March 2024
River City Roller Derby is BACK for another exciting year of derby! Our 2024 season has just begun and the league is already having a blast. A huge congratulations to everyone who tried out for one of our teams! The league has four teams in our 2024 season; our two travel teams, the River Rats and the River City Riots, as well as two home teams, The Hollywood Undertakers and Poe’s Punishers. A special shout-out to our team captains! The Punishers are headed up by Cuntry Jam 42 and Ayudante De Satan, while the Undertakers are captained by Chattahoochee and Sweets. The captains for the Rats are Blondie and Shred, and the Riots are led by Gnat they-be and Eternal Glamnation.
We can’t wait for the amazing year ahead! RCRD is stronger than ever and constantly growing. We’re so grateful to all our amazing players who always bring their best to every practice, game, and event, as well as refs, organizers, and everyone else who keeps our league running smoothly. Here’s to another great season!
Upcoming Events
April 13 - Double Header at the GRCC
We have two home games at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The Riots will be facing off against Beast Side and the Rats will be playing against Fredericksburg Roller Derby. Get tickets here!
April 27 - RCRD Conquers the Capital Trail!
Last year was the first year RCRD Conquered the Capital Trail- and now we’re planning to do it again! Skaters tapped on friends, family, coworkers, and strangers to sponsor their participation and help raise money for the league while putting their trail skating skills to the test. The goal? To skate from one end of the Capital Trail to the other in one day. A whopping 51.7 miles, skaters geared up in Shiplock Park early in the morning and made it to Jamestown by late afternoon to enjoy a much deserved beer and snacks at Billsburg Brewery. Last year RCRD’s network blew our $2000 fundraising goal out of the water.
This year, on April 27th, RCRD is planning on Conquering the Capital Trail again! Help us beat our fundraising goal for a second year in a row. If you’d like to sponsor a skater’s participation then reach out to a skater on the team and donate using their direct link OR donate here:
This money goes directly into all of the things that help our league run! We use it to pay for rent at the Rollerdome, to pay for games at the convention center, to get our players to and from away games, to pay for the enormous cost of the PBR tournament in October. We truly use every penny and we really appreciate your support!
Community Spotlight
In August 2023, Hotchkiss Park transformed a basketball court into Richmond’s first outdoor skating rink. Although Black History Month has already ended, there was no February Bruiseletter and there’s never a bad time to celebrate Black history! We want to highlight the work of Taron Sparks, also known as Silly Genius, a Black Richmond artist who headed the project. The rink serves double duty as a way of highlighting the importance of roller skating in the Black community here in Richmond (and everywhere) and creating a communal space for people to come together, skate, and feel joy!
If you haven’t been skating there, we highly recommend it. Strap on your wheels and go feel the sunshine! We love Hotchkiss!
Game Recap: Rats Vs GhostFleet
The RCRD River Rats were extremely excited to kick off their first game of the season with Ghost Fleet, over in Newport News! This season, we’ve added a few new faces to our roster of Rats. Learning each other’s strengths and building trust in ourselves and our teammates is going to be an incredible journey you’ll definitely want to follow.
Ghost Fleet has a very solid core of skaters, and facing them on their home turf was an awesome challenge. At the start of the game, Ghost Fleet had an impressive defense, and found opportunities to play offense as well. The Rats made adjustments and learned their strategy quickly, and worked hard to pick it apart. At the half we were sitting at 111-37, Ghost Fleet in the lead.
After a halftime regroup, we returned to the track with our head in the game, and made much more progress against them. After racking up 37 points in the first half, we came back and scored 72 points in the second half. Well done, Rats. The final score was 235 GFRD - 109 River Rats. We can’t wait for a rematch!
Sign up here as a participant & help RCRD fundraise!
Team Spotlights
Riots Spotlight - Lizness Casual #271
Derby name and number: Lizness Casual, #271
League role: Head Rookie Coach and Assistant Training Coordinator
How long have you been playing? : 8ish years?
How long have you been with RCRD? : Just since last August when I moved here!
Favorite position: I was born to block, baby! I’ll pick up a hat from time to time but my strength really lies in blocking.
How’d you pick your derby name? : My actual name is Liz, and I already had several nicknames, so I wanted to pick something that could just be shortened to Liz. I also got my first office job around that time, so it all came together to create Lizness Casual!
What’s your roller derby origin story? :
Short version: Gigi RaMoan picked me up in a bar.
Long version: I loved derby as a teen but it was wayyyy before there were a lot of leagues, and I just never lined up location/time. When I finally moved back to my hometown 8 years ago, I realized I could finally start!
What’s something you really struggled with when you started out, but feel good about now? : Really anything technical. I’ve learned over time that I need to break new things down into small pieces and learn them bit by bit, and slowly. I’m not a “full send” skater, and figuring out my learning style has been really helpful.
What’s your favorite thing to do after a hard practice? : Wawa quesadilla or epsom salt bath
Favorite derby memory: BOTAS 2020, hitting out and running back a AA Gotham skater on Team New York. I was SHOCKED that I managed it against such an amazing jammer and team!
How has derby positively impacted your life off the track? : In SO many ways! I’ve met amazing people, pushed my body incredibly, traveled, and grown as a leader and human in general. When you ask a skater why they love derby, they’re almost always going to say something about the community or people, and it’s true.
It’s hard to make friends and build community as an adult, and it’s rare to be part of a large group with a shared goal - while you won’t be best friends with everyone, we all find our own weird little groups of people who mesh with our type of weird.
Rats Spotlight - Cannibelle Lee #6
Derby name and number: Cannibelle Lee, #6
League role: River City Rats / Hollywood Undertakers & I help write this newsletter!
How long have you been playing? : I started in 2010, played heavily until 2013, and then played off and on when I could squeeze it in up until last year.
How long have you been with RCRD? : Since last season
Favorite position: Jammer
How’d you pick your derby name? : Edgar Allan Poe poem!
What’s your roller derby origin story? : Me and this girl in high school dated the same guy, because…. high school, I guess. She started playing derby in my senior year. I’m pretty sure she wanted to fight me with no repercussions ;) , so she invited me to play. Then we became really good friends, and I fell in love with skating in lots of different forms . Thank you, Angelina! 🖤
What’s something you really struggled with when you started out, but feel good about now? : Backward transitions! It took me forever to do a turn around toe stop! I’m still clunky on my right side!
What’s your favorite thing to do after a hard practice? : Taco Bell parking lot alone time, with the biggest Dr. Pepper.
Favorite derby memory: Playing a mixed scrimmage with Erin Jackson in like 2013 because she is amazing to watch skate.
How has derby positively impacted your life off the track? : I struggle with self esteem issues, but it’s taught me the value of focus and hard work and trust and belief; and without it, I would have never had the confidence to go after my career goals. My dad bought me my first pair of skates as a high school graduation present, and it’s the gift that has given me so much.
Poe’s Punishers Spotlight - Toefu #13
Derby name and number: Toefu, #13
League role: Sponsorship Committee
How long have you been playing? : 1.5 years
How long have you been with RCRD? : 1.5 years
Favorite position: Pivot
How’d you pick your derby name? : I have webbed toes and my nickname growing up was tofu.
What’s your roller derby origin story? : I’ve wanted to play since I was about 16 and after moving back to VA after college I found RCRD and came to rookie orientation in spring of 2022. Then my boss refused to move my schedule by 2 hours so I couldn’t make it to practice. I ended up quitting that job and a few months later joined the fall rookie program and have been with River City ever since.
What’s something you really struggled with when you started out, but feel good about now? : Crossovers and backwards skating. I had no clue how to do them and felt so unstable trying my first ones. With backwards skating for years, I couldn’t even wrap my head around how to get momentum going backwards.
What’s your favorite thing to do after a hard practice? : A long shower
Favorite derby memory: Passing my 10 in 2 on the first try at my first assessments. I passed the line on my last lap on the very last whistle.
How has derby positively impacted your life off the track? : I’ve become stronger physically and have learned to push myself and give everything a try at least once.
Hollywood Undertakers Spotlight - Tonya Farting #1026
Derby name and number: Tonya Farting, #1026
League role: Sponsorship Coordinator
How long have you been playing? : 2 years
How long have you been with RCRD? : 2 years
Favorite position: Jammer
How’d you pick your derby name? : Farts are funny and Tonya Harding is an icon whose name elicits visions of violence, which I think is perfect for derby.
What’s your roller derby origin story? : I’ve loved skating since I was a kid but usually only did it casually every few years. When I started college at UVA I joined their newly formed roller derby club and learned skating fundamentals and basic rules of gameplay. I unfortunately had to step back as my schedule got busier and busier in school but kept skating in empty parking lots and tennis courts whenever I could manage to find some time. I moved to Richmond in 2020 and met some friends through social media who were involved in RCRD but couldn’t skate due to the pandemic. I started skating through the Fan and Museum District with a huge crew of skaters and it was so much fun and I realized I really wanted to play derby again. As soon as they did a rookie intake cycle in 2022, I joined and haven’t looked back!
What’s something you really struggled with when you started out, but feel good about now? : I struggled with my confidence for a while when I first passed assessments and became a vet skater. I felt really good about my skills and abilities as a rookie, but as soon as I assessed up, I felt completely useless and cried after every practice for like a month lol. I have since realized that everyone is on their own skating journey and that comparison is the thief of joy! Healthy competition is great, but I no longer compare my progress to anyone else’s because we’re all different and have different life experiences going on all the time that can affect our skating.
What’s your favorite thing to do after a hard practice? : Cry and eat Taco Bell
Favorite derby memory: I’m fairly new so I’m sure there will be lots of memories to be made, but I had an incredible time when we traveled to play Atlanta in March of 2023! The drive was ridiculously long but it was a great bonding time and everyone was so cute sending their progress updates in the group chat. We lost by …. a lot…. But the energy was amazing and we were truly just there to have a fun time. I was honored to have won MVP jammer and I’ll never forget sliding into the massive beer can pyramid afterwards.
How has derby positively impacted your life off the track? : There are so many ways! I’ve met amazing people who have become true friends. It’s increased my confidence. I have so many fun events to look forward to all year. I feel like I appreciate my body and all it does for me more than ever before and has motivated me to take better care of myself so I can play my best. And now I have an actually cool fun fact for workplace icebreakers!
RCRD FANS!
We love engaging with our community, so we have rolled out (pun intended! 😉) a few ways for you to connect with us and get featured in our BRUISEletter! Here's how:
RCRD in the Wild: Spot someone wearing their RCRD merch out in the world? Get consent for a pic and send it in. We love seeing your team spirit!
Fan Art Submissions: Submit your RCRD paintings, digital art, stories and more! We love when y'all show your support and create with us!
RCRD Featured Fans: Show off your team spirit, get loud, proud, and a little rowdy for the team, and show your support at our games for a chance to be one of our Featured Fans and get a spotlight in our BRUISEletter!
🖤💚 Email your submissions to pr.rivercityrollerderby@gmail.com 💚🖤