Feeling saucy

The Old Capitol City Roller Girls haven't bouted since their Scars 'n Stripes Forever mixer in early July, and everyone's getting a little hungry for some action. Fortunately for skaters and fans alike Cirque du Slam, Saturday's bout against the La Crosse Skating Sirens of La Crosse, Wisconsin is fast approaching. This equates to even more scrimmaging than usual, more inventive and spontaneous strategizing and pre-bout jitters.

I can get a little too excited for my own good and it spills out on the track; like the time two weeks ago when I accidentally sucker-punched Fast Bettie with an elbow to the gut in my attempt to stymie her progress as jammer. I do have a hard time playing nice but heck, that's why I play roller derby. I try to do a half-hour of core exercises and weight training before practice (and even before my afternoon runs on days I'm not skating) and that burns off a little bit of the edge. Front planks, side planks, push-ups, crunches, leg lifts... I'm not sure it centers me as much as I'd like but on the plus side I am sporting some sinewy arms and a more defined torso these days.

But enough about me. The roster for the 21st will have some fresh faces as OCCRG has suffered a barrage of skater injuries, some involving prominent skaters. Notable absentees include two of our best blockers, Hitzy Blonde and Toxic Sugar. The former is still out of action after having surgery on her knee; the latter will be on the sidelines the remainder of the season with a dislocated patella and an unlucky triumvirate of ligament tears: Posterior cruciate, anterior cruciate and medial collateral (which will also require surgery in the coming months).

The bantam but mighty GladI8Her had been away for several weeks with a sore back though she has already resumed scrimmaging). Fast Bettie also missed some time due to niggling minor ailments. Shelby Flyin is still recovering from a compound fracture of one of her fingers. And sometime after the Avoid the Stork-sponsored bout in May, Ima Golddiggah got knocked up.

Filling their positions will be Ho No U Didn, Quantum Bombshell (who returns to the roster for the first time in almost a year!), Old Yeller and Chemical Spill.