Brawlers to Play Beaumont Team at April Bout

HOUSTON –- Houston Roller Derby is preparing an exciting follow up to its sold-out season opener with another home bout this Saturday (April 17) featuring the Spindletop Rollergirls from Beaumont, Texas.
HRD took Spindletop under its wing as an apprentice league while they work towards gaining full membership in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. They’ve come a long way since forming in late 2008; their 2010 season-opener bout against the Acadiana Good Times Rollers was a blow-out in Spindletop’s favor at 229 to 55.
The Beaumont league will play Houston’s Brawlers team at Saturday’s bout taking place at 7 p.m. Saturday at Kick’s Indoor Soccer and Gym, located at 611 N. Shepherd. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
Brawlers captain Miss Lead is confident that her team will win against Spindletop.
“I feel the Brawlers have been training hard enough to win this bout,” she said. “We’ll have our rookies out a lot more at this game. It’s their time to shine.”
Lead said fans won’t want to miss this game, as she plans to change the jam lineups to allow skaters to move from their usual positions into new ones.
“Fans will see skaters usually known as blockers jamming this bout,” she said.
The Brawlers are 1-0 so far this season following their nail-biting win against Houston’s Bayou City Bosses team at the season-opener bout. The scoreboard rarely showed more than a five-point spread throughout the game, keeping fans on the edges of their seats until the bout clock ran out with four points in the Brawlers’ favor.
After the Brawlers vs. Spindletop game ends on Saturday, HRD teams The Bayou City Bosses and The Psych Ward Sirens will play. The Bosses won against the Sirens in the 2009 season championship bout, but after the recruiting and training that occurred over the offseason, it’s anyone’s guess which team will come out on top this weekend. The Sirens are feeling positive after they won a blow-out 205 to 51 game against Red Stick Roller Derby at HRD’s season opener.
As a relatively new sport following its resurgence in the late 1990s, roller derby has evolved from season to season, becoming more competitive and athletic as its skaters further hone their skills and develop new strategies.
Since organizing in 2005, Houston Roller Derby has grown into a league of 50 skaters that sells more than 1,000 tickets for each bout. HRD is one of 78 member leagues that make up the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. HRD is ranked third in the WFTDA South Central Region and was one of the top 12 teams in the nation to compete at the WFTDA national championships in November 2009.
Tickets cost $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For more information, visit www.houstonrollerderby.com, or www.wftda.com.