An early-season invitational featuring MRDA-sanctioned play returns with the seventh annual “Big O” that launches Friday, May 5 at the Lane Events Center in Eugene, Oregon.
Hosted by Emerald City Roller Derby, nine leagues will compete within the MRDA’s baker’s dozen duels during the three-day event.
Within the mix are five factions that competed at last year’s MRDA finale, “Lone Star Showdown,” including the current two-time defending title-holder.
St. Louis, Missouri’s GateKeepers Roller Derby, the 2015 and 2016 MRDA Champions, have a trio of “Big O” games scheduled. Meetings with friendly rivals #3 Bridgetown Menace and #5 Puget Sound Outcasts also contain an inaugural match-up against Baja California, Mexico-based Wheels of Mayhem. GKRD (1-0) notched a 467-16 win against #24 Race City Rebels in an April 9 tune-up at its training facility.
Meanwhile surging Bridgetown, who notched a league breakthrough fourth place finish at last year’s MRDA tourney, has contests against legacy squad #8 New York and stubborn #6 Vancouver. The Menace (1-0) is primed for sanctioned play following their 567-33 mind-melter vs. #33 Lane County in early-March.
The New York Shock Exchange, a perennial MRDA Champs entrant, is 2-1 in sanctioned play heading into “Big O” following their positive outcomes at the March “Man-Ness Invitational” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The brokers claimed tight wins over #9 Magic City (149-140) and spunky host #11 Philly Hooligans (191-121).
Local favorites Puget Sound seeks an early push in the MRDA complexion with contests against St. Louis, the Wheels of Mayhem and Big O newcomers Victoria Vanguard. The Outcast (0-1) suffered a 182-130 setback to Vancouver in early April and seeks to right the ship.
The Vancouver Murder (1-0), who notched their first trip to the MRDA Champs last season, will hope to use their aforementioned win over Puget Sound to claim victories over higher-ranked Bridgetown and NYSE as well as unranked Victorian.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based #16 Glenmore Reservoir Dogs finished 2016 with a 4-4 sanctioned record and looks to impress in their second trip to Big O. The Chinook City Derby entry (0-0) has New York, #29 Lane County and Victoria Men’s on their itinerary. The Dogs possess a pair of non-sanctioned wins over Team Japan Roller Derby from the Tomodachi Derby Invitational that was held in Okinawa, Japan in early March.
Oregon-based Lane County (0-1) has an opportunity to claim wins over Wheels of Mayhem and the Reservoir Dogs. Aussie entry Victorian Vanguard claimed a 213-130 sanctioned win overunranked Sydney City Smash in early March and recently competed at the “MRDA Down Under” event in late-April.
Finally, the unranked Wheels of Mayhem, founded in 2015, enters “Big O” with a 0-2 record following sanctioned setbacks to #23 Drive-By (213-151) and unranked Antioch, California-based The Skaters Grim (194-130) in early April.
For more information on the “Big O,” go to the event’s official webpage or to the event’s official Facebook page.
BIG O LINE-UP (All times listed are Pacific)
FRIDAY, MAY 5
12 PM – New York vs. Glenmore (Track 1)
2 PM – Bridgetown vs. Vancouver (Track 3)
4:30 PM – Victoria vs. Puget Sound (Track 2)
6 PM – Lane County vs. Glenmore (Track 1)
6:30 PM – GateKeepers vs. Wheels of Mayhem (Track 2)
SATURDAY, MAY 6
10 AM – New York vs. Bridgetown (Track 1)
10 AM – Glenmore vs. Victoria Men’s (Track 3)
4:30 PM – Vancouver vs. Victoria Men’s (Track 2)
6 PM – GateKeepers vs. Puget Sound (Track 3)
6:30 PM – Lane County vs. Wheels of Mayhem (Track 2)
SUNDAY, MAY 7
2 PM – GateKeepers vs. Bridgetown (Track 3)
2:30 PM – Puget Sound vs. Wheels of Mayhem (Track 2)
4 PM – New York vs. Vancouver (Track 1)
(Teams ranked by the MRDA from the governing body’s Spring 2017 rankings.)
Skabarella started reffing to primarily referee men’s derby over 6 years ago, and was one of the first MRDA Recognized officials in Europe. She has refereed both men’s world cups, MERDC and all MECs including holding the position of crew head. Ska was THR for Men’s British Championships for 2 years and was instrumental in setting the event up for the men’s divisions . She was Head Referee at Manchester Roller Derby for over 5 years and has recently been appointed Head Referee for Team England Men, as well as holding the post of MRDA Officials Area Coordinator for Europe. Ska likes cats.
Biggie Talls has been involved with MRDA roller derby since 2011: first as a player and then president of Puget Sound Outcast Derby, then as an official at MRDA events including 2015 MRDA Championships and the 2016 Battle of Bunker Hill. He has been a roller derby official since 2010, having officiated flat, banked, MRDA, WFTDA, and junior derby at over 30 tournaments and invitational events. Currently he is the head referee of the Dockyard Derby Dames, a WFTDA league near his home of Olympia, Washington, USA
sHellCat’s derby journey began 9 years ago when she attended a bout in Los Angeles; ever since that first roll out she’s been hooked. She spent several years in the Bay Area slinging beers for a local league before taking the plunge into officiating. In just 5 seasons, sHellCat has racked up the miles working dozens of tournaments. She currently sits on the Board Of Directors of the Rose City Rollers, assists in training new NSOs at RCR, is an MRDA Recognized Official, and a Level 4 WFTDA Certified NSO. When she’s not exploring the map for roller derby, she bakes goodies for the RCR crew, knits, works as a volunteer counselor for a crisis hotline, manages compliance for a large recruiting firm, and hangs out with her ridiculous elderly Basset Hound (Ruby).
