Steve Jurkovic
From left: Donna Stunner, Feminine Hyjinx and Hammer Abby (performing an apex jump) compete in the season 12 championship game between the Quad Squad and the Vaudeville Vixens.
College football bowl games are over and the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Major League Baseball’s Opening Day, and NBA and NHL playoffs still seem a long way off.
And with the Packers missing the NFL playoffs for the first time in eight years, local sports fans need something to focus on during these cold, dark days.
I submit for your consideration the Mad Rollin’ Dolls. Madison’s renowned women’s roller derby league — featuring a recreational team, four competitive squads and the all-star Dairyland Dolls — will slam into its 14th season with a triple header on Jan. 13 at the Alliant Energy Center Coliseum.
The Wreckers Madison Roller Derby rec team (which will be looking for new players this spring, by the way) will compete in an early bout at 4:15 p.m., followed by the Unholy Rollers taking on the Vaudeville Vixens, and wrapping up with the Reservoir Dolls facing the defending league champion, Quad Squad.
MRD teams compete in flat-track roller derby, with two teams of five skaters scoring points by passing members of the opposing team in an oval. The Dairyland Dolls finished last season ranked No. 35 in the world by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (out of 340 teams).
Tickets are $15 at the door and $10 in advance at all Willy St. Co-op locations, Pegasus Games, Mr. Rudd’s Barbershop in Sun Prairie and 608 Skate inside Fast Forward Skate Center. A portion of the proceeds from opening night will benefit Open Doors for Refugees, an organization that helps refugees settle in Madison.
If you go, you might be surprised by what you see. “For many [people], their memories of roller derby include banked tracks, fistfights and fishnets,” says Kara Rivers, public relations manager for the Mad Rollin’ Dolls and a member of the Dairyland Dolls who goes by the name “Whiskey ChaseHer.” “The sport has evolved multiple times since then. Nothing in our games is predetermined or staged; all hits that you see are real and can be very painful. All the skaters on the track train hard on and off skates, just as any professional athlete would. The game itself is fast-paced and full of strategic decisions by both teams, but easy enough for new fans to pick up on.”
In other words, this is not your grandma’s roller derby. And it needs more fans.
