Gender: Female
Status: Single
Age: 99
Sign: Capricorn
City: Augusta
State: Georgia
Country: US
Signup Date: 11/9/2007
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October 1, 2009 - Thursday
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http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101070593...Metro Spirit: Arts Features - Rolling over ‘Whip It’
Shared via AddThis
Some of the Augusta's own Sirens features in the Spirit's article about the new roller derby movie, Whip It. READ!
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July 9, 2009 - Thursday
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Current mood:  excited
Please HELP us by going to metrospirit.com and nominating Us for Augusta's favorite Sports Team! Nominations end in a week on July 15 Voting will start August 19
Thank YOU!
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May 30, 2009 - Saturday
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Hosted By:Soul City Sirens When:Sunday, May 31, 2009 Where:Red Wing Washington Road Augusta Description:Soul City Sirens take on Palmetto... come watch some hard hitting action. Click Here To View Event
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March 10, 2009 - Tuesday
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Sirens Win 187-74! Early on it was clear that the Sirens had pulled together much more as a team, but all were waiting to see how the Highrollers were going to take the offensive battle. They threw the punches they could but were no match for the rough and tough team the Sirens had become. This is only the first meeting of these two teams this month, the next bout is to commence on the 22nd of March. Augusta had a chance to watch their home team destroy the competition, now it's up to the Highrollers to push back on their own turf. Pics From The Metro Spirit
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September 3, 2008 - Wednesday
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..tr>..tr>http://www.metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1211101074307265&ShowArticle_ID=11010309083054926
That may be why many bought tickets to the Soul City Sirens' first bout, but there's much more to this newly formed roller-derby team than sharp elbows and push-up bras
| BY AMY FENNELL CHRISTIAN
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AUGUSTA, GA - It's a Wednesday night in South Augusta. Twenty or so women of the Soul City Sirens, Augusta's first roller-derby team, fill the concession area of a skating rink, taking off their skates, handing tickets and cash to their treasurer, and relaxing.
They need it, having spent the last hour and a half stopping and starting, chasing each other around a coned-off area of the rink and listening to their coaches yell "pack it up!" when the 10 on the track got too spread out. While all this was going on, everyone on the team was trying their damndest to knock each other on their asses.
Now, just a few minutes after practice has ended, everyone is hot, sweaty and all smiles. Children who had been playing arcade games while their mothers practiced now snuggle beside them in booths and picnic tables. Team members help each other create "boutfits" (their bout uniforms) — taking a smock deemed ugly and discussing how to tailor it. There are no uniforms in roller derby, you see; it's all up to the skater and the persona she has created.
It's team meeting time and the topic on everyone's mind is the Sirens' first bout on Sept. 7, which, at press time, was very close to selling out the 500-capacity skating rink. It's an intra-league bout, with the Sirens divided into two teams: the Atomic Annies and the Rock-a-Betties.
After Head Coach Brett Craig says a few words about how the night's practice went, bout coordinator Jason Craig (brother to the head coach and boyfriend of Rock-a-Betties power blocker Veronica Mulkey, aka Domestic Disturbance) talks about logistics.
"I don't want to see you guys in the concession area before the bout getting your kid a Coke," he says at one point. "I don't want anyone to see you before the bout. When you come through those doors, I want you guys to come in like rock stars."
After Craig goes over a few more specifics, it's Anastasia Forrestal's turn. Forrestal is captain of the Rock-a-Betties, a jammer who goes by the name Fuka Saru. She won't say what the name means, just that it's Japanese and it's a nickname her husband gave her.
"Look it up," she later says. Attempts to do that were less than fruitful, but it has something to do with a shark.
In addition to her duties as captain, Forrestal has also been appointed media liaison of sorts since she's been involved in the business for more than 10 years. She currently works at Fox 54.
After a discussion of MySpace etiquette and how to discourage would-be stalkers, Forrestal gives the Sirens a primer on dealing with reporters: Speak in complete sentences and think about what you're going to say, she encourages them.
"And what do you say to a reporter who asks, 'Isn't it strange for girls to play such a dangerous and violent sport?'"
She doesn't get an answer to her question, mostly because everyone in the room just groans and rolls their eyes. It's obviously something the team hears a lot.
Later, Forrestal explains that there's nothing wrong with asking the question.
"It's just interesting because people are constantly intrigued by women playing a full-contact sport when no one would ever ask a man, 'Isn't it dangerous? Don't you worry about getting hurt?'" Forrestal explains. "Why are we being pigeonholed just because we're women?"
Sure, roller derby can be dangerous. Veronica Mulkey, the Sirens' first player to be seriously injured while bouting, can tell you that. But driving a car… or doing household chores can be just as dangerous, Forrestal says.
"I had a broken nose two weeks ago, but that was from my dog," she chuckles. "She jumped on me while I was trying to make the bed."
Roller derby has existed, in various incarnations, since the early 1900s, but it never made its way to Augusta until Jessica Thompson had a 30th-birthday crisis in 2007. The founder, who goes by the derby name Inskatiable, began researching the sport and discovered that she'd have a bit of a drive if she wanted to join a team — the closest ones at the time were in Atlanta, Athens and Columbia, S.C.
So Thompson decided to start her own league, using the resources that the other leagues gladly offered her. The first real meeting was held in early January of this year, and almost all of the founding members were in attendance.
"I was afraid that, in Augusta, I wouldn't be able to recruit enough people, but 17 people showed up I think," Thompson says. "Then I realized that, yes, this can actually happen and we just started going full-blast."
"A lot of leagues spend a year or more trying to get enough players to form a league," explains Julie Menger, aka Jules C. Blood, a power blocker for the Rock-a-Betties. "From the beginning, we had enough to make two teams in one league — two strong teams."
Roller derby is a difficult sport to explain (for specifics, see "How It's Played" on page 19). Spend a couple of hours watching a practice and you still may have no idea how points are scored.
"It does take a while to get it," one bystander at the practice admits.
To the outsider, it appears to be one part rugby, albeit on skates, and one part performance art.
"Even though we play sports, it still has some theatrical aspects to it," Menger, a theater major in college, agrees.
Derby also has some role-playing, almost sexual fetish aspects. Many players' derby characters are throwbacks to '40s pin-up girls and have suggestive names like French Crippler and Dee Cupcake. And while that is an integral part of women's roller derby, it's an aspect that the media tends to focus too much on, according to Forrestal.
"A lot of reporters, a lot of journalists report it as 'librarian by day, hell on wheels by night,'" she says. "We need to start being looked at as athletes because that's what we are."
That's apparent in practice. While jams last a maximum of two minutes, players return to the sidelines visibly tired, some leaning over and gasping for breath. And those are the ones who didn't get knocked down. The ones who did at that night's practice, like Lauren King, aka Haute Mess, writhe around on the ground for a few minutes, then pop back up and begin skating again. Just like nothing ever happened.
"You really have to be an athlete in pretty decent physical shape to endure it because you're skating at a pretty fast pace," says Kate Colclasure, a relative newbie to the Sirens who has only been with the team about seven weeks. "Practices are endless. You're going, going, going. You have to reach in and give it everything you got just to make it through practices."
Liz Seyberth, who goes by the name Lamborgenie and plays jammer for the Atomic Annies, is a 40-year-old massage therapist who says derby has done for her what nothing else has.
"I'm in the best shape that I've been in in the last 20 years," she says.
There was a time, however, when Liz almost quit the team. It was shortly after she broke her tailbone, cracked some ribs and almost broke her nose during a practice, injuries which took her out for a month. During that time, her brother visited her from Los Angeles. He and Liz's mother tried their best to talk her out of going back.
"They tried as hard as they could to get me to stop and I almost did," the former figure skater admits. "It's almost like I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I feel like a kid because I keep doing it anyway."
What made her return was a heart-to-heart she had with Coach Brett Craig.
"He said, 'Liz, if you don't do it, you'll never know how good you could have been.' I want to know my limit. It would just kill me 10 years from now if I had given it up."
Besides Liz's injuries, remarkably few Sirens have been hurt in the year since the team was formed. Sure, they all come away from practice with cuts and bruises, but that's about it.
Thompson says she's been skating on a slightly injured foot since April, thinking that it was just tendonitis. Turns out, it might be a stress fracture. She also aggravated a rotator cuff injury that she's had since her mountain-biking days.
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"I'm still going to do the bout, though," she says.
That was about the extent of the Sirens' injuries… until the Sunday practice two weeks out from their first bout — that's when Mulkey, one of the founding members of the league and its treasurer, broke her leg during play. She's now parked on the sofa in her North Augusta home with plates, pins and a cast up to her knee, unable to really do anything other than hobble back and forth to the bathroom.
"It was real nasty," she says, "and it was so stupid, too. It was kind of like if you stepped the wrong way off of the stairs."
One of the first things players learn in roller derby is how to fall. Contrary to what comes naturally for most people, players are told not to put their arms out and try and catch themselves. Instead, they should just let it happen and try to roll up into a ball — falling small is what they call it. Coaches make the team practice it and Mulkey admits that she's not yet mastered the skill.
Her injury was a definite blow to the team because she's one of its leaders.
"I think it upset a lot of the girls. I've heard they've been depressed and upset because I've been skating since the beginning, so it's sort of a reality check for them," she says. "I think they're scared I'm going to quit because I'm out for six months — I can't skate for six months."
There's also her age. At 36, Mulkey is one of the oldest on a team that has members who range in ages from 19 to 42.
"I'm not the oldest, but I'm in the top five," she laughs. "Hopefully I'll heal OK. It's not like I broke a hip. I'm not going to have to be put down — send me to the glue factory."
And she really can't quit. According to the team's policy, injured players must still attend practice. She's on the league's board and, as its treasurer, there's a lot for her to do in the days remaining before the bout.
"Right now, I'm sitting here typing stuff up for the program, so I'm still working on roller derby," she says.
Even if she didn't have the added responsibilities, Mulkey says she fully intends to be skating again in six months, and that the only thing that pisses her off about her injury is the fact that she can't roll. And contrary to the male bravado that often comes with injuries sustained in full-contact sports, Mulkey doesn't see her broken leg as a badge of honor.
"I would rather skate than have a broken leg," she says. "I would rather have skated in the bout and knocked a lot of bitches down than sit on the sidelines."
The sideline is exactly where Mulkey will be on Sept. 7, however.
"I plan on sitting on the bench during the bout and cheering them on and yelling at them when I don't like what I see them doing," she says. "I'm going to have fun at the bout and fun at the after-party, which I'm already looking for a wheelchair for because drinking and crutches? I might break my other leg."
Roller derby, it seems, is something that becomes an obsession to those who play. Ask most members of the local league and they'll tell you that they didn't have any idea what they were getting into when they joined. They may have skated or been athletic in the past, but that was about the extent of their knowledge.
Colclasure, who met a few of the Sirens at a First Friday in April, became immediately intrigued.
"I actually made my husband go roller skating the next night just to see if I still had my legs because I hadn't skated in 20 years," she says. "I started bugging him about it, then I chickened out."
The new account coordinator for a national medical billing company says she forgot about it for a while after joining her company's softball team. When the season was over, though, she got a little surprise.
"My husband came home one night and said, 'You're going to really, really, really love me. I figured since softball was over you needed another outlet so I e-mailed the Sirens and you have a tryout next week,''' she remembers.
Once the Sirens saw that she could skate, she was in.
"They wanted to see how serious I was about it," she says, "and now I'm hooked."
"Once you get bit by the derby bug you are constantly online, watching YouTube videos, reading the rules and talking to other leagues," Forrestal agrees.
Seyberth says much the same thing.
"I can't imagine not doing derby now because I think about it all the time," she laughs. "It's literally the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. It eats you up and spits you out."
The camaraderie that comes with being on a team is also something that keeps the Sirens coming back. Team members hang out together during the weekend, plans each other's birthday parties and go to their kids' birthday parties.
"It's just been really cool," Mulkey says. "Most girls involved in roller derby don't really like other girls. Collectively, we're all kind of the same type of girls, so we all tend to get along. I've never had a big network of girlfriends before. It's kind of neat."
"I have more friends now," Seyberth agrees. "And more text messages than I know what to do with."
But even in this close-knit community, derby is never far from their minds.
"They've all come and brought me movies," Mulkey says of the support she's received since her injury. "It's like having a whole big family to take care of me. One of them has picked my child up this week a couple of times and dropped her off at school.
"They even brought me a roller derby book," she says. "'Here… study up.'"
Studying up is something everyone on the team has been doing in preparation for their first bout, along with finalizing their boutfits and practicing like crazy. With all the buzz surrounding this event, they know they are going to have to put on a damn good show.
"It's pretty exciting — a moment in time in Augusta that won't happen again," Menger says. "I'm pretty sure we're almost sold out of tickets. I can't think of another sporting event in Augusta that's sold out before the event. I think people who don't come who hear about it will be sorry they missed it but excited for the next one."
"I just want it to be exciting so we can actually get this thing off the ground and get people behind us, people who want to see us grow," Colclasure adds. "And maybe get some more sponsors."
Thompson says the team has many long-term goals, including forming a nonprofit, finding a charity to support, playing their first bout with another league team and becoming a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA).
That's great and all, but most of the members say they just want to get this first bout under their belts.
"I'm excited and nervous. It's like an initiation," Seyberth says. "I just want to get it over with. I want to kick some ass."
How it's played
To read more about the rules of roller derby, click here.
The teams
Captain Anastasia Forrestal, aka Fuka Saru, , Jammer
Beverly Breeland, aka French Crippler, 1789, Blocker
Brandy Urich, aka Dee Cupcake, 36D, Blocker
Julie Menger, aka Jule C. Blood, 1 pint, Power Blocker
Lydia Williams, aka Ethyl Agitate, 19, Blocker, Pivot
Lynda Wilson, aka Fasta Danu, 777, Jammer
Pollie Rabon, aka Pollie Hatchet, 77, Jammer
Sarah Lear, aka Smackiavelli, Deuce Deuce, Jammer
Stephanie Amburn, aka Chachi O'Nasty, 1/2 Z's, Power Blocker
Tracy Arther, aka ButterFLZ IZE, 32, Power Blocker
Veronica Mulkey, aka Domestic Disturbance, V, Power Blocker
Captain Christina Pifari, aka Brick, ∞, Power Blocker
Barbara Allen, aka Martha Skewer, 5517-054, Blocker
Brandie Cully, 911, Blocker
Jessica Miles, aka Olivia N. Agony, 808, Blocker
Jessica Thompson, aka Inskatiable, ã-1, Blocker, Jammer
Katie McCorkle, aka Unsofistokatie, 40, Blocker
Kim Smock, aka Princess Whackaho, 2, Blocker
Lauren King, aka Haute Mess, Pivot
Liz Seyberth, aka Lamborgenie, 13, Jammer
Reia Scholtheis, ¿411?, Blocker
Robyn Martin, aka Roxy Rampage!, $3.50, Blocker, Jammer
The officials
Bench Coach: Brett Craig, aka Brett Sin Charge, 81
Bench Coach: Greggo Twait, aka Greg Bladey, 2.13.61
Head Referee: Richard Putnam, aka Snatch Bridges, 1
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July 10, 2008 - Thursday
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The Soul City Sirens were on NBC Augusta Last nite! Thanks to Stan Byrdy for the awesome coverage! Check us out!
http://www. nbcaugusta. com/sports/24302659. html
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June 28, 2008 - Saturday
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Barrymore's roller derby film needs extras from Washtenaw County area Calling all local wannabe movie stars - now is your chance to appear in a Hollywood feature film without ever leaving Washtenaw County.
Filmmakers are looking for "thousands" of extras to help with the filming of "Whip It," being produced by Drew Barrymore. Barrymore's production company, Flower Films, set up shop in Saline last week. They're scheduled to start filming July 28, the movie company said. "Whip It," Barrymore's directorial debut, stars actress Ellen Page in the story of a teenage girl who discovers the world of roller derby.
Kathy Remski, a partner with Real Style in Birmingham, said her company is looking for "thousands" of local people to fill in various roles. Real Style received a contract from Flower Films to seek out extras.
"We are looking for individuals from 18 to 50, all walks of life, from the most eccentric to punk rockers to roller derby fans to rock 'n' roll people," Remski said. "We want expressive individuals. If somebody has pink hair, bring it on." Anyone interested should e-mail info@realstyleonline.com. Include the subject line: "Whip It Extras." The body of the e-mail should include the person's picture, a contact number and a date of birth. Remski said the picture is "essential" in determining who gets a call. Extras receive a nominal fee, Remski said. Remski said the extras will be used from July 30 to Aug. 13. Casting calls will be set up in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti as early as next week.
"There are long days, but you are part of filming history," Remski said. Chris Miller, a producer for "Whip It" with Flower Films, said the production company has already set up a practice roller derby track in the warehouse space it has rented in Saline. The production company has asked the location not be disclosed. ..tr>Reporter Tom Gantert can be reached at 734-994-6701 or tgantert@annarbornews.com. | ..table>Miller said some shooting locations have not yet been decided. "There could be scenes in Saline, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti," Miller said. "There are plans on shooting some things in that general area."
Miller said the filmmakers still haven't determined whether the movie will shoot in an area high school or whether they'll build a portion of a high school at their Saline location. He said the actual roller derby track used in the movie is in place in Detroit, where most of the movie will be shot.
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June 24, 2008 - Tuesday
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June 13, 2008 - Friday
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Thanks to The Regulaters The Soul City Sirens are getting ready to roll to NC on the 21st to particpate in a mini bout! We are all VERY excited and are willing to get a little ruffed up for it! If you are in the area stop by! Bikes, Babes and Beer AND the some hot ass roller girls!
The Smokeout has become one of the premiere motorcycle rallies in the country, and is perhaps one of the best in terms of what bikers look for. It is backed by The Horse Backstreet Choppers. The Smokeout is held outside Winston-Salem at the Farmington Dragway, but first, let me tell you about the Stampede!
The Stampede to the Smokeout starts just a few days earlier, on the other side of the country, in Barstow California! A few hearty riders ride across the country in almost half the time that it takes other cross-country motorcycle rides. And get this; In keeping with the dedication to choppers, some of these riders are on rigids (hardtails; for the uninitiated reader that means no rear shocks). They get plenty of wind because they don't have windshields. I suppose they must have a chase truck, because they also don't have hard saddlebags.
(I run with no windshield and either leather or no saddlebags in the summer, packing a sleeping bag and small tent, but never tried this for more than 800 miles!)
Once you're at the Smokeout, get ready for a great motorcycle rally! Enjoy!
Winston-Salem is cool, because it provides the southeast gateway to the Blue Ridge. Great riding!
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June 13, 2008 - Friday
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HEY GO TO THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE SITE AND AD A COMMENT!!!
If you're in the way of the Soul City Sirens and get pushed, don't pout. Consider yourself lucky. You could've been knocked down. Hard. ..
The Soul City Sirens, a women's roller derby league, is the newest addition to Augusta area sports. The league, which was founded in January, has joined other roller derby leagues that have sprung up in Atlanta, Athens, Ga., Savannah, Ga., Columbia and other cities. "A lot of the appeal is that this is an organized sport," said Jessica Thompson, founder of the Soul City Sirens. "Outside of school or professional teams, there aren't a lot of opportunities for women to compete as adults. It's becoming an attractive sport for women all over the country and it's gaining in popularity." The league currently has 32 members ages 19 to 45 from Richmond, Columbia and Aiken counties. With derby names such as French Crippler, Jule C. Blood and Maehem Mauler, it's sometimes hard to believe that league members are also librarians, nurses, waitresses and stay-at-home moms, said member Lynda Wilson, an X-ray technician. "That's the great part about roller derby. People who may seem meek and mild get to let out an alter ego. For us, it's all about girl power," she said. "It's empowering for us to come together as women and do something like this. It's also a lot of fun." There's a lot of pain and tears, which is to be expected in a sport where the competitions are called bouts. Since the league began practicing in January, the injuries have included a broken wrist, pulled groin, concussion, whiplash, broken tailbone and sprained ankles. Members gladly lace up their skates again once they have recovered, said Ms. Thompson, a librarian. "It's like when you see the kids out there skating and they fall. They don't stop. They get up and start skating again," she said. "It's the same with us. We may fall and hurt ourselves, but we know that's part of the game. So as soon as we can get back out there, we do. It's the love for roller derby that keeps people coming back." Ms. Thompson and member Renee Puterbaugh, a stay-at-home mom, began recruiting members in November. They expected the process to take at least a year, so they weren't expecting to have their first bout until the fall or winter of 2009. "We're getting ready for our first bout in August or September, the date isn't set yet, but we didn't think we would be at this point so soon," Mrs. Puterbaugh said. As for what the Augusta area can expect to see when the league debuts: "Fast, furious, fun females," said member Reia Schultheis. For more information on the Soul City Sirens, visit www.myspace.com/augustarollerderby. Reach Nikasha Dicks at (706) 823-3336 or nikasha.dicks@augustachronicle.com. WANT TO JOIN? Women 18 and older who are interested in joining the Soul City Sirens can contact them at augusta rollerderby@yahoo.com or visit myspace.com/augustarollerderby.
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