Windy City Rollers

The Windy City Rollers are an all-female flat-track Roller Derby league located in Chicago, the city where roller derby first emerged as a sport in 1929. The Windy City Rollers, founded by Juanna Rumbel (Elizabeth Gomez) and Sister Sledgehammer (Kelly Simmons), are the first flat-track Roller Derby league established in Chicago. This all female league is comprised of members of four league teams for play within the league and an all-star travel team in competition with other leagues. [ [http://www.windycityrollers.com/league/ Windy City Rollers ] ]

Member Teams

* Manic Attackers [ [http://www.windycityrollers.com/league/manic_attackers/ Manic Attackers] ] Escaped mental patients who will steal your meds and eat your babies. Theme song: Raining Blood by Slayer
* Helle's Belles [ [http://www.windycityrollers.com/league/hells_belles/ Hell's Belles] ] 2008 Season Champions. Ladies who busted out of finishing school to become the femme fatales of the flat track.
* The Fury [] [http://www.windycityrollers.com/league/the_fury/ The Fury] ] - 2005 & 2006 Season Champions; Named after the goddesses of vengeance in Greek mythology.
* Double Crossers [ [http://www.windycityrollers.com/league/double_crossers/ Double Crossers] ] - 2007 Season Champions; An elite team of silent assassins on wheels with the motto "Skate and let die, but leave a really HOT corpse." Theme song: Sabotage by Beastie Boys
* The Windy City Rollers All-Stars [ [http://www.windycityrollers.com/teams/allstars/default.aspx All-Stars] ] - The all star travel team for competition with other leagues in the Women's Flat Track Derby Association

League History

In Chicago 2004, Simmons and Gomez organized the four-team league and on the initial recruitment nearly 100 girls appeared. In 2006 hundreds showed up to recruitment parties showing interest in joining the league. Prior to 2006, they played in Chicago's Congress Theatre, but have since moved to the Cicero Stadium to accommodate for a regulation track size. The Windy City Rollers named their championship tournament after Chicago derby legend, Ivy King. The Fury have won the Ivy King Cup Championship games in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, the trophy was claimed by the Double Crossers. In 2008, the Ivy King Cup was won by the Helle's Belles.

In early 2006, the Windy City Rollers began inter-league bouting. After suffering defeat at Dust Devil 2006, the league realized it needed to regroup. They moved to a bouting venue that allowed them to play on a regulation sized track, and increased the number of league practices. After completing another season of intra-league bouting, the All-Stars team was reformed. In early 2007, the league resumed inter-league play.

The Windy City Rollers All-Stars entered the competition at the WFTDA Eastern Regionals in Columbus (the "Heartland Havoc") ranked 14th in the nation (7th in their region), a position based more on their longevity than their few 2007 interleague victories. After defeating 20th-ranked Atlanta on day one, they achieved what many considered a stunning victory on day 2, defeating Madison, Wisconsin's Mad Rollin' Dolls, ranked fourth nationally and first in the Eastern region. They went on to claim second place in the tournament, defeating the Carolina Rollergirls before falling to New York's Gotham Girls. [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/chi-derbysep27,0,5146771.story?page=1 Rollers chase glory-and revenge - chicagotribune.com ] ]

At the WFTDA national tournament (the Texas Shootout) in Austin, TX, the Windy City Rollers All-Stars were defeated in the first round by the home favorite Texas Rollergirls, finishing in seventh position in the nation.

On August 25, 2007, Chicago attorney Tahirah Johnson, skating as "Tequila Mockingbird," for The Fury, was injured in the most serious accident of the current roller derby revival. Having fallen, she was stuck near the collar by another skater. She remains in serious condition, with partial paralysis. Surgeons are "cautiously optimistic." [ [http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/549681,CST-NWS-roller10.article

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Notes

External links

* [http://www.windycityrollers.com/ Windy City Rollers Homepage]
* [http://www.wftda.com/ Women's Flat Track Derby Association]