Time To Skate On

From a very young age, roller skating has been a passion of mine.  I remember lacing up my white, leather skates on the slate steps of my parent's house and rolling down our driveway to the bumpy, gravel street.  My whole body vibrated from the wheels rolling over the uneven pavement.  I remember wishing that the town would decide to one day pave our street with smooth black tar. Nonetheless I skated on, body shaking.  The best days though were when my mother took me to the roller rink.  She skated along side me in her 1940s wooden-wheeled quads.  She was so good at it and I practiced everyday to try and measure up.  

Fast forward to October of 2007, when I made my way over to United Skates and tried out for the Long Island Roller Rebels.  I had no idea at the time, but life as I knew it was about to change!  As it does for so many members from the start, derby consumed me!  It was all I ever wanted to do.  I slept, ate and drank derby pretty much on a daily basis.  For me it served a great purpose.  I was single at the time so it helped fill up my spare time that might otherwise have been spent alone.  It also satisfied my insatiable need to exercise rigorously and the distraction of it all helped me through rough times.  Best of all though, I met some of the most amazing people who will always be a part of my life.  

In 2008, I created The Rebel Yell.  Initially I started blogging to help promote the league and to help spread news about roller derby in general.  The blog ended up serving another purpose.  It became a place where I got to share my own stories as well, and boy did I love to talk!  I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to record and share my experiences with others.

After, five years of writing The Rebel Yell, I've decided that it's time to say goodbye.  My current schedule doesn't leave me with much time to spare and as a result my involvement with the league at this point is minimal if at all.  That's not to say that it won't some day become more so, but for now, it is.  Without experiencing roller derby or being involved with the league, it's harder to bring you news or to write posts with much substance.  

I am so thankful to everyone who has read even one of my posts!  I hope that I was able to at the very least, keep you all informed about the Roller Rebels.

As a goodbye, I thought I would share my 25 Random Facts with you.  I hope you enjoy reading them!

My 25

1- My birth name is Kris, but those closest to me call me Krissy.  I like being called Etta best of all!

2- I am 13 years older than my husband.

3- I got my first and (currently) only tattoo at age 41 while wearing my roller skates.

4- My husband and I were filmed to be on the television show NY Ink, but sadly our episode never aired.

5- I have two sisters and one brother, all older than I am.

6- I was once on a commercial for David Letterman.

7- I have been buying and collecting (and now selling) vintage clothing and housewares since about 1982.

8- Running is one of my favorite pastimes and I'm not quite myself when I don't do it.

9- My grandparents on my mother's and father's side all come from the same small town in Sicily.

10- I studied tap, jazz and ballet for nine years. 

That's me third from the right

11- I have unusually small feet and have to buy a lot of shoes in children's sizes.

12- I have been hand-crafting note cards since 2000 and sell them in boutiques both in and out of state.

13-  In addition to dreaming of becoming a magician and joining the circus, I've always wanted to be a pin-up model.  I am thankful to have had the opportunity to model for a few shoots.

14- I don't feel fully dressed until I put red lipstick on.

15- I love to travel and have been to many places including:  Italy, Jamaica, Aruba, Dominican Republic, St. Martin, Bahamas & Hawaii - just to name a few.

A photo I took in Maui

16- I have been keeping journals since the age of 12 and have a suitcase full.

17- I'm pretty certain that seeing the movie Grease as a child had a strong influence on my fashion and beauty choices.

18- I have been a pescatarian for 15 years, but I crave hamburgers all the time.

19- My first job was a page at a library where I restocked books after they were read.

20- In 2005 I ran a half marathon in the pouring rain and raised over $500 which I donated to NAMI.

21- I am a pizza snob and can usually tell if a slice will taste good just by looking at it.

22- I became an aunt at 7 years old.  My (first) niece and I are more like sisters.

Danielle & I then and now

23- My derby number is 1955.  I chose it because it represents my favorite era (the 1950s) and the year my parents got married.

24- I am extremely close with both my and my husband's family and feel lucky every day because of it!

25- Joining the Long Island Roller Rebels was one of the best choices I have ever made in my lifetime!

xo
Etta Jams
Forever a Long Island Roller Rebel


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Summer Shovin' Tonight!

Triple Threat

Join us this Friday for beer pong, karaoke and dancing!  All proceeds help support the league.

May 11th Bout Recap

On May 11^th The Long Island Roller Rebels (93) hosted The Rhode Island Riveters (91). Last year Long Island traveled up to Providence and proved to be the biggest upset of the weekend, by winning, 148-120. This season Long Island’s All Stars have had two losses and were looking for a win. The first jam did not fair well for the All Stars as ATTACKACARDIC was sent to the box for a cut track major, giving the Riveters a power play early on in the bout.  For the next 3 consecutive jams the Riveters would be held scoreless. In jam 4 Rhode Island’s Hit and Run Paulene was able to take advantage of ATTACKACARDIC’s penalty and score 23 points for her team, taking the lead back to Rhode Island 34 to 17. Long Island’s jammers, Crashtastic Cate, Veloce Villain, Attacacardic and C-Roll chipped away at the score throughout the rest of the period. In the last jam of the first period, ATTACKACARDIC took the line gaining lead jammer as her blockers Veloce Villain, Angry Penguin, Berry Boom Boom and Amaretto Sourpuss were able to hold back Rhode Island keeping them scoreless as she would put up 25 points pushing Long Island further in the lead, ending the period 88 to 55 in favor of Long Island.

 Attackacardic jumping the apex scoring 4 points before calling the jam

In the second half of the bout, Long Island kept the momentum rolling as MVP Blocker Breakneck Brie would hold tight walls with teammates Amaretto Sourpuss, Berry Boom Boom and team Captain Angry Penguin. By the sixth jam of the half, Veloce Villain would take advantage of Buzz AllDread’s back block major and break a personal record with a 32 point jam!!! This pushed Long Island even further into the lead 129 to 67! Long Island kept a very strong lead until jam 16 when Buzz AllDread would score 15pts on a power jam. It looked like Rhode Island would start to rally, but the score was still in favor of Long Island 148 to 100. In the next two jams, LI jammers, Crashtastic Cate and Veloce Villain felt the heat and would push on with a combined 33 point total, distancing themselves in the lead 184 to 108. The last jam of the night C-Roll and Buzz AllDread took the jammer line. Buzz would gain lead jammer status and gain 9 points before getting a track cut major, leaving C Roll to put up 22 points for Long Island as her teammates cheered her on giving Long Island their first win of 2013!!

Final Long Island 214 Rhode Island 121

Jammer MVPs Long Island Attackacardic  Rhode Island Buzz AllDread

Blocker MVPs  Long Island Breakneck Brie  Rhode Island Jetta Von Diesel

Stats

Long Island’s Leading Scorers                   Rhode Island’s Leading Scorers

Veloce Villain 92 points (16 jams)                Hit and Run Paulene 49 points (13 jams)

Attackacardic 64 points (18 jams)                Buzz AllDread 28 points (13 jams)

C Roll 38 points (11 jams)                            Milla Lowlife 28 points (15 jams)

Crastastic Cate 20 points (9 jams)                                         Elsie YaLater 13 points (7 jams)

Sunday Funday

A home bout on a Sunday afternoon?  Yep, that's how we're doing it this weekend!  Dominion Derby Girls will be headed our way to battle it out against the All Stars and the entrance fee is just a $5 donation at the door!  

Location - Skate Safe America 

Doors open at 12, whistle blows at 12:30.

See you there!

Bout Highlights

Hello everyone!  In case you missed the May 11th home bout, here are some highlights from the night!

Announcers Cap Lox and Hardcory issued the Play by Play

FIRST HALF

Riverters were the first to put points on the board

Cindy Lou Screw #206 led the half with 4 penalties but also incurred a left knee semi injury that was addressed in the locker at halftime so she could play the second half

LIRR had 2 players with 2 penalties and the rest with less

SCORE AT THE HALF

LIRR ALLSTARS -88     Rhode Island Riverters- 55

SECOND HALF

Riveters Dark N Stormy #100proof  and Sun Scream #SPF9 opened aggressively and sent Allstar jammer Crash # 13 sliding across the whole OPR lane and into the bench area

Riveters Dark N Stormy #100proof lead her team with 5 penalties

LIRR had 2 players with 5 penalties as well #214 Sourpuss and # 3143 Thin Slice

C-roll had an Amazing power jam to end the night

FINAL SCORE

LIRR ALLSTARS -210     Rhode Island Riverters- 121

This Saturday!

In Case You Missed It!

Well hello there!  It's been a while.  Were you all at the last bout?  If not, here's a recap for you:

On April 13^th our Rock-A-Betty Bruisers hosted Ithaca’s Blue Stockings. Revelyn Sin was the first jammer to take the line for the Bruisers gaining lead jammer status however with Ithaca’s Felonious Fox right behind her, she strategically called off the jam just after scoring 2 points. By the fourth jam, things looked grim for our Bruisers as Ithaca took the lead, 19 to 3. In jam five Bruiser team captain, Dropkick Dolly, played some sweet offense by helping jammer Ermahgerd! to obtain 30 pts in one jam! Ermahgerd! forced a lead change back to the Bruisers with a score of 39 to 26. In jam 8 Bad A$$ Nat took the jammer line for the Bruisers and gained 3 points while Ithaca’s Bee Bee Gun gained 4 points leaving the score tied at 42. Ithaca would then pull ahead with two big jams from Felonious Fox & Valerie Valkyrie leaving the score in Ithaca’s favor 74 to 47. The Bruisers struggled for the remainder of the half leaving the score 120 to 60 in favor of Ithaca.

Starting the second half things were starting to look up for the Bruisers. Jammers Ermahgerd!, Revelyn Sin & PhDD racked up back to back points for Long Island catching up with a score of 76 to 132. Unfortunately, in jam 30 the Bruisers failed to field a jammer giving Ithaca an opportunity to score 15 unanswered points. During jams 11,12 and 13 the Bruisers began to rally keeping Ithaca scoreless. Jammer Bad A$$ Nat had a rally of her own putting up two big jams, but still the Bruiser’s fell short. Final Rock-A-Betty Bruisers 115 Ithaca’s Blue Stockings 190

             MVP Blocker Dropkick Dolly                    MVP Jammer Ermahgerd!                            

Stats

Bruisers Leading Scorers                                   Blue Stocking Leading Scorers

Ermahgerd!             49 points (10 jams)                Felonious Fox              55 points (10 jams)

Bad A$$ Nat             30 points (6 jams)              Sugar Blitz                  50 points (11 jams)

Revelyn Sin            25 points (15 jams)                Valerie Valkyrie            35 points (8 jams)

2013 Rock-A-Betty Bruisers

Left to right

Top Row: Captain Dropkick Dolly, Mgr Berry Boom Boom, PhDD, Ermahgerd!, Nolo Contender, Punk Sure, TNTeeny, Dolce Beata, Femme&M, Wushu Sugar, Mgr. Point N Shoot

Bottom Row: Mgr. Chest Blockwell, Nautical Vile, Bad A$$ Nat, Dandy Rough, Revelyn Sin, Account DeeRacula

Not pictured: Captain ArcHer Back, Gertie Bomb, Lil E. Von Schtupp & Neophyte Knight

Tomorrow Night!

TV Schedule Change

Hello!

It's been a while.  Hope you're all doing well!

As you may have read in a this post, the first of six episodes from September 1st's The Empire Skate Showdown-Return of The Jammer 2012 have been approved and are ready to air on T.V. !  

Due to a technical issue that ABC was having adding the closed captioning, the first episode of The Empire Skate Showdown has been moved to 4/7 with the 2nd episode to follow on 4/14. These episodes will air on ABC's Live Well Network at noon.

The Live Well Network is available on the following channels in the Tri-State Area: 

Over the air: 7.2, 7.3

Blue Ridge Cable TV (PA): 160,609

Cablevision: CT-117, 729; NJ- 108, 729; NY- 108, 729

Charter: CT-787

Comcast: CT- 238, 247, 265, 1030; NJ- 157, 159, 245, 246, 268, 790; NY- 246, 247

Hotwire Communications: NY- 406, 407

RCN: NY- 321, 618

Service Electric Cable TV: NJ- 91, 591

Time Warner: NJ/NY- 163, 687

Verizon FiOS: CT/NJ/NY- 467, 468

RCN: 321 - SD

RCN: 618 - HD

All Stars VS GSR Recap

Saturday March 9^th was the second bout of the season for the Long Island Roller Rebels, but the first sanctioned bout of 2013. This was an exciting match up between the LIRR All Stars (17E) and the Garden State Roller Girls Ironbound Maidens (27E). In the first jam GSR’s Renegade Ruby was able to obtain lead jammer, but was held back by great recycling and walls formed by veteran Rebel blockers, ShadowboxHer, Amaretto Sourpuss, Angry Penguin and Betty or Not. With a lightning fast ATTACKACARDIC hot on her trail, Ruby was forced to call off the jam early leaving her scoreless. In the second jam C-Roll was able to rack up the first 3 points for Long Island.  In the following jam ATTACKACARDIC gained lead jammer and put up a whopping 13 points, her run was cut short when she was sent to the penalty box for a major track cut giving Garden State a power jam.  Renegade Ruby was limited to only 5 points while ATTACK served her time in the box, leaving the score at 16 to 5 in favor of Long Island. AKA Meme then took the jammer line for GSR obtaining lead jammer and 13 points bringing this bout to only a 3point difference. Garden State would then rally to put points on the board, until jam 8 when Renegade Ruby would receive a major track cut loosing lead jammer status and sending her to the box. LIRR All Star C-Roll was able to capatilize on the power play with a 25 point jam of her own bringing the hometown heroes back into the game and once again changing the lead back to Long Island 46 to 40. Only 2 jams later Renegade Ruby would acquire 25 points changing the lead back to Garden State. Even with a 19point power jam by Rebel rookie Thin Slice of Violence, Garden State would keep the lead for the remainder of the period, but not by much.  At the end of the first period the score was 85 to 96 in favor of Garden State.

Photo - Rick Odell

At the beginning of the second half our Long Island All Stars got their second wind and we would see a repeat of the first jam from the first half. Even though Garden State Renegade Ruby obtained lead jammer, ATTACKACARDIC was hot on her heels forcing her to call the jam off leaving both teams scoreless. In the following jam AKA Meme lost lead jammer and was sent to the penalty box giving C-Roll the opportunity to score 19 points and once again changing the lead 104 to 100 in favor of Long Island! With the score still close and several lead changes, Long Island sent out a one-two punch when ATTACKACARDIC took the jammer line unopposed obtaining lead jammer and earning 25 points! This was followed by Crashtastic Cate donning the jammer star and putting up 14 points for Long Island pushing them further into the lead 153 to 126! It came down to the last jam to see who would win this battle with the score close at 171 to 166 in favor of Long Island. ATTACKACARDIC would join Lixxie Stixx on the jammer line, it looked good for Long Island when ATTACKACARDIC gained lead jammer and grabbed 4 points, unfortunately ATTACK would receive a major track cut leaving Lixxie Stixx unopposed to gain 12 points for her team changing the lead to Garden State Rollergirls. With no time outs left for Long Island, GSR would go on to win the bout with a final score of 175 Long Island 175 to 178 Garden State Rollergirls.

MVPS Long Island ATTACKACARDIC Garden State Renegade Ruby

 

Photo - Rick Odell

Stats

Long Island Leading Scorers

ATTACKACARDIC  66 points (20 jams)

C-Roll 56 points (12 jams)

Thin Slice of Violence 26 points (4 jams)

Crashtastic Cate 19 points (9 jams)

Amaretto Sourpuss 8 points (2 jams)

 

Garden State Leading Scorers

Renegade Ruby 98 points (18 jams)

AKA Meme 46 points (17 jams)

Gut-Her Punk 19 points (7 jams)

Lixxie Stixx 12 points (2 jams)

We're Still Celebrating!

Just when you thought St Patrick's Day was over, I've got more reason for you to to break out the green and continue celebrating!  

This Saturday, March 23rd, you can catch the Roller Rebels as they skate down the streets of Long Island's south shore in The Rockville Centre St Patty's Day Parade!  We always love to hear our fans cheering us on as we skate, so we hope to see you all there!

You can check out some photos from previous parades here and for click here for more information about this year's RVC parade.  

Recap

While our skaters are still recovering from a game well played on Saturday night, I'm still reminiscing about how much fun it was!  If you were there, then you know that the bout between the LIRR All Stars and GSR was a close one!  Both teams played hard all night, but in the end it was GSR who took the lead.  Final score GSR 178, All Stars 175.

With plenty of PBR, a photo booth and entertainment by DJ Joe Jack, the night was a fun-filled one!  Announcing was loud and clear with CAP LOCKS and Captain Morgan on the mics and raffle prize giveaways at half time were abundant. On a personal note, I was so happy to provide a happy fan with a giveaway of my own and for those of you who supported me at my vendor table, thank you!

As always, thanks go out to all of our volunteers, refs and NSOs.  But we would especially like to thank our fans because without you, we wouldn't be here!  

Cheers to a great night!  Looking forward to our next home bout on April 13th when the Rock-A-Betty Bruiser's take on Ithaca Bluestockings.

For some great photos from the evening, please visit our facebook page.

- Etta

Read All About It!

Photo by Andrew Coen

 

The Roller Rebels were featured in the Wantagh-Seaford Patch this week!  Click here to read all about it!

This Saturday!

Are you ready for the second bout of the season?  I know I can't wait!!  This Saturday, March 9th, the Long Island Roller Rebel All Stars will proudly host a home bout versus the Garden State Roller Girls Ironbound Maidens at Skate Safe America!  The All Stars are especially excited for this bout, since the two teams have not faced each other in over four years in WFTDA sanctioned play. The Maidens took home the win in the past, so the Rebel All Stars are looking for payback!

While you're there, you can grab yourself a drink.  We will be serving up Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and White Zinfandel.  Also be sure to check out all of our vendors.  I'll have a table set up with a FREE raffle to win some loot! So come by, say hello and enter to win!

 

 

ESS - Coming To A Channel Near You!

Last September, The Long Island Roller Rebels hosted their 3rd annual Empire Skate Showdown (ESS). The planning and preparation that go into ESS, is a huge undertaking, but the results are well worth the effort. 

After all of the hard work, we are thrilled to announce that the first of six episodes from September 1st's The Empire Skate Showdown-Return of The Jammer 2012 are approved and ready to air on T.V. ! Starting Sunday, March 24th, these episodes will air on ABC's Live Well Network at noon.  The first episode features Assault City Roller Derby vs. The Hellions of Troy  and the second episode on Sunday, March 31st at noon, features The Long Island Roller Rebels taking on the ladies of Central New York Roller Derby.  Each episode features one of the half-hour challenge bouts that took place at ESS, complete with skater/sponsor interviews and spots for commercials. 

The network is currently looking for sponsors to run commercials during the show.  With the potential of these commercials reaching 8.3 million households, it's a great way to get your business out there and in turn, help support the league!  If you are interesting in advertising or have any other questions, please email our announcer, CAPS LOCK aka Jake at jstebelproductions@gmail.com

The Live Well Network is available on the following channels in the Tri-State Area:

Over the air: 7.2, 7.3

Blue Ridge Cable TV (PA): 160,609

Cablevision: CT-117, 729; NJ- 108, 729; NY- 108, 729

Charter: CT-787

Comcast: CT- 238, 247, 265, 1030; NJ- 157, 159, 245, 246, 268, 790; NY- 246, 247

Hotwire Communications: NY- 406, 407

RCN: NY- 321, 618

Service Electric Cable TV: NJ- 91, 591

Time Warner: NJ/NY- 163, 687

Verizon FiOS: CT/NJ/NY- 467, 468

RCN: 321 - SD

RCN: 618 - HD

Get Battered Up!

Get your bellies prepared because on Sunday, March 3rd, the Long Island Roller Rebels Annual Pancake Breakfast at Mr. Beery's is set to take place!  Preparations are well underway and this year, in addition to our regular batter, we will also be serving up gluten/dairy/soy free pancakes.  Skaters will be taking turns cooking, flipping and serving, while bartenders will be mixing up orange juice and champagne on the rocks or straight up!

Come hungry, leave full.  Maple syrup optional.

Wheelers vs Ladies Recap

On February 9^th Long Island Roller Rebels dug out of the snow left over from Nemo to kick off the first bout of the 2013 season with The Return of the Home Teams! Both teams had some old and some new faces on their rosters. Starting with The Wicked Wheelers roster: Betty or Not, Captain Morgan, Crashtastic Cate, Dropkick Dolly, Ermahgerd!, Femme&M, Hardcory, Nautical Vile, PhDoubleD & Veloce Villain lead by Captains Amaretto Soupuss & TNTeeny. The Ladies of Laceration’s line up Account DeeRacula, ArcHER Back, ATTACKACARDIC, Bad A$$ Nat, Point N Shoot, Revelyn Sin, ShadowboxHER, Thin Slice of Violence & Wushu Sugar lead by Captains Breakneck Brie & Flossy SmackIntyre. Both teams have not met on the track since 2010 when The Ladies upset The Wheelers to advance to the 2010 championships. The Wheelers wanted to reestablish their name on the track, however the Ladies were the first to put points on the board with 4 points by ATTACKACARDIC! The Ladies would keep the lead until jam 11. Veloce Villain would take the jammer line unopposed and put up a 19 point jam placing the Wheelers in the lead by one point 36 to 35. By jam 15, Thin Slice of Violence would have an 11 point power jam to keep the Ladies in the game 49 to 54 in favor of the Wheelers. The following jam Veloce Villain would help give her team a comfortable lead with an amazing 25 point jam! The Wheelers had great defensive walls effectively shutting out the Ladies’ jammers lead by captains TNTeeny & Amaretto Sourpuss. By the end of the first half it did not look good for The Ladies of Laceration with a score 92 to 54 in favor of the Wheelers.  

Photo by Michelle Wenz

 

In the beginning of the second period the Ladies regrouped and came out with strong walls by their blockers as ATTACKACARDIC would put up a 19 point power jam.  In jam 12, rookie jammer Revelyn Sin, had an 18 point power jam with a lead change 112 to 105 in favor of the Ladies. The game returned into a nail bitter with the score so close it was hard to predict a winner. However by jam 21 The Wheelers took a loss with power blocker Amaretto Sourpuss taking her 7^th trip to the penalty box resulting in her being expelled from the game. This upset the Wheeler’s manager Jefferee causing him to follow Sourpuss to the locker room leaving the Wheelers with one manager Glittersarus Rex. The Wheelers kept strong putting up a fight with the score still close 139 to 113 Ladies. It came down to the final jam with Veloce Villain & Attackacardic taking the jammer line. ATTACK was able to gain lead jammer status and ran the period clock out while both jammers racking up an even 12 points for each team leaving the final score 151 to 125, Ladies Win!

 

 

Wheelers MVPs                                                 Ladies MVPs

Blocker Amaretto Sourpuss                    Blocker Flossy SmackIntyer

Jammer Crashtastic Cate                  Jammer Revelyn Sin

 

Stats

Ladies Lead Scorers

Attackacardic  60 points (15 jams)

Thin Slice of Violence 32 points (10 jams)

Revelyn Sin 31 Points (10 jams)

 

Wheelers Lead Scorers

Veloce Villain 76 points (17 jams)

Crashtastic Cate 25 points (15 jams)