Soul City Sirens Roller Derby
Most Recent Blog Posts
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Georgia GYPSY QUEENS!
- From: RoxyRazor
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Description:
Hey Ladies!!
Roxy Razor from the Atlanta Rollergirls here!
I've joined this group called the Gypsy Queens.... you may have been contacted by them on Myspace or something, but I'm posting here to see if any of ya'll tattooed chickies would be interested in joining too!
I've been made the "Rollerderby Representative" for the group, so I'm tasked with getting some RGs involved as members too.
Basically it's a promo team of tattooed women that can be hired out for modeling and promotional appearances. They're most concerned with changing the Societal stereotypes of heavily tattooed women. Here's a "mantra" of sorts:
[i][color=red]Unlike the other "alternative models" who do "punk porn",
the Gypsy Queens are more a pin-up style with no nudity.
WE PROMOTE TATTS NOT TITS!
We want a positive image of women with ink!
People already judge you by your appearance
...freaks, criminals, and tattooed whores...
This is not the case.
We are art lovers, and we express ourselves through our tattoos.
We are successful business people, parents, and respectable human beings!
We want to change the preconceptions held by the norm,
instead of fueling their fire!
Strong, intelligent, artistic women have been held back by the stigma of
the tramp stamp!
We all know it is WRONG to judge a book by its cover,
yet we still get dirty looks in stores and restaurants.
It's the high and mighty norms who play judge and jury.
The desperate housewives and their soccer mom prejudices are that which
we want to change!
We are no less deserving of respect, just because we choose to be individuals instead of being shallow and mindless carbon copies, going to the mall in our range rovers to buy more shoes!
WE LOVE MUSIC, ART, LITERATURE, AND SELF-EXPRESSION!
WE ARE ABOVE THE STEREOTYPES![/color][/i]
This group struck me as my parents are TOTALLY the kind of people that think that heavily tattooed girls are "trashy" or "slutty", and it's totally BS.
Here's an FAQ of the Gypsy Queens:
[color=blue]GQ FAQs
[b]Q What is a Gypsy Queen?[/b]
Gypsy Queens are hot tattooed models that promote at events put
together or attened by scorpiontattoo.net
[b]
Q Is there any nudity?[/b]
NO NO NO! The Gypsy Queens can have sexy photos, but no nudity. We do
not condemn girls for getting naked. We feel that there are many beautiful tattooed women who would choose to be in the limelight if nudity wasn't a requirement. Regardless of their reasons whether it be career, children, family or morality, we wanted to supply a promotional team that is not pornographic.
[b]
Q How Do I Become a Gypsy Queen?[/b]
Fill out & submit he questionnaire with photos of yourself & your tattoos
[b]Q Is there an age limit?[/b]
There is no age limit, but you must be 18 to apply. We like to have a variety of women. The Gypsy Queens Do Not discriminate. We take women of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, & ages. This is aboout the love of the art of tattooing, not a fabricated version of what society deems to be "Hot".
[b]Q Do the Models get paid?
[/b]Not at this time. The Gypsy Queens & scorpiontattoo.net provide exposer to you through our website. We randomly select Gypsy Queens to travel with us to events. We provide prearranged transportation & hotel accomodations. We select Gypsy Queens to be tattooed by our artists to submit into contests. We also pay entrance fees to selected events.
[b]Q Will I ever make money through Promotions?[/b]
Yes, in the future. Once we recieve a certain level of noteriety. We will be able to embark on a number of money making ventures such as Burlesque shows & Stomp performances. Calendars which will potentially lead to Tours & Calendar signings. Themes of Calendars include:
The Gypsy Queens
Hottest Couples in Ink
GQ's in bands
GQ's with Bikes
GQ's with HotRods
GQ Tattoo Artists
GQ Roller Girls
[b]Q Will We Have Photoshoots inOur Own States & Countries?[/b]
Yes within time we will arrange photoshoots with all the girls from your Chapter. Before we do that we need to spread the word & build up all the Chapters. The more girls we have to photograph the more economical it will be for us to set up a professional shoot. The more the company grows the more opprotunities you have to get paid.
[b]Q Is there any room for growth in the company?[/b]
Yes. We are looking for :
1) Regional Managers
2) Events Coordinators
3) Public Relations
4) Artist Relations
5) Myspace computer Techs
5) Photographers
6) Choreographers for Burlesque & Stomp shows
7) Make-up Artists
[b]Q What's your job at a Convention?[/b]
1) To Sell Merch at the Booth
2) Help set up & breakdown booth & merch
3) Photo Shoots
4) Circulate mailing List
5) recruit new Gypsy Queens
6) Spread the Word!
[b]Q Do we provide Food & Drinks?[/b]
No
[b]
Q Do we provide Entrance Fees?[/b]
At Selected Events
[b]Q Do we provide Hotel Accomodations?[/b]
At Selected Events
[b]Q Do we provide Transportation?[/b]
Pre-arranged Transportation ONLY. No one will get reimbursed for any other.
If you are late & miss your flight, bus etc. you didn't manage your time correctly. You will hear me say this more often than I care to. I will treat you with the same respect I treat my daughter. i do not underestimate her intelligence the same way I will not underestimate yours. I expect nothing less than what I know each & every one of you is capable of.
*For those that chose to travel at their own expense, we are grateful for your enthusiasm & it will be remembered for future events.
[b]Q Do we provide Tattoos?[/b]
We pre-select the Models who are to be Tattooed by our Guest Artists. If you have already been selected you are more than likely not going to be chosen again, unless it is for marketing reasons we choose.
1) There is a 2 1/2hr time limit to your tattoo, we have to let the Guest Artist make their money.
2) Please have a sketch or an idea of what you want before you come to the Convention. bring any photos, drawings, reference etc.
3) The tattoo Artist will select your time. It will probably be in the earlier part of the day so we can place you in the contest.
4) There will be NO DRINKING before any tattoo application. you are putting out tattoo artist, & the shop they work for (because that is where their health permit is from) & our reputation at risk. Please respect your health & those of us that believe in this lifestyle.
5) Our tattoo artist WILL accept gratuity from you. This is soley your choice.
[b]Q Am I bound to "Gypsy Queens" exclusively or can I work with other people?[/b]
No..we do not have you sign any exclusive contract/agreement......(suicide girls do) Quite a few of our GQ's have been freelance models for years...and have been free to work with whomever they choose.[/color]
Lemme know via PM if you're interested and I'll get you the questionnaire! :)
I think this is a great group for derby to be aligned with. I think that they can TOTALLY help us spread the word of derby to the tattooed community!
Roxy(You can also email me at roxyrazor@atlantarollergirls.com)
- Blog post
- 11 months ago
- Views: 28
- Not yet rated
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I knew it was meant to be when
- From: Erika
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Description:
So I was high on life the other night and my friend gave me a steaming bowl of chili and some cornbread to take home. I was walking through my kitchen very excited about this chili and already eating it in my brain. I was zoned in on the perfect counter space to quinch my munchies when I straight up slipped on some ice, just like in the movies. Did I fall? Hells no. Did I instantaneously catch my balance and presume derby stance? Hells yea.
And then I devoured that meal like it was nobody's business.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 59
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Why Roller Derby....
- From: ChaChiOnasty
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Description:
Reasons I joined Roller Derby:
- I had few friends (who am I kidding, I didn't have any friends)
- I always wanted to kick someone with a skate
- My mom said I shouldn't
- My husband said I'd get hurt
- My kids thought it was awesome
- I had to loose that baby weight...yeah shes like 3 now, so its more like toddler weight
- Cause its fun when people think you are tough
- It's a good reason to cry because sometimes there is crying in derby
- I like fishnets & shorty shorts, but without skates on, people just thought I was slutty
- Cause church was too.... churchy (they frown upon the fishnets & shorts, whatev's!)
- I like the way bruises feel, I can't stop poking them
- It had been a while since I learned something new
- Less fattening than a cooking class
- Because I already had a dorky nickname from my childhood...Cha Chi
- Less expensive than going back to school
- Cause 8 wheels are better than none
- I was tired of thinking that I peaked in High School
- Cause Everyone else is doing it!!
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 58
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Sex and violence
- From: fuka
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Description:That may be why many bought tickets to the Soul City Sirens’ first bout, but there’s much more to this newly formed roller-derby team than sharp elbows and push-up bras
BY AMY FENNELL CHRISTIAN
AUGUSTA, GA - It’s a Wednesday night in South Augusta. Twenty or so women of the Soul City Sirens, Augusta’s first roller-derby team, fill the concession area of a skating rink, taking off their skates, handing tickets and cash to their treasurer, and relaxing.
They need it, having spent the last hour and a half stopping and starting, chasing each other around a coned-off area of the rink and listening to their coaches yell “pack it up!” when the 10 on the track got too spread out. While all this was going on, everyone on the team was trying their damndest to knock each other on their asses.
Now, just a few minutes after practice has ended, everyone is hot, sweaty and all smiles. Children who had been playing arcade games while their mothers practiced now snuggle beside them in booths and picnic tables. Team members help each other create “boutfits” (their bout uniforms) — taking a smock deemed ugly and discussing how to tailor it. There are no uniforms in roller derby, you see; it’s all up to the skater and the persona she has created.
It’s team meeting time and the topic on everyone’s mind is the Sirens’ first bout on Sept. 7, which, at press time, was very close to selling out the 500-capacity skating rink. It’s an intra-league bout, with the Sirens divided into two teams: the Atomic Annies and the Rock-a-Betties.
After Head Coach Brett Craig says a few words about how the night’s practice went, bout coordinator Jason Craig (brother to the head coach and boyfriend of Rock-a-Betties power blocker Veronica Mulkey, aka Domestic Disturbance) talks about logistics.
“I don’t want to see you guys in the concession area before the bout getting your kid a Coke,” he says at one point. “I don’t want anyone to see you before the bout. When you come through those doors, I want you guys to come in like rock stars.”
After Craig goes over a few more specifics, it’s Anastasia Forrestal’s turn. Forrestal is captain of the Rock-a-Betties, a jammer who goes by the name Fuka Saru. She won’t say what the name means, just that it’s Japanese and it’s a nickname her husband gave her.
“Look it up,” she later says. Attempts to do that were less than fruitful, but it has something to do with a shark.
In addition to her duties as captain, Forrestal has also been appointed media liaison of sorts since she’s been involved in the business for more than 10 years. She currently works at Fox 54.
After a discussion of MySpace etiquette and how to discourage would-be stalkers, Forrestal gives the Sirens a primer on dealing with reporters: Speak in complete sentences and think about what you’re going to say, she encourages them.
“And what do you say to a reporter who asks, ‘Isn’t it strange for girls to play such a dangerous and violent sport?’”
She doesn’t get an answer to her question, mostly because everyone in the room just groans and rolls their eyes. It’s obviously something the team hears a lot.
Later, Forrestal explains that there’s nothing wrong with asking the question.
“It’s just interesting because people are constantly intrigued by women playing a full-contact sport when no one would ever ask a man, ‘Isn’t it dangerous? Don’t you worry about getting hurt?’” Forrestal explains. “Why are we being pigeonholed just because we’re women?”
Sure, roller derby can be dangerous. Veronica Mulkey, the Sirens’ first player to be seriously injured while bouting, can tell you that. But driving a car… or doing household chores can be just as dangerous, Forrestal says.
“I had a broken nose two weeks ago, but that was from my dog,” she chuckles. “She jumped on me while I was trying to make the bed.”
Roller derby has existed, in various incarnations, since the early 1900s, but it never made its way to Augusta until Jessica Thompson had a 30th-birthday crisis in 2007. The founder, who goes by the derby name Inskatiable, began researching the sport and discovered that she’d have a bit of a drive if she wanted to join a team — the closest ones at the time were in Atlanta, Athens and Columbia, S.C.
So Thompson decided to start her own league, using the resources that the other leagues gladly offered her. The first real meeting was held in early January of this year, and almost all of the founding members were in attendance.
“I was afraid that, in Augusta, I wouldn’t be able to recruit enough people, but 17 people showed up I think,” Thompson says. “Then I realized that, yes, this can actually happen and we just started going full-blast.”
“A lot of leagues spend a year or more trying to get enough players to form a league,” explains Julie Menger, aka Jules C. Blood, a power blocker for the Rock-a-Betties. “From the beginning, we had enough to make two teams in one league — two strong teams.”
Roller derby is a difficult sport to explain (for specifics, see “How It’s Played” on page 19). Spend a couple of hours watching a practice and you still may have no idea how points are scored.
“It does take a while to get it,” one bystander at the practice admits.
To the outsider, it appears to be one part rugby, albeit on skates, and one part performance art.
“Even though we play sports, it still has some theatrical aspects to it,” Menger, a theater major in college, agrees.
Derby also has some role-playing, almost sexual fetish aspects. Many players’ derby characters are throwbacks to ’40s pin-up girls and have suggestive names like French Crippler and Dee Cupcake. And while that is an integral part of women’s roller derby, it’s an aspect that the media tends to focus too much on, according to Forrestal.
“A lot of reporters, a lot of journalists report it as ‘librarian by day, hell on wheels by night,’” she says. “We need to start being looked at as athletes because that’s what we are.”
That’s apparent in practice. While jams last a maximum of two minutes, players return to the sidelines visibly tired, some leaning over and gasping for breath. And those are the ones who didn’t get knocked down. The ones who did at that night’s practice, like Lauren King, aka Haute Mess, writhe around on the ground for a few minutes, then pop back up and begin skating again. Just like nothing ever happened.
“You really have to be an athlete in pretty decent physical shape to endure it because you’re skating at a pretty fast pace,” says Kate Colclasure, a relative newbie to the Sirens who has only been with the team about seven weeks. “Practices are endless. You’re going, going, going. You have to reach in and give it everything you got just to make it through practices.”
Liz Seyberth, who goes by the name Lamborgenie and plays jammer for the Atomic Annies, is a 40-year-old massage therapist who says derby has done for her what nothing else has.
“I’m in the best shape that I’ve been in in the last 20 years,” she says.
There was a time, however, when Liz almost quit the team. It was shortly after she broke her tailbone, cracked some ribs and almost broke her nose during a practice, injuries which took her out for a month. During that time, her brother visited her from Los Angeles. He and Liz’s mother tried their best to talk her out of going back.
“They tried as hard as they could to get me to stop and I almost did,” the former figure skater admits. “It’s almost like I know I shouldn’t be doing this, but I feel like a kid because I keep doing it anyway.”
What made her return was a heart-to-heart she had with Coach Brett Craig.
“He said, ‘Liz, if you don’t do it, you’ll never know how good you could have been.’ I want to know my limit. It would just kill me 10 years from now if I had given it up.”
Besides Liz’s injuries, remarkably few Sirens have been hurt in the year since the team was formed. Sure, they all come away from practice with cuts and bruises, but that’s about it.
Thompson says she’s been skating on a slightly injured foot since April, thinking that it was just tendonitis. Turns out, it might be a stress fracture. She also aggravated a rotator cuff injury that she’s had since her mountain-biking days.
“I’m still going to do the bout, though,” she says.
That was about the extent of the Sirens’ injuries… until the Sunday practice two weeks out from their first bout — that’s when Mulkey, one of the founding members of the league and its treasurer, broke her leg during play. She’s now parked on the sofa in her North Augusta home with plates, pins and a cast up to her knee, unable to really do anything other than hobble back and forth to the bathroom.
“It was real nasty,” she says, “and it was so stupid, too. It was kind of like if you stepped the wrong way off of the stairs.”
One of the first things players learn in roller derby is how to fall. Contrary to what comes naturally for most people, players are told not to put their arms out and try and catch themselves. Instead, they should just let it happen and try to roll up into a ball — falling small is what they call it. Coaches make the team practice it and Mulkey admits that she’s not yet mastered the skill.
Her injury was a definite blow to the team because she’s one of its leaders.
“I think it upset a lot of the girls. I’ve heard they’ve been depressed and upset because I’ve been skating since the beginning, so it’s sort of a reality check for them,” she says. “I think they’re scared I’m going to quit because I’m out for six months — I can’t skate for six months.”
There’s also her age. At 36, Mulkey is one of the oldest on a team that has members who range in ages from 19 to 42.
“I’m not the oldest, but I’m in the top five,” she laughs. “Hopefully I’ll heal OK. It’s not like I broke a hip. I’m not going to have to be put down — send me to the glue factory.”
And she really can’t quit. According to the team’s policy, injured players must still attend practice. She’s on the league’s board and, as its treasurer, there’s a lot for her to do in the days remaining before the bout.
“Right now, I’m sitting here typing stuff up for the program, so I’m still working on roller derby,” she says.
Even if she didn’t have the added responsibilities, Mulkey says she fully intends to be skating again in six months, and that the only thing that pisses her off about her injury is the fact that she can’t roll. And contrary to the male bravado that often comes with injuries sustained in full-contact sports, Mulkey doesn’t see her broken leg as a badge of honor.
“I would rather skate than have a broken leg,” she says. “I would rather have skated in the bout and knocked a lot of bitches down than sit on the sidelines.”
The sideline is exactly where Mulkey will be on Sept. 7, however.
“I plan on sitting on the bench during the bout and cheering them on and yelling at them when I don’t like what I see them doing,” she says. “I’m going to have fun at the bout and fun at the after-party, which I’m already looking for a wheelchair for because drinking and crutches? I might break my other leg.”
Roller derby, it seems, is something that becomes an obsession to those who play. Ask most members of the local league and they’ll tell you that they didn’t have any idea what they were getting into when they joined. They may have skated or been athletic in the past, but that was about the extent of their knowledge.
Colclasure, who met a few of the Sirens at a First Friday in April, became immediately intrigued.
“I actually made my husband go roller skating the next night just to see if I still had my legs because I hadn’t skated in 20 years,” she says. “I started bugging him about it, then I chickened out.”
The new account coordinator for a national medical billing company says she forgot about it for a while after joining her company’s softball team. When the season was over, though, she got a little surprise.
“My husband came home one night and said, ‘You’re going to really, really, really love me. I figured since softball was over you needed another outlet so I e-mailed the Sirens and you have a tryout next week,’’’ she remembers.
Once the Sirens saw that she could skate, she was in.
“They wanted to see how serious I was about it,” she says, “and now I’m hooked.”
“Once you get bit by the derby bug you are constantly online, watching YouTube videos, reading the rules and talking to other leagues,” Forrestal agrees.
Seyberth says much the same thing.
“I can’t imagine not doing derby now because I think about it all the time,” she laughs. “It’s literally the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. It eats you up and spits you out.”
The camaraderie that comes with being on a team is also something that keeps the Sirens coming back. Team members hang out together during the weekend, plans each other’s birthday parties and go to their kids’ birthday parties.
“It’s just been really cool,” Mulkey says. “Most girls involved in roller derby don’t really like other girls. Collectively, we’re all kind of the same type of girls, so we all tend to get along. I’ve never had a big network of girlfriends before. It’s kind of neat.”
“I have more friends now,” Seyberth agrees. “And more text messages than I know what to do with.”
But even in this close-knit community, derby is never far from their minds.
“They’ve all come and brought me movies,” Mulkey says of the support she’s received since her injury. “It’s like having a whole big family to take care of me. One of them has picked my child up this week a couple of times and dropped her off at school.
“They even brought me a roller derby book,” she says. “‘Here… study up.’”
Studying up is something everyone on the team has been doing in preparation for their first bout, along with finalizing their boutfits and practicing like crazy. With all the buzz surrounding this event, they know they are going to have to put on a damn good show.
“It’s pretty exciting — a moment in time in Augusta that won’t happen again,” Menger says. “I’m pretty sure we’re almost sold out of tickets. I can’t think of another sporting event in Augusta that’s sold out before the event. I think people who don’t come who hear about it will be sorry they missed it but excited for the next one.”
“I just want it to be exciting so we can actually get this thing off the ground and get people behind us, people who want to see us grow,” Colclasure adds. “And maybe get some more sponsors.”
Thompson says the team has many long-term goals, including forming a nonprofit, finding a charity to support, playing their first bout with another league team and becoming a member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
That’s great and all, but most of the members say they just want to get this first bout under their belts.
“I’m excited and nervous. It’s like an initiation,” Seyberth says. “I just want to get it over with. I want to kick some ass.”
How it's played
To read more about the rules of roller derby, click here.
The teams
Captain Anastasia Forrestal, aka Fuka Saru, , Jammer
Beverly Breeland, aka French Crippler, 1789, Blocker
Brandy Urich, aka Dee Cupcake, 36D, Blocker
Julie Menger, aka Jule C. Blood, 1 pint, Power Blocker
Lydia Williams, aka Ethyl Agitate, 19, Blocker, Pivot
Lynda Wilson, aka Fasta Danu, 777, Jammer
Pollie Rabon, aka Pollie Hatchet, 77, Jammer
Sarah Lear, aka Smackiavelli, Deuce Deuce, Jammer
Stephanie Amburn, aka Chachi O’Nasty, 1/2 Z’s, Power Blocker
Tracy Arther, aka ButterFLZ IZE, 32, Power Blocker
Veronica Mulkey, aka Domestic Disturbance, V, Power Blocker
Captain Christina Pifari, aka Brick, ∞, Power Blocker
Barbara Allen, aka Martha Skewer, 5517-054, Blocker
Brandie Cully, 911, Blocker
Jessica Miles, aka Olivia N. Agony, 808, Blocker
Jessica Thompson, aka Inskatiable, ã-1, Blocker, Jammer
Katie McCorkle, aka Unsofistokatie, 40, Blocker
Kim Smock, aka Princess Whackaho, 2, Blocker
Lauren King, aka Haute Mess, Pivot
Liz Seyberth, aka Lamborgenie, #13, Jammer
Reia Scholtheis, ¿411?, Blocker
Robyn Martin, aka Roxy Rampage!, $3.50, Blocker, Jammer
The officials
Bench Coach: Brett Craig, aka Brett Sin Charge, 81
Bench Coach: Greggo Twait, aka Greg Bladey, 2.13.61
Head Referee: Richard Putnam, aka Snatch Bridges, #1
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 74
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We are making an appearance
- From: fuka
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Description:
We are making an appearance on Friday, September 5th in front of the Soul Bar where we will be PreSelling Tickets for our upcoming Bout The SouthSide Slam to be held at Skateland of Augusta on Sunday, September 7th @ 7pm Doors open @ 6:30pm If you are a dependable person you should Volunteer!
You can HELP your Favorite Roller Girls by...
Merch Table
EMTs
Track Set Up
Clean Up
Raffle Table
VIP Handlers
Please contact Roxy Rampage! at roxyrampape@ymail.com
We hope to see you there!!! - Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 65
- Not yet rated