Your Mom Men’s Derby Wins 2012 MRDA Championship

written by James Brains

It’s only fitting that the most important bout of the 2012 season was also the closest. Your Mom Men’s Derby, in their first MRDA Championships appearance, defeated the St. Louis GateKeepers on the final jam, 136-135.

The GateKeepers, hosts of 2012 Champs “Gateway to the Best,” looked like they had the Championship wrapped up with a 20-point lead and five minutes left. It seemed even more likely as Your Mom jammer Peter Pan ran two minutes off the clock with a 2-0 penalty-time-killing jam. But, jammer penalties proved to be the GateKeepers undoing on the final two jams. GateKeepers jammer Debaucherous Prime went to the box on the penultimate jam allowing Your Mom’s Frank Notsohotra to score fourteen unanswered points. Notsohotra donned the star again on the final jam. And, a high hit by GateKeepers jammer Magnum PIMP gave Notsohotra the opportunity to score the five points needed to earn Your Mom the highest honor in men’s roller derby.

The third-place bout was nearly as exciting as the Championship. The New York Shock Exchange overcame a 66-point first-half deficit to defeat the Magic City Misfits, 199-157. Magic City jammer Jeremy Strecker earned tournament jammer MVP for his efforts as Abe Drinken from New York won tournament Blocker MVP. In the fifth-place game, Puget Sound came back in the second half to defeat the Mass Maelstrom, 221-137. Eighth-seed Mass Maelstrom provided the tournament with the only upset of the weekend, defeating sixth-seed Portland Men’s Roller Derby 169-157 on Saturday night.

The teams that placed were:

1. Your Mom Men’s Derby – Des Moines, Iowa
2. St. Louis GateKeepers – St. Louis, MO
3. New York Shock Exchange – NYC, NY
4. Magic City Misfits – Jacksonville, FL
5. Puget Sound Outcasts – Olympia, WA
6. Mass Maelstrom – Lancaster, MA

Portland Men’s Roller Derby and the Dallas Deception had impressive performances but did not place in the top six.

For more in depth recaps of the weekend’s events, visit Derby News Network.

And, as always, visit MRDA for the latest updates as we ramp up for an exciting and change-filled 2013 season.

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #1 Your MOM Men’s Derby

By James Brains

Joining MRDA in June of 2011, Your MOM Men’s Derby was able to squeeze in the four MRDA bouts needed to qualify to be ranked for the 2011 MRDA Championships. Yet, despite only losing by 43 points to then-#1 St. Louis GateKeepers, Your MOM finished one spot away from an invite to Champs. This year is a completely different story. Due in large part to a 199-150 victory over defending-Champion New York Shock Exchange at Spring Roll this year, Your MOM is attending the 2012 MRDA Championships in style as the #1 seed.

All three Your MOM skaters I interviewed agreed Spring Roll was their favorite part of 2012: “Playing our first Spring Roll really felt like a ‘welcome to the club’ party for us,” Your MOM’s Peter Pan said. “Up until that point, we felt a bit like outsiders. Meeting a bunch of other players from all over really inspired us to be more focused and committed to the sport.”

“At Spring Roll, I got the chance to skate against three teams I’d never skated against and meet skaters from around the nation,” Your MOM’s vicious blocker Seahorses Forever added. Your MOM won all three of their games at Spring Roll beating Pioneer Valley Dirty Dozen (318-59) and Harm City (427-50), but beating the Shock Exchange was what really skyrocketed Your MOM putting them on everyone’s radar.

“Beating the Shock Exchange was my favorite moment of the 2012 season,” Your MOM’s Frank Not Sohotra affirmed. It was especially thrilling for Frank Not Sohotra, who was returning from a torn ACL/ meniscus that sidelined him for nine months.

Going into the final rankings, Your MOM had a 6-0 record that included a 257-143 trouncing of #5 Puget Sound at home, a win that avenged a big loss from the previous season. But, last month, in a bout that will not count toward the rankings, a short-handed Your MOM team was dominated by the #2-seed GateKeepers, 330-78. This loss spoiled a possible undefeated season.

In addition to bouting the top competition, Your MOM is engaged in meticulous training for Championships. “We are actively trying to practice every scenario that may come up,” Peter Pan said. “We have our own style, and we imagine teams have adapted and learned how to counter the way we play. Conversely, we have tried to watch and learn from our more successful and experienced opponents and adapt more to their style of play.”

So, what can we expect from Your MOM? “The blinding seductive beauty of glorious white hot sexy derby magic illuminated by emerald seahorse sunshine and other stuff too,” Seahorses Forever said.

Peter Pan (real name: Tony Muse); who along with his brother, Frank Not Sohotra (Dante Muse), has won multiple world championships in speed skating; preferred to offer an understatement: “You may see a fast guy or two.”

Peter Pan added: “We appreciate how much we have been accepted into the community despite only playing the sport a few years. We understand we make all kinds of rookie mistakes a team playing at our level shouldn’t make, but it is only because we are still rookies. We are not just speed skaters playing roller derby. We actively train and practice to succeed specifically at roller derby, and we even watch other teams in an effort to learn from them. We are scared every time we play but also pumped at the opportunity to overcome our own fears and other’s doubts about us.”

Your MOM’s first-round opponent is the Mass Maelstrom. And, though it should be a good, fast-paced game; the Mass Maelstrom will likely be over-matched against a Your MOM team that regularly defeats lower-ranked opponents by over 200 points.

Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best,” taking place October 20-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interviews.

Other Previews:

#2 St. Louis GateKeepers

#3 New York Shock Exchange

#4 Magic City Misfits

#5 Puget Sound Outcast Derby

#6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby

#7 Dallas Deception

#8 Mass Maelstrom

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #2 St. Louis GateKeepers

By James Brains

The hosts for the 2012 MRDA Championships, the St. Louis GateKeepers, are one of men’s roller derby’s most successful teams. Founded in 2009 and MRDA members since September of 2010, the GateKeepers have a large pool of talent to draw from boasting three full home teams, an all-star travel team, and a b-team. They are labeled “blue collar” because of their work ethic and no-nonsense style of play. And, despite their #2 seed coming into the Championships tournament, the GateKeepers will likely be the team to beat based on recent performances.

In 2012, with a brutal schedule including bouts against four teams qualifying for Championships, the GateKeepers only lost one game. Their loss came in May at Spring Roll to the New York Shock Exchange in a controversial bout in which the Shock Exchange came back on the final jam to win by six. The GateKeepers avenged that loss in New York in August with a decisive 197-141 victory. “MY FAVORITE MOMENT OF 2012 HAS TO BE GOING INTO NEW YORK AND BEATING THE SHOCK EXCHANGE AT HOME,” St. Louis blocker extraordinaire Wrecking Bill said. Wrecking Bill wanted his quotes to be in all uppercase. It is not wise to argue with such a scary blocker St. Louis all-around great skater Magnum PIMP echoed Wrecking Bill’s sentiment: “Traveling to NY to play the Shock Exchange then taking on the Connecticut Death Quads and Gotham Roller Girls in back-
to-back hangover bouts was a great experience. Being able to play that much high level derby in one weekend was a blast.”

After the end-of-season rankings were released and the seeding set for Championships, the GateKeepers played #1 Your Mom Men’s Derby. The GateKeepers destroyed the short-handed Your Mom team, 330-78, to give Your Mom their only loss of the season. This catapulted the GateKeepers to #1 on Flat Track Stats.

“I am most interested in skating against Des Moines (Your Mom) at Championships. They have an aura about them now,” Magnum PIMP said. “They used to be just a bunch of hot shot skaters, but now they have the strategy down too. I would love to face them in the Championship bout and have a legendary showdown.”

Wrecking Bill is more interested in setting straight the GateKeepers’ losses at last year’s Championships, where they finished in fourth. “I LOVE SKATING AGAINST EVERYBODY, BUT I HOPE WE GET A CHANCE TO RECOUP OUR LOSES AGAINST PUGET AND MAGIC CITY.”

The GateKeepers take on the Dallas Deception in the first round of Championships in a rematch of a June bout, which the GateKeepers won 340-83. The Deception will likely put up more of a fight this time around as they’ve continued to develop as a team. You can expect high-level team play from both teams.

“We play a straight-forward game. We play derby how it was intended to be played. We don’t rely on rule loopholes or shenanigans to win bouts,” Magnum PIMP said. “We don’t have any satellite skaters or ringers. If someone wants to skate for the GateKeepers, they have to make a commitment to our team and make practices regularly.”

Wrecking Bill agreed: “THE GATEKEEPERS HAVE A GREAT TEAM CONCEPT AND RELATIONSHIP THAT IS UNMATCHED. WE HAVE PLAYED AND TRAINED TOGETHER FOR MANY YEARS. WE DO THINGS THE RIGHT WAY. WE PLAY HARD, TOUGH, AND FAST WITH SOME GREAT INDIVIDUAL SKATERS THAT HAVE ALL BOUGHT INTO THE TEAM.”

Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best,” taking place October 20-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interviews.

Other Previews:

#3 New York Shock Exchange

#4 Magic City Misfits

#5 Puget Sound Outcast Derby

#6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby

#7 Dallas Deception

#8 Mass Maelstrom

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #3 New York Shock Exchange

By James Brains

One cannot talk about the history of men’s flat track roller derby without extensively referencing the #3-seed New York Shock Exchange. The Shock Exchange participated in the very first men’s flat track derby bout (against Pioneer Valley) and are the only MRDA-founding team to qualify for the 2012 MRDA Championships). Winners of the 2011 Championship, the Shock Exchange earned a trip to this year’s event by amassing an 8-2 record in 2012 including victories over three other qualifying teams. But, the defending champs will have their work cut out for them this tournament season.

The Shock Exchange were stunned in their first bout of the 2012 Spring Roll when upstart and current #1-ranked Your Mom Men’s Derby handled them 199-150. “Playing Your Mom was fun because we had been hearing about them, and it was inspiring to see the things they can do,” Shock Exchange’s Abe Drinkin said. “So many of them have been skating for a long time in different disciplines. It’s an inspiration for me to try the skills they’re using and build up that skating skill.”

Later that Spring Roll weekend, the Shock Exchange narrowly avoided a loss to the St. Louis GateKeepers by coming from behind on the final jam. In August, the #2-seed GateKeepers avenged that loss in New York, 197-141. To wash the taste of defeat from their mouths, the Shock Exchange went out the next weekend and won the Mohawk Valley Cup, an eight-team tournament hosted by the Quadfathers.

In addition to Spring Roll, Abe Drinkin’s other favorite moment of 2012 was visiting the Men’s European Roller Derby Championships: “There were so many interesting things happening and so many great guys. The best part was that they have a lot of the same strategies we do, but they also do a bunch of other things. There were a lot of fresh takes on the sport, and I was able to bring that back to try with my team.” Next month, the Shock Exchange travel to the UK as a team to see how they stack up against the European competition.

In the meantime though, the Shock Exchange are playing hockey. You heard right. In an effort to prepare for Championships, Abe Drinkin said the Shock Exchange are trying a unique approach. “We’ve been playing a lot of street hockey. More than anything, it’s just fun to watch my teammates find fun new ways to work together. Some of the guys never touched a hockey stick before but are now scoring machines.”

Two traits that make the Shock Exchange dangerous are their mastery of the rule book and their experience. The Shock Exchange are the only participants in this year’s Championships to have played all the other teams in the past two seasons. “We have a little familiarity with everybody, and no matter who we play, we are going to have a great time,” Abe Drinkin added.

First on the docket is Portland Men’s Roller Derby. The Shock Exchange dominated Portland at Spring Roll 270-82. But, Portland has matured a lot since then. “I’m very excited to see the progress Portland has made since Spring Roll,” Abe Drinkin said. “They were a lot of fun to play against and were definitely improving throughout the weekend. I think they’re going to bring a very strong team to Championships.

They have such smart and skilled players who bring a lot of intensity to the game.” Fans can expect to see two teams who use the rule book to their full advantage when Portland and New York meet. Think full-contact chess.

In closing Abe Drinkin offered this anecdote: “I love derby fans. Last year, I had a bunch of fans tell me after the tournament that my underwear was hanging out all day. This year, feel free to tell me sooner…unless, of course, you like my underwear hanging out. If that’s the case, you should buy me a drink instead of just staring.”

Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best,” taking place October 20-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interviews.

Other Previews:

#4 Magic City Misfits

#5 Puget Sound Outcast Derby

#6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby

#7 Dallas Deception

#8 Mass Maelstrom

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #4 Magic City Misfits

By James Brains

The #4 Magic City Misfits are one of the most exciting teams to watch in all of roller derby. The team from Jacksonville, Florida paved the way to their second-straight MRDA Championships appearance by putting up some staggering offensive numbers. The Misfits, MRDA’s only undefeated team this season at 4-0, set an MRDA record for most points scored in a bout (617) and beat each of their opponents by at least 160 points. Yet, despite these impressive numbers, the Magic City Misfits remain a bit of a question mark. They are the only team to qualify for the 2012 Championships that has not played any of the other qualifying teams this year.

Since joining MRDA in September of 2010, the Misfits have lost one game: an eight-point loss to the eventual-champion New York Shock Exchange in the semi-finals of the 2011 MRDA Championships. The Misfits proceeded to beat the St. Louis GateKeepers in the third-place game. Since then, the Misfits posted three big victories at Spring Roll against the Rock City Riot, Connecticut Death Quads, and Sioux City Korn Stalkers. Their fourth win of the 2012 season was their closest: a 267-107 home victory against the Race City Rebels.

“My favorite part of the 2012 season was our first home game in the three years that we have been a team,” Magic City Misfit TJ “Just the Tip” Brinkley said. “A big thanks goes to the Race City Rebels for being the first team to travel to Florida to play us.”

Magic City is well aware they are going to face some stiff competition at Champs and are preparing accordingly. “The entire team has been training on and off skates: hitting the gym, lifting weights, and working on cardio,” Brinkley explained. “Everyone gives 150% all year. I’m 200% certain we will be prepared once we step on that track.”

Magic City will need to be prepared when they take on #5 Puget Sound in the first round’s most anticipated match-up. “I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that we are stoked about playing Puget Sound,” Brinkley affirmed. “They have some awesome skaters, and I think it will be a true derby game. Hopefully, we will have a fast-paced game with a lot of skating and little-to-no slow derby. Both teams match up pretty well. Both teams have awesome skaters. This will be the game to watch on Saturday.”

Puget Sound and Magic City play each other for the first time at Championships. They were scheduled to face off in July at RollerCon, but a last-minute snafu put an end to those plans. Fans can expect to see some of men’s roller derby’s most talented skaters playing old-fashioned, smash-mouth derby. Magic City will showcase their trademark backwards blocking, while Puget Sound will demonstrate what happens when a hard-hitting team has a large target zone to work with.

“The fans can expect awesome individual and TEAM skating. The Misfits will be a well-oiled machine: level-headed and balls-to-the-wall,” Brinkley added. “We have tunnel vision, and we’re not going to be knocked off track. Expect the unexpected.”

Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best,” taking place October 20-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interviews.

Other Previews:

#5 Puget Sound Outcast Derby

#6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby

#7 Dallas Deception

#8 Mass Maelstrom

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #5 Puget Sound

By James Brains

#5 Puget Sound earned their second trip to the MRDA Championships due in large part to two victories against #6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby. The first was a 232-93 walloping at the Big O in February. Puget Sound followed that up with a 261-90 stomping at their annual Throwdown in the Sound tournament, where they also beat up on the Lane County Concussion, 368-47. Those are Puget Sound’s three victories in a minimal season. Their only loss came in July to #1 Your Mom in Des Moines. Skating short-handed, Puget Sound had a rough time of it and succumbed to a 257-143 defeat.

“My favorite moment of 2012 was playing at the Big O in Eugene (Oregon),” Puget Sound jammer extraordinaire Speed Dealer said. “The venue was great, and it was nice to see some newer MRDA teams play.” The Big O was very special for Speed Dealer because he set a Guinness World Record for the longest jump on roller skates.

Puget Sound blocker Radillac’s favorite moment was a trip to France where he got to share his love for roller derby. “I definitely enjoyed going to France and getting to play derby there. I practiced with the Toulouse Quad Guards. Those guys are on their way to being a top team. I also skated around Paris which was awesome.”

In addition to Puget Sound’s usual training regimen, to prepare for Championships, Radillac hits up the skate parks, an increasingly popular way for derby skaters to cross train. Puget Sound also scrimmages against WFTDA’s Western Region Champion Oly Rollers every week.

Last year, Puget Sound lost a heartbreaker to the Shock Exchange in the MRDA Finals to take second. Yet, with the competition ramped up this year, Puget Sound will have a tough go at it if they hope to make it to the Finals again. Both skaters I interviewed are excited for a chance to take on Magic City, their first round opponent. “I am interested in skating against Magic City. They are one of the teams we have not played against yet,” Radillac said. Magic City and Puget Sound were set to face off for the first time at RollerCon this year, but the bout fell through at the last minute.

What can we expect from a bout between the only two MRDA teams to predominantly feature skaters using their real names? Well, aside from a nearly total lack of puns, hard hitting is on the docket. “We have been working on the slow game just like everyone else, but I like to play the faster game. So, expect to see some fast big hit derby,” Radillac said.

Speed Dealer concurred: “Fans can expect to see a hard hitting and fast paced game with Puget.” This, coupled with Magic City’s tendency to race around and lay skaters out, should produce the first round’s best bout.

Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best.” Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interviews.

Other Previews:

#6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby

#7 Dallas Deception

#8 Mass Maelstrom

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #6 Portland Men’s Roller Derby

By James Brains

Having joined in December 2011, Portland Men’s Roller Derby is the newest member to qualify for this year’s MRDA Championships. Portland hit the ground skating participating in three tournaments this year: The Big O, Spring Roll, and Throwdown in the Sound. Don’t let their 3-4 2012 record fool you. Despite being the only team to earn a trip to Champs with a losing record, Portland is a force to be reckoned with. They never shy away from a tough battle: all four of Portland’s losses came to top five-ranked MRDA teams.

Portland’s all-star travel team, the Bridgetown Menace, showed up on most teams’ radars with their performance at Spring Roll. “Spring Roll was my favorite derby moment of 2012.,” Portland skater Shreddy Mercury said. The entire weekend was a blast! We came into the tournament unranked and played very well against four MRDA-ranked teams. That performance in Ft. Wayne is what earned us our spot at Champs.”

Specifically, Portland absolutely handled the then-#10 and #11 teams. Most notable was a 170-61 win over a very strong Race City team, who subsequently shot up to #7 due to their Spring Roll victories. Portland’s other triumph that weekend was a 296-72 shellacking of the Connecticut Death Quads.

So, how is Portland preparing for this year’s championships? “I’m preparing my mind and body for Championships with a steady diet of gangster rap, caffeine, and BBQ asparagus,” the always light-hearted and smiling Shreddy Mercury joked. But, Portland has put in some serious track time. 2012 was their inaugural home team season. The league is so successful they were able to field three local teams to compete against each other. In addition to intraleague play, Portland has continued to nurture their relationship with their sister league, the Rose City Rollers, one of the top women’s teams in the world.

Portland will need to do all they can to prepare for their MRDA Championships first-round bout against the third-seed New York Shock Exchange. The Shock Exchange handed Portland one of their biggest losses of the season at Spring Roll, a 270-82 pummeling. And, though the Shock Exchange appear to have lost a step based on a recent defeat by the St. Louis GateKeepers, the younger Portland team will likely have to wait for future seasons to beat these tricky veterans. Watch out for Bleed’Em & Reap and Twin Cities Terrors-transfer Bustin Morenose to have a big impact for Portland.

Shreddy Mercury is excited about the bout for more personal reasons: “I can’t wait to see Chad Von Sausage Claus (former Portland jammer who now skates for the Shock Exchange). It’s been way too long since we were on the track together. I hear he’s kicking ass on the East Coast. We miss Sausage!”

Shreddy Mercury also wanted to pass a message along to the fans. “If you are a fan of us, we are fans of YOU! Come say ‘hi’ at the after party. We’ll get silly.”

Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best.” Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interview.

Other Previews:

#7 Dallas Deception

#8 Mass Maelstrom

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #7 Dallas Deception

By James Brains

Despite finishing #5 at last year’s tournament, the Dallas Deception traveled a difficult road qualifying for this year’s MRDA Championships. The Deception earned a trip to St. Louis, Missouri due in large part to a convincing 237-130 win against then -#9 Twin Cities Terrors. The most remarkable part about this victory is that the Deception experienced a league split over the off season yet were able to rebuild and remain a championships-level league.

“We suffered major jammer loss in the off season and it amazes me how fast we picked up the pieces,” Dallas Deception skater Ugotta Be Rad said.

The league split has helped the Dallas Deception, 3-1 in 2012, come together as a team: “Unless they are jamming, my guys and I probably don’t stand out much. We stand together,” Deception skater Uncle Jesse McNasty added. “This past year we have done much to lose the egos and the individual play. An all-star team can beat a team of all-stars.”

Uncle Jesse McNasty is trying to keep his team focused in their training leading up to Champs: “We are training until what we want to do is second nature, but we’re also trying to keep it interesting. It is incredibly difficult to jam against twelve blockers working in unison, but it is also incredibly difficult to work in unison with eleven other blockers. If you can accomplish a task at its most simple as and most difficult, then anything in between should bring no unexpected hurdles.” The Deception have also been working with sister leagues Dallas Derby Devils and Assassination City for symbiotic training opportunities in preparation for Championships.

Both Ugotta Be Rad and Uncle Jesse McNasty want a shot at #3 New York Shock Exchange at Championships. “I missed out playing against New York at Spring Roll 2011 (New York won 182-46) due to injury,” Ugotta Be Rad said. “Playing them is playing the rule book, so you have to bring your skating skills and smarts against them.”

The Dallas Deception will have to defeat their first-round opponent the #2-ranked host league, the St. Louis GateKeepers, before they can get a shot at the defending champs. The Deception took a pounding against the GateKeepers in June, 340-83, for their only loss of the season. But, despite the seemingly lopsided score, Uncle Jesse McNasty felt his team learned a lot from the experience: “Though we lost, it was a defining moment for the Deception. We took a very short roster into the lion’s den and found the true measure of ourselves and our team. We got our butts kicked and came home with a renewed sense of what we needed to do and how to apply what we had been working on.”

No matter the outcome, Uncle Jesse McNasty expects a positive experience for all involved. “When the smoke clears and the dust settles, Dallas Deception will accomplish the goals we set for ourselves for MRDA Championships. Win or lose, we will represent what Texas men’s roller derby has to offer. And, we will do it with dignity and respect. My children started junior derby recently. The torch has been passed. In St. Louis, that same torch will burn brighter than ever, held high by eight teams. After the last bout has been played, and the trophy has been awarded, it will be the fans who will take that torch home.”

2012 MRDA Championships Preview: #8 Mass Maelstrom

By James Brains

Though they were the last team to punch their ticket to St. Louis, Missouri for MRDA Championships, the Mass Maelstrom competed and won the most games of any team to qualify for men’s roller derby’s top tournament. The team from Lancaster, Mass. participated in thirteen MRDA-sanctioned bouts this season and won nine of them. Maelstrom earned their first trip to MRDA Champs with a breakout showing at the Mohawk Valley Cup in August. They took second place in the eight-team tournament and beat then #7 Race City.

“My favorite moment this season was our rematch against Race City at the Mohawk Valley Cup,” Mass Maelstrom’s Stryker said. “Their entire team is full of talented skaters and they play a really tight game. It’s really challenging and fun to play against them. Our loss to them at Spring Roll was disappointing for me because I felt like we played a sloppy game. I knew if we got another game against them we could take them.”

Teammate Zed enjoyed the Mohawk Valley Cup for a different reason. “One of my favorite moments of the 2012 season was the huge outpouring of help and love I received from the derby community after I broke my leg at the Mohawk Valley Cup,” Zed said. Zed remains confident and focused on returning to the track in time for MRDA Champs despite his major setback: “My preparation for Champs involves resting, healing, eating properly, and exercise. I’m hoping for a swift recovery to be able to play!”

Stryker is able to take a more active approach to his training: “I’m eating better and hitting the gym a bit more frequently. I take competition and team play very seriously. I refuse to let Maelstrom down by becoming fatigued during a game. As a team, Maelstrom is bumping up our practice time from one two-hour practice per week to two two-hour practices. We’re also reviewing bout footage and talking out game theory.”

Both Zed and Stryker would like a shot at the Magic City Misfits. “Although the seeding makes it fairly unlikely, I would love to skate against Magic City,” Stryker said. “When I watched Championships last year and saw how they played, it opened my eyes to an entirely new concept of how to play roller derby. They have some of the best skaters I’ve ever seen play the game. I feel like we would learn a lot playing them.”

So, what can we expect to see from Mass Maelstrom at the MRDA Championships? “From the start of our season Maelstrom went out to not only win but to make our games enjoyable to watch as a fan. We refuse to play ‘stroller derby’ and have gotten away from using pace-lines to rack up points on power jams. We go out every game to PLAY the game, not to stand around for two minutes not doing anything. We love and appreciate all the support our fans give us, and the least we can do in return is play the game they’ve come to see.”

Mass Maelstrom take on undefeated #1-seed Your Mom Men’s Derby at 9am, Saturday, October 20th in the first bout of the tournament. Both Zed and Maelstrom jammer Peter Rottentail are excited to face off against Your Mom. “I believe the harder the opponent the more you learn,” Rottentail said. “I skated in toe plugs for the past 2 years. After seeing (Your Mom blocker) Seahorses Forever at Spring Roll, I decided to put toe stops back on. They have been my best friend ever since.”

You can expect to see fast, action-packed old-school roller derby in this bout as both teams play a very “no nonsense” game. The Maelstrom will likely be over-matched skill-wise by a Your Mom teams that features world-champion speed skaters. Keep an eye out for Maelstrom’s No Big Deal and Jack Hammer’d winners of the Mohawk Valley Cup’s Jammer MVP and Blocker MVP, respectively.

Tickets are still available for the MRDA Championships “Gateway to the Best.” Visit Brown Paper Tickets for more information. And, keep your browser refreshed at MRDA for more team profiles and interviews.