The Roller Betties
The Furies came screaming into town on eight wheels and ripped fishnets.
The Bellingham Roller Betties' expo bout on Oct. 13 packed the Sportsplex, marking the debut of Whatcom and Skagit counties' own all-female flat track roller derby league. The numbers aren't officially in, but early word is more than 1,400 fans showed up to see what all the fuss was about.
The league, 35 of whom took the floor Saturday, was split into two teams -- the Red and the Black. It was a tight match, a great bout, but it was the Black team that skated to the win, 137-135, in three 20-minute periods. The crowd may have been a little confused by the rules of the game, but was enthusiastic and encouraging, showing its approval with audible winces at the falls, loud cheers when jammers broke through to score.
The battle for the Betties anthem at the break put OuiSi, Muppet Fetish and Jill Brazil against each other with Jill Brazil getting the crowd approval for its song, "TKO." Described as "discordant, rough and rife with strange musical tension," the song is bound to get anyone in the mood for a good brawling.
The Bellingham Roller Betties league, which numbers 43 women on the roster, formed about a year ago and has already established four teams of about 10 women. With the success of Saturday's debut expo, the Betties are amped for their first official six-month season starting in the spring.
For more on the Betties, go to www.bellinghamrollerbetties.com or http://www.myspace.com/bellinghamrollerbetties
Videos by Matt McDonald
