), and then everyone goes to a bar (a bar) and drinks beer (beer) and sings Journey (GOOOIN' AAAA-NYYYY-WHERE!!!) and talks about how the jammers (toddlers) scored a bunch of points (grow up so fast). Now, obviously that doesn't make any kind of sense, so the false start rule had to be invented to prevent that horrible analogy from continuing.

Here's how it works: At the beginning of every jam, the jammers line up on the jammer line, which is thirty feet behind the pivot line. They are allowed to be on the line or behind it, but if any part of them or their skates is touching in front of the line when the jammer start whistle blows they've false started, which is a minor. When a jammer false starts, she is then required to let the other jammer pass her. If she doesn't, she gets a major penalty instead of a minor. It's important to note the jammer hasn't false started until the jammer whistle, and once the jammer start whistle blows, of course, she's free to do whatever she wants. After all, nobody cares if toddlers run around before the family is seated or after the entrees arrive, as long as they stay seated through the appetizers.