In case you’ve wondered about what we pack for away bouts…

Equipment wise, the scariest thought about going on the road for away bouts is equipment failure. I can buy clothes, hair products, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc. on the road. Purchasing skate equipment, on the other hand, can be dicey. That’s why on-the-road bouts make for meticulous packing.

Personally, I make a list and over pack for everything – extra bearings, wheels, tools, duct tape, shoe laces, athletic tape even Band-Aids. Here’s why. Our first time in Denver, we had one of the worst equipment failures you can imagine: General Grant Slam’s plate broke right where the toe stop goes on (picture your spine breaking at your neck so your head falls off). You have no idea how important a toe stop is until it’s gone and you’re trying to get a running start off the jam line. It’s akin to attempting to paddle in a canoe except the paddle is gone and you’re dipping just the handle in the water trying to gain speed. Grant Slam eventually went on to stay on the track and score that jam which is a testament to her athleticism and determination, but I digress.

While you can’t pack for every possible problem, you can check your skates before hitting the road to limit the likelihood of up-the-creek situations and pack extra equipment for the just-in-case’s. If not for yourself, then for your sister skater.

Equipment isn’t the only area I over pack. Let’s face it, women can push the limits of luggage with clothing options for every occasion (my breakfast shirt can’t possibly be the same as my pre-bout dinner one, right?). Not all women, mind you. Ginja Snap and Nikki Six Shooter have packing down to a science: essentials only, please. No matter how often I try to be kind to limited space issues in a vehicle, I end up with a bag for food, one for clothes, my (over packed) gear bag and then one for road entertainment which includes books, magazines, and whatever else makes hours of travel easy on the attitude. That makes four bags if you were counting. Four. Just for me.

I mentioned a bag for food. That is just about as essential as packing your jersey and skates. You can eat terrible food (i.e. crap) on the road so it’s important to pack some healthy snacks to keep you away from the temptation of junk food. Since I pretty consistently travel with Goldy Blocks, Ginja and Nikki, we kind of have a system. We take plenty of water, fruit, granola or nuts, M&Ms to feed Goldy’s chocolate habit (it’s still healthier than gas station donuts, don’t judge) and Emergen-C.

Don’t forget that some of us are moms and we occasionally have to take our kids with us to away bouts. The luggage will just keep piling up.

L to R: Ginja Snap, Goldy Blocks, Hell Paseo


We travel this weekend to Denver for our first-ever Colorado Cup.

We are the only out-of-state team that was invited to this tournament. We’re excited to represent CCD and New Mexico, which means we better pack not just the above-mentioned necessities but also our best strategy, endurance and attitudes. You can catch live streaming of the bouts in the tournament by visiting the Derby Network News website. Cheer us on and make sure to get your tickets early for our May 4th home bout against Taos.

-Hell Paseo, #7

I love roller skating! My mom always tells people that I was skating before I could even walk. Growing up in the 1980/90s, roller skating on a Friday night with friends was the thing to do. When I saw a flyer in a local coffee shop asking people to join the local roller derby team, I called for information the same day. I was excited to try out my rusty skating skills, but I had no idea what the game of roller derby was all about. Boy was I in for a big surprise.

Pictured: Notorious T.I.J., Sweet Irony, and Princess Leia Out


Roller derby is a full contact sport that requires dedication, skill, strategy and teamwork. The sport dates back to the 1930s as an endurance race. Modern day roller derby revolutionized in the 2000s as an all-female sport. Currently, there are over 1,000 teams in over 20 countries worldwide, and the sport continues to grow at a lightning fast pace. It is even being considered for the 2020 Olympics. Roller derby in Alamogordo, New Mexico is no different and continues to reach new milestones.

Alamogordo currently has one roller derby team, Derbal Remedy, that was established in 2011.  This year is our first year competing in bouts (games) against teams from around New Mexico and Texas including Taos, Clovis, and Dumas. Derbal Remedy currently has twelve active players and is always looking for “fresh meat” (new recruits). Any woman, at least 18 years old, can contact our team page via Facebook for more information. We are also looking for men to get involved as referees. TheHolloman AFB family is well represented on the Alamogordo team. We currently have two active duty players, two military spouses, a child care provider from the youth center, and two florists from the flower shop at the BX.

I started skating with Derbal Remedy in January 2013 and haven’t looked back since. I have learned so much in the past four months, and I continue to learn something new at every practice. Alamogordo local, Carl Smith, is our head coach and general manager. He has taught me everything I know about the sport. On average, we practice eight hours a week. Roller derby has improved my overall fitness tremendously. Not only has my cardiovascular fitness improved, but my arms, legs and core are the strongest they have ever been. Why do I put myself through these eight hours of torture per week? This past weekend answered that question – I skated in my debut bout and it’s an amazing feeling!

On Saturday, two of my Derbal Remedy teammates and I played as augmentees for Las Santas from Las Cruces in a bout against the Dirty Curry Prairie Dollz from Clovis. It was very rewarding to finally put all of the skills that I had been practicing for the past three and a half months to the test. Practice definitely made perfect for Las Santas. After countless laps around the track with almost as many falls, we went on to win the bout with a final score of 223 to 79! I have been on cloud nine ever since Saturday, and I cannot wait to skate in the next bout. The bottom line is that fitness does not have to be a chore. Find something you love to do and have fun doing it. I dare you to skate like a girl!

1Lt Carlye Sweet aka “Sweet Irony”
Derbal Remedy, Alamogordo NM

“A Boost of Soul for the Sucias”

There’s nothing better on bout day than to have that realization of stands filled with people who love the sport and the athletes who play it and another bench filled with another team. It’s that split second when you look around, see the CCD fans, see the other team and feel a million butterfly wings begin flapping all at once in your stomach; the  mixture of nerves and excitement that pumps through your veins. The background noise shuts off when the head ref calls for the start of the bout and ten women wait for a whistle.

CCD kicked off its home season, with an exciting opener against San Angelo’s Soul Sisters (SASS). While the score may have seemed lopsided, the Sucias beat SASS 333-59, it was anything but an easy win. The first jam whistle blew and their blockers were ready to attack our jammer. At the same time, our blockers were ready for our first hits of the season. We came out strong and knocked their jammer out of bounds right away. She attempted to re-enter the track quickly, but we had our strategy down: hit and retreat. She was penalized for a track cut and Sucias had their first power jam of the night.  General Grant Slam worked through the pack time and time again with the help of her blockers and racked up a quick 33 points.

Every jam start was a new two-minute opportunity to follow through on weeks of drills, strategy and endurance. While we always want to make sure our fans see the most amazing aspects of our athleticism, sometimes all it takes to win a bout is implementing the best overall strategy. We had been working hard on hitting the jammer out and retreating. This strategy was two-fold: it lengthened the track for the SASS jammer and shortened the track for the Sucia jammer; therefore our jammer had less skating to do to get around the track before she would score points. This boils down to us being able to control the pack. We don’t always have to knock all the players around like bowling pins to win. Several of our blockers have proven they can knock a blocker off the track, but as a team we also need to prove we can control the pack and not allow an opponent to be successful with their strategy.

SASS blockers were a force to be reckoned with. Their hits took a bite out of our players so we had to change how we would deal with them: juke instead of hit. Juking is when you combine sneaky ninja-like skills with Hollywood acting – act like you’re going one way and then pull a switcheroo and sneak around the blocker like a ninja. Our work with agility really paid off! The win against SASS gave our fans what they were hungry for: seeing CCD’s growth since last year and a great kick off to our 2013 home bout season. Our next home game is against Taos Whiplashes on May 4th and we would love to see you all come out and watch us continue the successful play we started with SASS.

-Hell Paseo #7 & Goldy Blocks #3brs